Supplying Demand, Inc.,

doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

Liquid Death, is a

canned water Canned water is drinking water, including spring water, artesian spring water, purified water, carbonated water and mineral water, packaged in beverage cans made of aluminium or tin-plated steel. Individual serving aluminium cans and bottles are ...

company founded by Mike Cessario, headquartered in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, United States. Its tagline is "murder your thirst". The drink is sold in a , "tallboy"

drink can A drink can (or beverage can) is a metal container with a polymer interior designed to hold a fixed portion of liquid such as carbonated soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, fruit juices, teas, herbal teas, energy drinks, etc. Drink cans exterior ...

and a can. As of 2023, its water was canned by Wilderness Asset Holdings LLC in Virginia, US. The drink began selling to consumers on its website in January 2019. In March 2024, the company was valued at $1.4 billion. Liquid Death currently has 14 flavors.

Products

The drink is sold in a "tallboy"

. In 2020, the brand introduced a

sparkling water Carbonated water is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, either artificially injected under pressure, or occurring due to natural geological processes. Carbonation causes small bubbles to form, giving the water an effervescent qualit ...

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 Calorie restriction (CR, also known as caloric restriction or energy restriction) is a dietary regimen that reduces the energy intake from foods and beverages without incurring malnutrition. The possible effect of calorie restriction on body we ...

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 nat ...

(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 Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...

, 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. All tea flavors 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 was no longer sourced from the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. It is now bottled in

Bland County, Virginia Bland County is a county located in the southwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county seat is the unincorporated area of Bland. At the 2020 census, the population was 6,270. Bland County was created in 1861 from parts of ...

or Custer County, Idaho (according to the label on cans).

History

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

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

Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...

in 2009 where concertgoers drank water out of

Monster Energy Monster Energy is a brand of energy drink, energy drinks that was created by Hansen Natural Company (now Monster Beverage Corporation) in April 2002. In 2022, Monster Energy had a 30.1% Market share, share of the American energy drink market, th ...

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 The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency in the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark ...

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 a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

, more than brands such as

Aquafina Aquafina () is an American brand of water purification, purified bottled water that is produced by PepsiCo, consisting of both water, unflavored and flavored water, flavored water. The Aquafina brand name is also licensed for use on multiple s ...

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 ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

as a "lifestyle play". A move similar to The Coca-Cola Company's attempt to sell

OK Soda OK Soda is a discontinued soft drink created in 1993 that courted the American Generation X demographic with unusual advertising tactics, including neo-noir design, chain letters and deliberately negative publicity. After the soda did not sell we ...

on "feeling" rather than taste. Cessario stated the brand was initially marketed towards

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

adherents and fans of

heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a Music genre, 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 band ...

and

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

. The drink began selling to consumers on its website in January 2019. Liquid Death raised US$1.6 million in

seed funding Seed money, also known as seed funding or seed capital, is a form of securities offering in which an investor puts capital in a startup company in exchange for an equity stake or convertible note stake in the company. The term ''seed'' suggests ...

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 Whole Foods Market, Inc. (colloquially referred to as simply Whole Foods) is an American multinational supermarket chain store, chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from Hydrogenated fat, hydrogenated fats and artificia ...

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'' ( ...

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

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc. is an American convenience store chain, headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Seven-Eleven Japan, which in turn is owned by the retail holdings company Seven & I Holdings. The chain was founde ...

stores in the

and

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

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 multinational Entertainment industry, entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of Live Nation (events promoter), Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It ...

, 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., Trade name, doing business as Publix, is an employee ownership, employee-owned American supermarket Chain store, chain headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, Publix is a Privately h ...

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 Axios commonly refers to: * Axios (river), a river that runs through Greece and North Macedonia * ''Axios'' (website), an American news and information website Axios may also refer to: Brands and enterprises * Axios, a brand of suspension produ ...

'', 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 Death metal is an extreme metal, 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 death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

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 NFL season, 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2021 Los Angeles Rams season, Los Angeles ...

, 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. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

's song "

Breaking the Law "Breaking the Law" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, originally released on their 1980 album '' British Steel''. The song is one of the band's better known singles, and is readily recognized by its opening guitar riff. Comp ...

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

Notes

References

External links