Liquid Death

Products

The drink is sold in a 16.9 USoz "tallboy" drink can. In 2020, the brand introduced a sparkling water variety. Its manufacturer is Supplying Demand, Inc. In addition to the original sparkling water, Liquid Death introduced four flavored carbonated beverages: Mango Chainsaw, Severed Lime, Convicted Melon, and Berry It Alive. Unlike their unflavored seltzer, these carbonated beverages ("sparkling waters") are akin to all-natural, low-calorie sodas as they contain added natural flavorings/extracts, natural acidulants and natural added sugar (from agave nectar). The sugar sparkling waters have around 20 calories each. In March 2023, the company announced three new 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 changed the name after Arizona Beverage Company threatened to sue for commercial use of the Palmer name in November 2023. All tea flavors contain agave nectar and 30 mg of caffeine.

Liquid Death is a producer of NFTs, which they called Murder Head Death Club.

As of 2023, its water was no longer sourced from the Alps. It is now bottled in Bland, Virginia or Mackay, Idaho (according to the label on the cans).

On July 17, 2025, it was announced that Liquid Death would launch a line of energy drinks in January 2026 as "better-for-you energy drink line." These will contain 100 mg of caffeine. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Liquid Death's founder, Mike Cessario, stated, "We thought, ‘Let’s have a sane level of caffeine, that’s equal to a cup of coffee, because it seems like the category has gone a little caffeine-crazy". They will also not contain sugar or artificial sweeteners like sucralose and aspartame. Four flavors were confirmed for the launch (Tropical Terror, Scary Strawberry, Orange Horror, and Murder Mystery).

On a podcast on October 17, 2025, Tim Pool called out Liquid Death owner, Mike Cessario, for not "ponying up" to honor a bet he had made. This led to a viral moment where Mike responded, only for Pool to point out that Liquid Death deceived consumers with a promise to "donate 10% of the profits from each can sold", something Mike said was false. Pool then showed supporting screenshots of Liquid Death's website saying that.

History

Delaware native Mike Cessario, a graphic designer, 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.

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. 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". A move similar to The Coca-Cola Company's attempt to sell OK Soda on "feeling" rather than taste. 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. 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), $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 in the United States, 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. 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. As of December 2021, the drink began selling in large supermarket chains such as Publix 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.

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.

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; a second album of hate comments, described as "punk rock", was released in November. 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".

Liquid Death was mentioned in The Running Man (2025), where it is an in-universe sponsor for the show.

Notes

References

References

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2. (2023-02-28). "Incorporation".
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10. McCarthy, Amy. (March 3, 2023). "Liquid Death's New Tea Tallboys Are Coming for AriZona's Neck". Eater.
11. Alcántara, Ann-Marie. (July 29, 2022). "Brands Try Turning NFTs From Kitschy Collectibles Into Something Utilitarian for Consumers". Wall Street Journal.
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17. McCarthy, Amy. (December 6, 2021). "The Cult of Liquid Death". Eater.
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20. (27 May 1994). "Coke Hopes to Sell New Drink on How It Feels, Not Tastes". [[National Public Radio]].
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22. Hernbroth, Megan. (May 7, 2019). "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". Business Insider.
23. Ha, Anthony. (February 20, 2020). "Liquid Death Raises $9M to Make Canned Water Cool". Tech Crunch.
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25. Cutchin, James. (September 29, 2020). "Liquid Death Raises Additional $23 Million". LA Business Journal.
26. Holtz, Steve. (August 19, 2020). "7-Eleven Gives 25 Small Brands a Test Run". CSP.
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30. Valinsky, Jordan. (October 4, 2022). "Liquid Death canned water company is now worth $700 million". CNN.
31. Primack, Dan. (October 4, 2022). "Canned water brand Liquid Death now valued at $700 million". [[Axios (website).
32. Blum, Sam. (March 12, 2024). "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.".
33. Robicelli, Allison. (November 17, 2020). "Liquid Death Releases a Second Album Inspired by its Worst Online Reviews [Updated]". The Takeout.
34. Trapp, Philip. (May 4, 2020). "Company Turns Hateful Social Media Comments Into Death Metal Album". Loudwire.
35. Serra, Maria. (December 2, 2020). "Here's how Liquid Death Turned Hate Comments into a Punk Album". AltPress.
36. Mamo, Heran. (November 18, 2020). "Alkaline Trio & Rise Against Members Help Liquid Death Water Turn Hate Tweets into a Punk Album".
37. (February 14, 2022). "Liquid Death Scored With Its Ad Starring Hard-Partying Kids". AdWeek.