The first FreeSip went on sale under the BlenderBottle1 name, the protein shaker with a wire ball rattling around inside, and it flopped. Both brands come from the same company in Lehi. Owala is a Utah brand: Trove Brands2 launched it in March 2020 and runs it from its headquarters at 250 South 850 East in Lehi. The bottles are not made in Utah, and Pack Hacker's8 review lists China as the country of manufacture.
Quick answers
Is Owala from Utah?
Yes. Trove Brands launched Owala in March 2020 and runs it from Lehi.
Where are Owala bottles made?
Owala's FAQ doesn't say. Pack Hacker lists China as the manufacturing country.
Who owns Owala?
Trove Brands, a private company that also owns BlenderBottle.
Is Owala the same company as BlenderBottle?
Same parent. Trove Brands owns both, and the first FreeSip was sold under the BlenderBottle name.
Is Owala a Utah company
Yes. Owala was launched by Trove Brands, which Steve and Kim Sorensen founded around one piece of hardware store wire. BlenderBottle's About page says Steve formed it into the first BlenderBall whisk in 2000. The shaker that grew around it became BlenderBottle. Fortune3 put the start in the couple's Utah living room.
The water bottle took longer. Trove first sold the FreeSip under the BlenderBottle name, and it didn't land. "We pulled it back off the market, and we said, we've got to build this the right way," Michael Sorensen, the founders' son, told Fortune in 2025. He said the design took seven years to get to where it is today. It came back in March 2020 as the first product of a new brand called Owala.
Then the timing turned. While most families sat at home in lockdowns, Fortune wrote, videos of nurses with their FreeSips helped the brand take off. TIME put the FreeSip on its list of the 200 best inventions of 2023, and Owala said that year that its hashtag had drawn more than 272 million views on TikTok.
Where are Owala bottles made
Not in Utah. Owala's FAQ covers dishwasher care and payment methods, but it never names a country of manufacture. Pack Hacker, the travel gear review site, lists China as the manufacturing country in its FreeSip review, last updated May 28, 2026.
So the honest phrasing is that Owala is a Utah brand, and Pack Hacker lists the bottle as made in China. The company is in Lehi, and the steel is shaped somewhere else. The FAQ says the plastics in Owala products are free of BPA and phthalates. Lids go on the top rack of the dishwasher, and stainless steel cups get washed by hand.
If made here is what you care about, the made in Utah list is the one to browse, because Owala is not on it.
Who owns Owala
Trove Brands, a privately held company. On January 1, 2024, founders Steve and Kim Sorensen moved to co-chair the board, and Michael Sorensen, then vice president of marketing, became CEO. Trove's announcement put his time at the company at more than 14 years. There is no stock to buy.
Trove also owns BlenderBottle and Whiskware. In September 2023 it said its brands were sold in more than 100,000 stores across more than 100 countries, with a team of 240 employees. That is a lot of reach for a company that started with a piece of wire.
Does Owala have a lifetime warranty
It has a limited lifetime warranty. The warranty page says it covers bottles, mugs and tumblers against defects in materials and workmanship, and the FAQ lists accidental damage, improper care or misuse, and normal wear and tear among the things it won't cover. Accessories and soft goods get a one-year limited warranty.
The FAQ is also where Owala says it takes no cash or checks, "unless you're willing to make the trek to our headquarters." The trek ends in Lehi.
Why Owala bottles sell out
Owala releases limited colorways it calls Color Drops, and the rare ones get resold. Fortune reported that fans pay more than $100 on resale sites for the "Bowala," an Urban Outfitters exclusive. The lid does the rest. Steve Sorensen explained the design problem in Owala's own post about the TIME list: "You have the straw people, and you have the spout people." The FreeSip puts a built-in straw and a wider spout under one cap, which ends the argument without either side having to concede.
The fans organize, too. Fortune reported in March 2025 that one owner started a Reddit community for the bottle after her first one arrived, and it had more than 22,000 members.
For more Utah companies that grew out of a garage or a den, see famous Utah brands and the founded in Utah list. Owala and BlenderBottle share the Lehi headquarters, so they sit on the same pin on the Utah County map.
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