Liquid Death Explained

Supplying Demand, Inc.
Trading Name:Liquid Death
Founded:[1]
Founder:Mike Cessario
Hq Location City:Los Angeles, California
Hq Location Country:US[2]
Subsid:Supplying Demand UK Limited[3]

Supplying Demand, Inc.,[4] doing business as Liquid Death, is a canned water company founded by Mike Cessario. Its tagline is "murder your thirst".[5] The drink is sold in a 16.9USoz "tallboy" drink can and a 19.2USoz 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., the company is valued at $700 million, though according to Dan Primack of Axios, the valuation could be viewed "skeptically"[6] as it was an insider-led round. As of 2024, Liquid Death has 14 flavors.

Products

The drink is sold in a 16.9USoz "tallboy" drink can.[7] Its water is marketed as being sourced from the Austrian Alps.[8] It is canned by the Austrian beverage company Starzinger in the Upper Austrian town of Frankenmarkt (altitude 1,759 ft).[9] [10] In 2020, the brand introduced a sparkling water variety. Its manufacturer is Supplying Demand, Inc.[11] 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.[12] 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 (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: Grim Leafer, Rest in Peach, and Dead Billionaire. Dead Billionaire was originally called Armless Palmer, a play on the popular iced tea and lemonade beverage Arnold Palmer, but after Arizona Beverage Company threatened to sue the company for commercial use of the Palmer name in November 2023, Liquid Death announced the name change to Dead Billionaire, taking a jab at the late golfer.[13] All tea flavors contain agave nectar and 30 mg of caffeine.[14]

Liquid Death is also a producer of NFTs, which they called Murder Head Death Club.[15]

As of 2023, its water is sourced from Bland County, Virginia or Custer County, Idaho (according to label on cans).[16]

History

Delaware native Mike Cessario, a graphic designer[17] was inspired to create Liquid Death after watching a Vans Warped Tour in 2009 where concertgoers drank water out of Monster Energy cans. Cessario was inspired to market water in a manner similar to Monster. For marketing, Cessario emphasized interestingness, which he believed would transition into organic popularity on social media.[18]

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 on July 6, 2017.[19] 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, more than brands such as Aquafina 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 as a "lifestyle play". Cessario stated the brand was initially marketed towards straight edge adherents and fans of heavy metal music and punk rock. The drink began selling to consumers on its website in January 2019.[20] Liquid Death raised US$1.6 million in seed funding from a round led by Science Inc. in 2019 (for a total amount raised to $2.25 million at that point),[21] $9 million in a series A round in February 2020,[22] and $23 million in a series B round in September 2020.[23]

In February 2020, the brand expanded into Whole Foods Market in the United States,[24] where according to Eater it became "the fastest-selling water brand on its shelves". In August 2020, the brand expanded into two hundred 7-Eleven stores in the Los Angeles and San Diego markets as part of a trial run.[25] In May 2021, the company raised an additional $15 million in a Series C funding round completed with Live Nation, who said they would sell the drink exclusively in their events and venues for a period of time.[26] As of December 2021, the drink began selling in large supermarket chains such as Publix and Sprouts stores.[27] In January 2022, the company raised $75 million in Series C funding. The company received a $525 million valuation at the time.[28]

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.

In March 2024, the company raised $67 million in funding and received a $1.4 billion valuation. Liquid Death also reported $263 million in retail sales for 2023.[29]

