Liquid Death is a canned water company founded by Mike Cessario. Its tagline is "murder your thirst". The drink is sold in a "tallboy" drink can. As of 2023, its water is canned by Wilderness Asset Holdings LLC in Virginia, US. The drink began selling to consumers on its website in January 2019. Its manufacturer is Supplying Demand, Inc. , the company is valued at $700 million, though according to Dan Primack of '' Axios'', the valuation could be viewed "skeptically" as it was an insider-led round.

Products

The drink is sold in a "tallboy" drink can. Its water was sourced from the

Austrian Alps The Central Eastern Alps (german: Zentralalpen or Zentrale Ostalpen), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps (german: Österreichische Zentralalpen) or just Central Alps, comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacent ...

, where it was also canned. It was canned by the Austrian beverage company Starzinger in the

Upper Austrian Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, an ...

town of

Frankenmarkt Frankenmarkt is a municipality in the district of Vöcklabruck in the Austrian state of Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria bo ...

(altitude 1,759 ft). In 2020, the brand introduced a sparkling water variety. Its manufacturer is Supplying Demand, Inc. In addition to the original sparkling water, Liquid Death also introduced four flavored carbonated beverages including Mango Chainsaw, Severed Lime, Convicted Melon, and Berry It Alive. Unlike their unflavored seltzer these flavored carbonated beverages ("sparkling waters") are actually akin to all-natural, low-calorie sodas as they not only contained added natural flavorings/extracts but also acidulants and some

added sugar Added sugars or free sugars are sugar carbohydrates (caloric sweeteners) added to food and beverages at some point before their consumption. These include added carbohydrates (monosaccharides and disaccharides), and more broadly, sugars natural ...

(from agave nectar) as well. The sugar sparkling waters have each around 20 calories. In March 2023, the company announced sale of three tea flavors: Armless Palmer, Grim Leafer, and Rest in Peach, which contain agave nectar and 30 mg of caffeine. Liquid Death is also a producer of NFTs, which they called Murder Head Death Club. As of 2023, its water is sourced in

Bland County, Virginia Bland County is a county (United States), United States county located in the Southwest Virginia, southwestern portion of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. Like most of Southwestern Virginia, it is part of the Appalachian ...

History

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

native Mike Cessario, a graphic designer was inspired to create Liquid Death after watching a Vans

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

in 2009, in which concert goers would drink water out of

Monster Energy Monster Energy is an energy drink that was created by Hansen Natural Company (now Monster Beverage Corporation) in April 2002. As of March 2019, Monster Energy had a 35% share of the energy drink market, the second highest share after Red Bull ...

cans to stay hydrated. Cessario stated he wondered why no one had marketed water in a manner similar to Monster. For marketing, Cessario emphasized interestingness, which he believed would transition into organic shares on social media. The company originated with Cessario and three other partners, including a bartender and an artist. Before he and his partners chose the name Liquid Death, they thought over different names for the company such as "Southern Thunder". Cessario filed a trademark application for the term "Liquid Death" with the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...

on July 6, 2017. He produced a video advertisement to gauge market interest in the product, which received three million views before the water was available to consumers for purchase. Within a few months of release, the company had over 100,000 " likes" on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

, more than brands such as

Aquafina Aquafina (pronunciation: ) is an American brand of purified bottled water that is produced by PepsiCo, consisting of both unflavored and flavored water. The Aquafina brand name is also licensed for use on multiple skin care products, includi ...

had generated in their history on the platform. In 2019, Cessario stated the company's plan was to expand to bars, tattoo parlors, and certain barber shops in Los Angeles and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

as a "lifestyle play". Cessario stated the brand was initially marketed towards

straight edge Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated sXe or signified by XXX or X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs, in reaction to the excesses of punk subculture. For some, thi ...

adherents and fans of

heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a ...

and punk rock. The drink began selling to consumers on its website in January 2019. Liquid Death raised US$1.6 million in seed funding from a round led by

Science Inc. Science Inc. is a Los Angeles-based startup studio that develops, invests in, and acquires various businesses. Science Inc. invests money and offers mastery, to bring corporations to profitability. In 2011, Michael Jones founded the organization ...

in 2019 (for a total amount raised to $2.25 million at that point), $9 million in a series A round in February 2020, and $23 million in a series B round in September 2020. In February 2020, the brand expanded into

Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market IP, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon, is an upscale American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. A US ...

in the United States, where according to ''

Eater Eater may refer to: * Eater (band), an English punk rock group * "Eater" (''Fear Itself''), a 2008 episode of the NBC television horror anthology ''Fear Itself'' * ''Eater'' (novel), a 2000 science fiction novel by Gregory Benford * ''Eater'' (w ...

'' it became "the fastest-selling water brand on its shelves". In August 2020, the brand expanded into two hundred

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...

stores in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

markets as part of a trial run. In May 2021, the company raised an additional $15 million in a Series C funding round completed with

Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertainme ...

, who said they would sell the drink exclusively in their events and venues for a period of time. As of December 2021, the drink began selling in large supermarket chains such as

Publix Publix Super Markets, Inc., commonly known as Publix, is an employee-owned American supermarket chain headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, Publix is a private corporation that is wholly owned by present and ...

and Sprouts stores. In January 2022, the company raised $75 million in Series C funding. The company received a $525 million valuation at the time. Cessario stated that the company's revenue rose to $45 million in 2021, with revenue projected at $130 million for 2022. In October 2022, the company raised a round led by Science for $70 million at a $700 million valuation, though according to Dan Primack of '' Axios'', the valuation could be viewed "skeptically" as it was an insider-led round.

Promotions

In May 2020, the company released ''Greatest Hates'', an album of

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

music created with lyrics from hate comments the company received online; a second album of hate comments, described as "punk rock", was released in November. In February 2022, during

Super Bowl LVI Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams defeated the American Football Conference ...

, the company released an advertisement featuring children enjoying the beverage with

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

's song " Breaking the Law". Parodying advertisements for alcoholic beverages, the advertisement ends with the tagline "Don't be scared, it's just water".

Notes

References

External links