Two best friends who came up with a genius idea to sell drink bottle cup holder adapters now fear they will be bankrupted, after popular bottle and housewares maker Frank Green began advertising a similar product.
Kelsey Gorman, 25, and Rylie Greenhalgh, 23, are the Brisbane duo behind Willy and Bear. The company sells special accessories that fit into standard cup holders built into cars and expand to allow larger bottles that wouldn’t otherwise fit to sit comfortably inside.
Gorman and Greenhalgh, who work full-time in medical administration, came up with the idea after noticing how inconvenient it was trying to hold their drink bottles while driving or sitting in the passenger seat of a car.
With the recent popularity of the drink bottles sold by Frank Green, Yeti and Hydro Flask, sales of Gorman and Greenhalgh skyrocketed.
But since then, customers have noticed a striking similarity to Frank Green’s latest accessory, and Bunnings Warehouse jumped on the coaster trend, too.
Kelsey Gorman, 25, and Rylie Greenhalgh, 23, are the Brisbane duo behind Willy and Bear, which sells cup holder expanders for large drinks bottles.
“We just don’t know where our brand is going now and how long it will last,” Ms Greenhalgh told Daily Mail Australia.
Ms Gorman said that when she saw a product similar to theirs advertised by another company, she immediately called Ms Greenhalgh in tears.
“I just thought we were done with this,” he said.
Willy and Bear officially launched in September last year, and the company prided itself on using 100% recyclable and Australian-made materials.
Ms Gorman and Ms Greenhalgh live together and said their idea came from a conversation they had one night in their living room around Christmas in 2021.
“We both received bottles of water for Christmas and in the months that followed, like everyone else, we took them everywhere,” Ms. Gorman said.
The expanders fit into a standard car cup holder and allow larger bottles that might not otherwise fit to sit firmly inside.
“We quickly realized how annoying it was as a passenger to hang on to them, and if you’re driving, the bottles just crash to the ground.”
After doing some research in the Australian market and finding nothing similar, the couple decided to put their life savings into launching the business.
At first, they put $30,000 into the start-up of the company, which they had been saving to buy a house together.
“It was very risky, we had so many people in our ears telling us not to do it,” said Ms Greenhalgh.
With the help of viral TikTok videos, with some of their clips racking up half a million views, the first order of 700 Willy and Bear coasters sold out in a matter of weeks.
Ms. Greenhalgh (pictured) and Ms. Gorman put all of their life savings into getting the business off the ground.
Willy and Bear’s first order of 700 cup holder expanders sold out in a matter of weeks
“We did better than we thought, which was stressful because we both still work full time,” Ms. Gorman said.
“Since September, we’ve basically been up until 2am every day and then have to start our normal work again at 7am.”
willy and the bear the coasters sell for $30 and come in a variety of different colors.
However, Frank Green, popular for its reusable bottles, coffee mugs and household items, announced that it would introduce a range of cup holder expanders in mid-February this year.
In a TikTok on February 23, they showed off the new accessory that retails for $19.95, with Frank Green saying it had been “years in the making.”
But the video was quickly inundated with comments from many pointing out its product’s similarity to Willy and Bear.
‘I love how they say it took years to make and yet Willy and Bear made theirs even faster. Use a small business,’ wrote one.
“Sorry Frankie you’re a little late, Willy and Bear, you got me covered,” said another.
Adapters can hold bottles up to 1.25L from a variety of different brands
Customers across Australia are buying $11 PVC pipe at Bunnings Warehouse (left) to store beverage bottles in car cup holders. The trend emerged in late December when a TikTokker posted the ‘genius’ life hack in a video (right)
Frank Green’s cup holder expanders specifically fit your 1 liter bottles. Willy and Bear’s product fits a variety of bottles up to 1.25L in size.
Bunnings Warehouse has even joined in and is now announcing a pipe that can be used as a bottle holder after a buyer’s clever idea.
In late December, a shopper bought a conical tube to use inside her car to hold her own 1-liter Frank Green drink bottle and shared the tip on TikTok.
Since then, Bunnings customers have noticed that the hardware store advertises the pipe with the new descriptor ‘cup holder’ for $11.
The hardware giant even shared a video of someone using the pipe to hold their bottle on their TikTok account.
Willy and Bear hope that their clients will stay with them.
A Bunnings spokesman said PVC cone level inversions have been offered in the store for decades.
“Its intended purpose is for sewer and vent use, however we know customers often come up with creative projects and hacks using products from our stores, with the beverage bottle holder being an example,” they said.
Ms. Gorman and Ms. Greenhalgh said they were overwhelmed with the support they received from their clients.
“What we have to remember is that people love to support small businesses,” said Ms. Gorman.
Willy and Bear supplies ten different stores in Australia and New Zealand.
“Although there are companies with similar products, ours are universal,” Ms. Gorman added.
“But it’s weird for a company to say it took them years to find something, when we’re just two girls who don’t know anything about the industry and we did it in a few months.”
Frank Green was contacted for comment.
Frank Green, popular for its reusable bottles, coffee mugs and housewares, announced that it would introduce a range of cup holder expanders in mid-February.
