“The Water Bottle Effect” is a label for products whose core offering remains the same regardless of how many times it becomes reinvented. Here’s an incomplete list of things that fit the bill.
The insulated water bottle. The pocket knife. The multi-tool. The power bank. The seasonal drink. The cigarette. The journal. The planner. The wall clock. The belt. The pen. The note pad. The sketch book. The keychain. The sock. The hat. The lighter. The propane-grill. The outdoor pizza oven. The couch. The barstool. The kitchen knife. The pot. The pan. The fridge. The oven and stove. The dishwasher. The washer and dryer. The hoodie. The coffee machine. The french-press. The bicycle. The longboard.
Sometimes these things are reinvented to meet contextualized needs. And sometimes these things are reinvented because of their commercial appeal.
It’s important to know which side of the fence your reinvention belongs to. Because the former results in offering a solution for an overlooked need. And the latter is simply fixing something that was never broke.