Liquid Death becomes a $1.4B canned-water unicorn after years of splashy marketing
Solid life… Liquid Death has raised $67M in fresh funding, doubling its valuation from $700M to $1.4B. The water biz, known for its skull-adorned aluminum cans, said it planned to use the cash to push further into new bevs: in addition to plain ol’ H2O tallboys, Liquid Death has expanded to flavored water, iced tea, and a flavored drinking powder called “Death Dust.”
Live death: After launching in 2019, Liquid Death teamed up with Live Nation to sell its beer-like cans at concerts. It became a staple for festivalgoers looking for a non-boozy option. Now it’s in fridges nationwide at Whole Foods, Publix, Ralphs, and more.
Can-do attitude: The private company said it made $45M in sales in 2021, and that tripled to $130M a year later, fueled by online sales and flavored waters like “Berry It Alive.”
“Murder Your Thirst”… Labeling bevs like they’re poisonous may sound like a bad idea, but the edgy marketing strategy has worked for Liquid Death. It has nearly 8M followers across Instagram and TikTok, where unconventional posts — like screenshots of negative customer comments (picture: “Hopefully, they’ll go bankrupt”) — rack up tens of thousands of likes. Some other offbeat marketing plays:
2020: Punk bands like Rise Against and Anti-Flag helped the brand record an album inspired by comments left by Liquid Death haters.
2021: Liquid Death sold skateboards printed with red paint mixed with Tony Hawk’s blood.
Last year: Arnold Palmer’s estate sent Liquid Death a cease-and-desist after the brand named its lemon tea “Armless Palmer.” (It renamed the drink to “Dead Billionaire.”)
It’s what’s on the outside that matters… Packaging can be more valuable than the product. Liquid Death’s cofounder was a graphic designer who wanted to make H2O look as cool as a hazy IPA. Now folks are spending $20 on a case of canned water and the company is worth almost as much as Bumble.