Sounds like a metal band… actually a water brand. Liquid Death is on pace for unicorn status after taking the agua industry by storm. The canned-water brand launched in 2019 with mountain water in skull-adorned metal cans (so edgy). Tagline: “Murder your thirst.” It started with a website and is now sold everywhere from Whole Foods to tattoo parlors. This year Liquid Death is on track to triple its sales to $130M. Investors want a sip:
- Big backers: Liquid Death hit a $700M valuation thanks to its latest $70M cash infusion from investors like Science Ventures, Live Nation, and… Swedish House Mafia.
- H20-fluencer: Liquid Death is the most followed water brand on TikTok (nearly 3M followers) and the second most followed on Insta.
Bubbly water > boozy brews… Alcohol-free drinks have sparkled as more Americans shift to a more health-conscious lifestyle. Non-alcoholic-spirit sales (think: boozeless beer) 7X’d from 2020 to 2021, and bottled water has outsold soft drinks since 2016. Fun fact: 74% of people say they’ll turn to other packaged drinks if bottled water isn’t available (read: shunning the tap).
- Since Liquid Death launched flavored options like “Berry It Alive” in March, its online sales have grown 40%, helping it compete with La Croix and Pepsi's Bubly.
The brand is in the packaging… and sometimes that matters more than what’s in the package. Liquid Death took an extremely basic product (water) and made it cool. Similarly, Dollar Shave Club (also backed by Science Ventures) used viral videos and simple brown packaging to make razors trendy. Thanks to its novel strategy, it’s possible Liquid Death could even go public at a time when IPO thirst is dry.