Promotions

In May 2020, the company released Greatest Hates, an album of death metal music created with lyrics from hate comments the company received online;[30] a second album of hate comments, described as "punk rock", was released in November.[31] [32] [33] In February 2022, during Super Bowl LVI, the company released an advertisement featuring children enjoying the beverage with Judas Priest's song "Breaking the Law". Parodying advertisements for alcoholic beverages, the advertisement ends with the tagline "Don't be scared, it's just water".[34]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2018-12-18 . Supplying Demand, Inc. :: Delaware (US) :: OpenCorporates . 2024-03-19 . . 19 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240319145543/https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_de/7199444 . live .
  2. Web site: 2023-02-28 . Incorporation . 2024-03-19 . . 7 . PDF . 13 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240713015132/https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/14695690/filing-history/MzM3MDk5MzU0M2FkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0 . live .
  3. Web site: 2023-02-28 . Supplying Demand UK Limited overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK . 2024-03-19 . . en . 19 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240319145544/https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/14695690 . live .
  4. Web site: Privacy policy . 2024-03-19 . Liquid Death . en . 19 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240319145543/https://liquiddeath.com/policies/privacy-policy . live .
  5. Web site: February 13, 2019 . Review: Liquid Death . usurped . https://web.archive.org/web/20190214020325/https://www.bevnet.com/reviews/liquid-death . February 14, 2019 . Bevnet . March 25, 2021.
  6. Web site: Canned water brand Liquid Death now valued at $700 million. Axios. October 4, 2022. Primack. Dan. January 6, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20221127063805/https://www.axios.com/2022/10/04/canned-water-brand-liquid-death-700-million. November 27, 2022. live.
  7. Liquid Death and the Nonsense of Packaged Water. https://web.archive.org/web/20200302235044/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/liquid-death-and-the-nonsense-of-packaged-water. March 2, 2020. Rosner. Helen. May 15, 2019. The New Yorker.
  8. Web site: The Joke is on Consumers as Liquid Death Raises $23 Million More. https://web.archive.org/web/20201202210800/https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/29/the-joke-is-on-consumers-as-liquid-death-raises-23-million-more/. December 2, 2020. Tech Crunch. Loizos. Connie. September 30, 2020.
  9. Web site: July 28, 2022 . Wasser aus Frankenmarkt beliebt in den USA . Water from Frankenmarkt popular in the USA . July 28, 2022 . ORF . https://web.archive.org/web/20221224005938/https://ooe.orf.at/stories/3166755/ . December 24, 2022 . live . de.
  10. Web site: US-Marke "versilbert" Wasser aus Oberösterreich . July 28, 2022 . MSN . https://web.archive.org/web/20220728152924/https://www.msn.com/de-at/nachrichten/other/us-marke-%E2%80%9Eversilbert%E2%80%9C-wasser-aus-ober%C3%B6sterreich/ar-AA1002kE . July 28, 2022 . live . de-AT.
  11. Web site: Supplying Demand Inc. Bloomberg. March 26, 2021. 4 November 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231104133817/https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/1716279D:US. live.
  12. Web site: Water – Classics/Flavors . July 8, 2022 . Liquid Death . en . 8 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220708181450/https://liquiddeath.com/collections/water-shop-all . live .
  13. Web site: Liquid Death Canned Water Changes Name of 'Armless Palmer' Beverage: 'Now It Has a Way Cooler Name'. Entrepreneur. November 30, 2023. Silverman. Sam. 3 December 2023. 3 December 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231203022340/https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/liquid-death-changes-name-of-armless-palmer-after-lawsuit/466178. live.
  14. Web site: Liquid Death's New Tea Tallboys Are Coming for AriZona's Neck. Eater. March 3, 2023. McCarthy. Amy. https://web.archive.org/web/20230315015910/https://www.eater.com/23621105/liquid-death-new-canned-iced-tea-tallboys. March 15, 2023. March 19, 2023. live.
  15. News: Alcántara . Ann-Marie . July 29, 2022 . Brands Try Turning NFTs From Kitschy Collectibles Into Something Utilitarian for Consumers . en-US . Wall Street Journal . September 18, 2022 . 0099-9660 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221207140321/https://www.wsj.com/articles/brands-try-turning-nfts-from-kitschy-collectibles-into-something-utilitarian-for-consumers-11659129968 . December 7, 2022 . live.
  16. News: Heller . Karen . June 17, 2023 . Liquid Death is a mind-set. And also just canned water. . July 30, 2024 . The Washington Post.
  17. ,Web site: The Cult of Liquid Death. https://web.archive.org/web/20221103055933/https://www.eater.com/22814834/liquid-death-water-sparkling-bottled-water-canned. November 3, 2022. live. Eater. McCarthy. Amy. December 6, 2021.
