Canned Water Startup, Liquid Death Raised $9M in Series A
Liquid Death won over a lot of investors due to its promise of murdering your thirst. This startup announced that they already raised around $9 million in their Series A funding. This company uses a tallboy aluminum can to sell its water.
Right now, Liquid Death plans to expand its lineup with sparkling water, expected to ship in March. Its 12-pack costs around $18.99, regardless of whether it’s regular or sparkling mountain water, according to its website.
CEO and Co-founder Mike Cessario worked as a copywriter and creative director for various companies like VaynerMedia. He said in a statement that his goal is to make a brand that’s both sustainable and healthy. It’s a product that will be just as exciting as other drinks like soda and energy drinks.
Their tagline, as well as their aggressive, heavy metal-influenced art and tongue-in-cheek approach to marketing, reflects this stance. With that, this startup continues to expand its efforts. Their latest campaign, “Keep the Underworld Beautiful”, entreats customers to save Hell from the plague of plastic bottles.
Cessario said that launching a new brand requires insane shareability to survive without having millions of dollars for advertising. Production alone is already hard enough to fund. That’s why it’s always better to get organic shares through funnier, more irreverent marketing methods.
The message resonates with their demographic, fortunately. After all, at least 20 random customers got their Liquid Death tattoos. Cessario said that their emphasis on branding left him to wonder whether the product was a side note.
Regardless, Cessario knows that branding is the most distinguishing factor for food and beverage products. He stated that consumers aren’t naïve since they don’t believe that one product is much better than the other. That means customers will stick with brands they feel most in touch with.
To make Liquid Death into something more than a novelty purchase, Cessario said that people who buy it should enjoy drinking it. When they get a cold can of their product, they will come back since they liked the experience. He said that he tried out the product and found that it’s perfectly fine water.
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Cessario argued that the brand goes beyond loud marketing and focuses more on sustainability. The company makes sure that their aluminum cans come from 70% recycled material, and that it’s infinitely recyclable. This makes the packaging eco-friendlier compared to plastic bottles.
Another thing to consider is that Liquid Death donates 5 cents for every can sold to nonprofit organizations. Some of these include 5 Gyres and the Thirst Project. The former helps to fight plastic pollution while the latter focuses on giving more access to clean drinking water across the globe.
Some critics pointed out that packaged water isn’t as sustainable as filling up a reusable container. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in an aluminum can. But Cessario isn’t against this, but he responded that it’s unrealistic for over 300 million people to do this 100% of the time.
That’s why he encourages people to turn to Liquid Death when reusable bottles are unavailable.
