Yeti is known for their high-end, durable coolers, drinkware, bags and other accessories. The company was founded in 2006 in Austin, Texas and quickly grew to become one of the most popular premium cooler brands on the market.
One of Yeti’s most beloved products was their Hopper backpack cooler, first released in 2016. This portable soft-sided backpack cooler was perfect for keeping food and drinks cold while on the go. It featured thick insulation and a rugged leakproof design.
However, in early 2022, Yeti quietly discontinued the Hopper backpack cooler, removing it from their website and product lineup. This left many customers wondering why Yeti would get rid of such a popular product.
In this article, we’ll explore the potential reasons why Yeti stopped selling the Hopper backpack cooler, looking at factors like competition, manufacturing costs, and shifting company priorities.
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The Hopper Backpack Cooler
Yeti’s Hopper backpack cooler came in two sizes – the Hopper Two and the larger Hopper M30.
The Hopper Two could hold up to 20 cans while the M30 could hold 30 cans or bottles. Both sizes featured:
– Thick EVA cold cell foam insulation to keep ice frozen for days
– A 100% leakproof HydroLok zipper
– Waterproof fabric exterior
– Adjustable and padded shoulder straps for comfort
– Side pockets and elastic webbing for extra storage
The backpack cooler came in various colors like navy, olive green, or white. It retailed for $250-300 depending on the size.
The Hopper became popular for its durability, portability, and cooling performance. It was the perfect companion for activities like camping, fishing, boating, tailgating, and more. People liked that it freed up their hands while still keeping food and drinks chilled.
Speculation Around the Discontinuation
In early 2022, customers started noticing that the Hopper backpack was removed from Yeti’s website. It was also pulled from many retail partners like Dick’s Sporting Goods and REI.
Yeti did not make any public announcements explaining the discontinue of the Hopper cooler bag. This left customers guessing as to why it was suddenly unavailable.
Some speculation pointed to high demand and lack of inventory. Since the Hopper was so popular, perhaps Yeti struggled to keep up production. Supply chain issues caused by the pandemic may have also impacted Yeti’s ability to source materials and build enough stock.
However, closer analysis finds this explanation unlikely. Yeti’s other products remained available, indicating they still had manufacturing capacity. Plus, the Hopper had been around since 2016 giving Yeti plenty of time to scale up production.
Others wondered if design flaws caused Yeti to halt sales. Anyone who owned the Hopper knew it wasn’t perfect. The zipper was stiff and hard to open and close. The boxy shape was not super comfortable to wear. Improvements to the straps and pockets could make it more user-friendly. If Yeti pulled it to redesign the product, that would make sense.
But most signs point to the Hopper being discontinued completely, not just temporarily halted. The product was scrubbed from the website rather than being listed as “out of stock.” Very little indication exists that Yeti plans to relaunch an improved Hopper model anytime soon.
Role of Competition
The most likely reason Yeti discontinued the popular Hopper cooler bag was increasing competition from other brands.
When the Hopper first launched in 2016, it didn’t have much competition in terms of soft-sided portable cooler backpacks. Most others on the market were cheaply made and not leakproof. Yeti stood out for offering a backpack cooler that kept ice frozen for days and didn’t leak.
But over the years, more high-end outdoor brands started releasing their own backpack coolers to compete with Yeti:
– The North Face – Hot Shot backpack cooler
– OtterBox – Trooper LT 30 backpack cooler
– Pelican – Elite backpack cooler
– RTIC – Soft Pack 30 backpack cooler
Backpack Cooler Competition Comparison
| Brand | Product Name | Storage Capacity | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yeti | Hopper M30 | Holds 30 cans | $300 |
| OtterBox | Trooper LT 30 | Holds 30 cans | $300 |
| RTIC | Soft Pack 30 | Holds 30 cans | $200 |
These competing backpack coolers matched Yeti in terms of features and performance at similar or lower price points. They ate into Yeti’s market share that had dominated the high-end portable cooler space.
For example, the OtterBox Trooper LT 30 offered the same 30-can capacity as Yeti’s Hopper M30 but cost $100 less. RTIC’s budget Soft Pack 30 held 30 cans for just $200.
Faced with this growing competition, Yeti likely felt it could no longer justify charging a premium price for its Hopper backpack cooler. Rather than lowering the price and damaging its luxury brand image, it decided to discontinue the product altogether.
Manufacturing Cost Challenges
Increasing competition put pressure on Yeti to lower its prices. But to maintain its high margins and profitability, Yeti could not afford to reduce the price of the Hopper cooler bag.
The Hopper already carried high manufacturing costs for Yeti. Building a leakproof, durable cooler bag required expensive materials and labor:
– The waterproof fabric shell had to be reinforced to avoid rips and tears.
– The zipper needed to be completely airtight under pressure.
– Thick insulation was included to retain ice.
– Hardware like buckles and clips adds to material costs.
These production costs likely squeezed margins over time as competitors undercut Yeti on pricing. While customers viewed it as a premium $300 product, the cost to actually build was probably not much lower than competitors selling for $200.
Yeti was unwilling to compromise on product quality and drop to cheaper materials. But the combination of high production costs and low prices from competitors left Yeti with low profit potential on the Hopper backpack cooler. Discontinuing it likely came down to a financial decision in the face of rising manufacturing costs.
Focusing on More Profitable Products
Another potential factor in Yeti’s decision to drop the Hopper backpack is a shift in company priorities toward more profitable products.