  18. Web site: How Liquid Death's 40-year-old founder turned 'the dumbest name' and a Facebook post into a $700 million water brand. https://web.archive.org/web/20230102215147/https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/26/liquid-death-ceo-mike-cessario-we-chose-the-dumbest-possible-name-for-water.html. January 2, 2023. live. CNBC. November 26, 2022. January 5, 2023. Huddleston Jr. Tom. Green. Zachary.
  19. Web site: Basic Word Search. United States Patent and Trademark Office. 26 March 2021. 13 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230413211910/https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=login&p_lang=english&p_d=trmk. dead. Note: Perform a "Basic Word Search" for the term "Liquid Death", and select serial number "87518674" from the results.
  20. Web site: A Brand Called Liquid Death Wants to Sell Mountain Water to the Cool Kids. https://web.archive.org/web/20200303001413if_/https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/24/a-brand-called-liquid-death-wants-to-sell-mountain-water-to-the-cool-kids/. March 3, 2020. Tech Crunch. Connie. Loizos. January 24, 2019.
  21. Web site: A Former Netflix Creative Director just got $1.6 million from Big Names in Tech for Liquid Death, which is Water in a Tallboy Can. https://web.archive.org/web/20201107224903/https://www.businessinsider.com/liquid-death-water-mike-cessario-2019-5. November 7, 2020. Hernbroth. Megan. Business Insider. May 7, 2019.
  22. Web site: Liquid Death Raises $9M to Make Canned Water Cool. https://web.archive.org/web/20200303001410if_/https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/20/liquid-death-series-a/. March 3, 2020. Tech Crunch. Ha. Anthony. February 20, 2020.
  23. Web site: Liquid Death Creeps into Stores Nationally. https://web.archive.org/web/20201101013545/https://dot.la/liquid-death-mountain-water-2647827209.html. November 1, 2020. Abdollah. Tami. September 25, 2020. dot.la.
  24. Web site: Liquid Death Raises Additional $23 Million. Cutchin. James. LA Business Journal. September 29, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201027031512/https://labusinessjournal.com/news/2020/sep/29/liquid-death-raises-23-million-series-b-round/. October 27, 2020.
  25. Web site: 7-Eleven Gives 25 Small Brands a Test Run. https://web.archive.org/web/20201130232307/https://www.cspdailynews.com/snacks-candy/7-eleven-gives-25-small-brands-test-run. November 30, 2020. Holtz. Steve. CSP. August 19, 2020.
  26. Web site: With its Newest Round, Liquid Death Will Exclusively 'Murder Your Thirst' at Live Nation Events. https://web.archive.org/web/20210603224433/https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/13/with-its-newest-round-liquid-death-will-exclusively-murder-your-thirst-at-live-nation-events/. June 3, 2021. Tech Crunch. Loizos. Connie. May 13, 2021.
  27. Web site: Where to Buy. https://web.archive.org/web/20211205052155/https://liquiddeath.com/pages/where-to-buy. December 5, 2021. live. December 5, 2021. Liquid Death. en.
  28. Web site: Loizos . Connie . January 4, 2022 . Liquid Death lands $75M more to expand the brand . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220221161053/https://techcrunch.com/2022/01/03/liquid-death-lands-75-million-more-in-funding-including-to-roll-out-flavored-water/ . February 21, 2022 . TechCrunch.
  29. Web site: Liquid Death, the Canned Water Company for Hipsters and Head Bangers, Doubled Its Valuation OvernightThe brand that tells customers to 'murder your thirst' is now a unicorn.. inc.com. Blum. Sam. March 12, 2024. March 24, 2024. 24 March 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240324150000/https://www.inc.com/sam-blum/liquid-death-the-canned-water-company-for-hipsters-and-headbangers-doubled-its-valuation-overnight.html. live.
  30. Web site: Liquid Death Releases a Second Album Inspired by its Worst Online Reviews [Updated]]. The Takeout. Robicelli. Allison. November 17, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201128110451/https://thetakeout.com/liquid-death-punk-album-inspired-by-bad-online-reviews-1843202680. November 28, 2020.
  31. Web site: Company Turns Hateful Social Media Comments Into Death Metal Album. https://web.archive.org/web/20201102040157/https://loudwire.com/company-liquid-death-hateful-comments-metal-album/. November 2, 2020. Loudwire. May 4, 2020. Trapp. Philip.
  32. Web site: Here's how Liquid Death Turned Hate Comments into a Punk Album. https://web.archive.org/web/20210217123457/https://www.altpress.com/features/liquid-death-album-greatest-hates-interview/. February 17, 2021. AltPress. Serra. Maria. December 2, 2020.
  33. Alkaline Trio & Rise Against Members Help Liquid Death Water Turn Hate Tweets into a Punk Album. https://web.archive.org/web/20210120070910/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/9486200/liquid-death-mountain-water-releases-greatest-hates-vol-2-album-hater-comments/. January 20, 2021. Billboard. Mamo. Heran. November 18, 2020.
  34. News: Stanley . T. L. . Liquid Death Scored With Its Ad Starring Hard-Partying Kids . March 8, 2022 . AdWeek . February 14, 2022 . subscription. https://web.archive.org/web/20220311125855/https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/liquid-death-scored-with-its-regional-super-bowl-ad-starring-hard-partying-kids/. March 11, 2022. live.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Liquid Death".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.