You’ve heard the theories. You’ve seen the TikToks. But is there actually any concrete evidence that the company producing Owala water bottles named their brand “Owala” because it rhymes with “koala,” an animal that its users vaguely resemble when they’re taking a swig?
No. Not really.
The Owala FreeSip bottle, a product introduced by Trove Brands in 2020, has taken the hydration-conscious community by storm since its debut. But in more recent years, fans have theorized that the bottle’s rounded, pop-up lid was intentionally designed to cover a person’s nose, making them look somewhat like a koala (with a bulbous koala-lid-nose) while they drink.
Many fans spouting this theory on social media also point to the Owala/koala rhyme as evidence for its validity.
“Apparently it’s called Owala bc when you drink it you look like a koala,” one TikTok user declared in a viral 2024 post, which has since been viewed more than 27 million times.
“Is that not the cutest thing ever?” another TikTok user asked in her own viral video on the subject. “I am mind-blown right now.”
It’s easy to see why the theory gained support online. “Owala” appears to be a made-up word, despite attempts by some fans to liken it to similar-sounding words or phrases in other languages. And “Owala” does indeed rhyme with “koala,” making for an (arguably tenuous) connection.
It’s also quite fun to believe that Trove Brands named the brand “Owala” as some sort of clue, in the hopes that users might stumble upon the company’s inspiration.
But could that actually be the case?
When asked, a spokesperson for Trove Brands wouldn’t confirm or deny.
“As far as how the Owala brand got its name, we’ll keep that close to the vest — but we sure love hearing everyone’s theories!” the spokesperson told NewsNation parent company Nexstar, adding later that the company’s “naming and trademark process” was proprietary information.
Whether or not the “koala” theory is true, Trove Brands certainly doesn’t mind playing into it. In October 2025, the company introduced an “Heirloom” FreeSip bottle inspired by the blue-and-white porcelain patterns often seen on fine china, albeit with the occasional koala incorporated into the floral motif.
In a blog post promoting the Heirloom bottle, Owala referred to the little koala design as an “Easter egg” (i.e., a hidden feature or secret reference) but did not elaborate on its meaning.
“And the koala? What can we say — we just love koalas,” reads a portion of the post.
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There are, however, a number of reasons to believe that Owala never intended any koala connection when the brand was introduced in 2020. For starters, Owala debuted several bottle designs very early on, including the Owala FreeSip, the Owala Flip and the Owala Twist, but only the FreeSip featured a semi-ovular lid. This means that Owala’s early Flip and Twist customers were sipping from bottles that didn’t give them any resemblance to koalas in the slightest. (Even today, Owala sells bottles with twist-off lids or straws, rather than the pop-top lid.)
There also appears to be no mention of the word “koala” on the official Owala or Trove Brands websites, aside from the aforementioned references to the Heirloom bottle.
And lastly, a person claiming to be an employee of Trove Brands once commented on a viral TikTok parroting the koala theory, indicating that she had never heard of it.
“I work there and now have to ask tomorrow if this is true,” wrote the woman, whose LinkedIn page identifies her as a sales administrator for Trove.
Days later, another commenter asked if there was any truth to the idea.
“I wish,” the woman wrote back. “Sadly not[,] no.”