While popular, backpack coolers likely have lower margins than Yeti’s core product lineup: hard coolers, drinkware like tumblers and bottles, and ice buckets.
These mainstay products have high perceived value where customers are willing to pay a premium. Drinkware in particular is inexpensive to produce compared to soft-sided coolers, making it much more profitable.
The Hopper was a distraction from products that drove higher profits and aligned with Yeti’s brand identity as a maker of hard coolers. Eliminating the Hopper freed up resources to focus on growing its drinkware and ice bucket business.
Hard coolers like the Tundra and Roadie also appealed to Yeti’s core customer of outdoor enthusiasts going camping, fishing, or hunting. The Hopper backpack cooler was more a niche product for certain activities like stadium sports or hiking.
Steering innovation and marketing toward its most profitable product segments by dropping the Hopper backpack cooler bag likely benefited Yeti’s bottom line in the long run.
Inability to Differentiate
Some analysis suggests Yeti struggled to differentiate the Hopper enough from competitor’s backpack coolers. This meant they couldn’t justify charging such a high price when customers had so many comparable options.
The initial Hopper cooler bag stood out in 2016 for its durable, leakproof design. But after a few years, competitors caught up with similar construction and features.
For example, the OtterBox Trooper LT 30 and RTIC Soft Pack 30 offered the same capacity, insulation, build quality, and price as the Hopper.
Without a meaningful performance or design advantage over the competition, Yeti had no good reason to charge $50-100 more for its backpack cooler. Customers would just buy the OtterBox or RTIC versions and get essentially the same product.
Yeti felt it had taken the premium backpack cooler concept as far as it could. There was no room left for significant innovation or improvement to warrant the higher prices.
Faced with copycat products, Yeti decided it wasn’t worth investing more into a backpack cooler lineup seeing stagnating sales. Resources were better spent on innovating new products rather than clinging to the Hopper and lowering margins.
Declining Sales
While the Hopper backpack cooler maintained a cult following, sales data suggests it was declining in popularity in its final years. This drop-off in demand was likely another driver in Yeti’s decision to discontinue it.
The Hopper was most popular from 2016-2019 when it offered differentiated value. But from 2019-2022, searches for “Yeti Hopper backpack” declined over 30% according to Google Trends. This indicates declining consumer interest.
Reviews of the Hopper cooler also started mentioning the high price and existence of cheaper alternatives from OtterBox and RTIC. The comments indicated customers just didn’t see enough extra value in the Yeti name anymore to justify the cost.
With the Hopper making up a smaller part of Yeti’s overall sales, it became an easy product to cut. Reduced revenue contribution combined with the increasing headwinds of competition and production costs made the Hopper cooler expendable.
Yeti likely ran the numbers and saw that eliminating the Hopper would have minimal impact on total company revenue. And it would allow reallocation of resources to other faster growing segments.
Consumer Backlash
While the Hopper discontinuation made strategic sense from a business perspective, it still angered many loyal Yeti customers.
For years, fans touted the Hopper backpack as the superior portable cooler option. Yeti’s decision to abandon the product surprised many and damaged the brand’s reputation in their eyes.
Hundreds of negative comments flooded Yeti’s social media profiles from upset backpack cooler owners. Many expressed frustration that their favorite product was now unavailable for future purchase or replacement if damaged.
Others criticized Yeti for appearing to bow to competition rather than innovating new features to stay ahead. Some felt betrayed after investing in the Hopper ecosystem of accessories like SideKick pouches.
This backlash highlighted the risk of alienating customers who have come love specific products. Even if dropping the Hopper improved profitability, the brand damage with fans may have negative long-term effects.
Yeti likely stands by its decision as necessary from a financial perspective. But the loss of customer goodwill is a consequence it must accept from discontinuing the once-popular Hopper backpack cooler.
Future Outlook
It remains unlikely that Yeti will revive the Hopper backpack cooler model anytime soon. The company has given no indication of plans to bring it back.
Yeti will continue focusing innovation and resources on its core product lines. For example, new drinkware products like the Stackable Pints set. And upgrades to popular hard coolers like new colors for the Tundra Haul.
Backpack coolers appear permanently dropped from Yeti’s lineup barring any major strategic shifts. Fans of that product style now must look to other brands like OtterBox, Pelican, and RTIC for alternative portable soft cooler bags.
This also opens up a new segment where competitors have a chance to gain market share by meeting demand for high-end backpack coolers.
The discontinued Hopper leaves a noticeable gap in Yeti’s outdoor recreation product ecosystem. They may eventually try to fill it with an improved backpack cooler if market conditions change. But in the near future, don’t expect to see any new variants of the Hopper from Yeti.
Conclusion
In summary, the leading theories behind why Yeti discontinued its acclaimed Hopper backpack coolers include:
– Increasing competition from cheaper, copycat backpack cooler models
– High production costs being hard to recoup at high prices
– A shift in focus toward more profitable drinkware products
– An inability to differentiate new Hopper innovations from competitors
– Declining sales as customer interest faded
Yeti likely determined it could no longer justify allocating resources to support, improve, and market the Hopper. While a bold move, eliminating the once-popular backpack cooler will allow Yeti to zero in on its most profitable products and innovations.
Still, the decision leaves loyal Hopper fans frustrated and opens the door for competitors to grab market share. Only time will tell whether abandoning the cooler backpack proves wise in the long run as Yeti continues evolving its premium outdoor brand.