‘We are still in the early innings’: Liquid Death’s SVP of strategy

Liquid Death is not a standard name for a beverage brand, especially for a drink as healthy and innocuous as water. However, as unique as the brand name is, the company has taken an even more “metal” approach to marketing. From collaborations with beauty brands to tongue-in-cheek hashtags like #MurderYourThirst, – recently launched in Australia – has captured consumer attention in a way that few other brands, let alone those in the beverage category, have been able to. In 2023, Liquid Death had over 3.3 million followers on Instagram, 5.3 million followers on TikTok, and US$263 million in retail scanned sales, marking its third consecutive year of triple-digit growth. In March, the beverage brand closed a $67 million financing round, giving the company a $1.4 billion valuation. To provide a point of comparison, last year, the company was valued at approximately $700 million. So what is the secret behind Liquid Death?Inside FMCG spoke with Marisa Bertha, Liquid Death’s senior vice president, to learn more about the brand’s unconventional approach to garnering consumer attention, its recent collaborations, and its long-term goals. How Liquid Death stands out in an oversaturated beverage marketLiquid Death was founded by advertising creative turned entrepreneur Mike Cessario, who asked himself the multibillion-dollar question: “What would I want to be seen carrying around a party?”Cessario had been in the advertising industry for over a decade working for names like VaynerMedia and Netflix and noticed that funny, irreverent marketing and branding were only given to junk food-style products and never to healthy alternatives. Cessario came up with the name Liquid Death and applied for the trademark in 2017, before officially launching the brand in 2019.Liquid Death relies on a relatively simple, but effective playbook to make water, a nondescript beverage, as cool to carry around at a club as a beer can or a “monster” energy drink. As Bertha explained, Liquid Death sticks out in the market for a number of reasons, from its unique packaging to its ability to focus on sustainability. Before joining the Liquid Death team, Bertha had been with the convenience store chain 7-Eleven for almost nine years, with her last role as vice president of growth ventures. A large part of her role was assessing brands that were trying to enter 7-Eleven’s shelves and deem them worthy or not. As the executive recalled, “I spent almost a decade evaluating all of the high-growth, on-trend beverage brands to bring into stores. In my career, I’ve never seen a brand have the power of branding so early on, and the authentic relationship with customers that actually transcends beverage. By that, I mean, there’s a fandom around Liquid Death that’s actually more synonymous with your favourite band, and we see that translate when you look at our apparel and merchandise sales.”An example of Liquid Death’s merchandise includes its “flasket”, a casket-shaped flask, marked with the brand’s bold logo and skull imagery.“Looking at our very different packaging versus other brands that you see in the marketplace, even brands that are also in a can, if you did a lineup, you can distinctly see Liquid Death sticking out in a good way against the competition,” Bertha elaborated. Liquid Death is killing the marketing gameIn addition to its distinctive designs, Liquid Death has amassed a large audience thanks to its unique approach to marketing and collaborations.With tag lines like #DeathToPlastic, a cheeky nod to the recyclability of its aluminium packaging versus traditional water beverage plastic components, Liquid Death’s tongue-in-cheek marketing and edgy visuals appeal strongly to its millennial and Gen Z consumer base. An age group that is noted for seeking out authentic brand storytelling and healthier food and beverage alternatives. A prime example of the effectiveness of Liquid Death’s off-the-cuff marketing tactics is its collaboration with ELF Cosmetics. Liquid Death and ELF Cosmetics teamed up to create “Corpse Paint Vault”, a heavy metal-inspired makeup collection that was released in March. Within an hour of the collab going live, it was sold out and social media impressions of the collection’s marketing campaign went through the roof. Bertha noted, “At least on Liquid Death’s side, that ad is our highest viewed on our socials. So it was a great win across the board, the product sold out in less than an hour and there were great press opportunities in terms of reach on both sides, so nothing but success to speak to that collaboration.”What’s next in store for Liquid DeathAs reported by retail data intelligence firm SPINS, Liquid Death was the fastest-growing water brand in 2023. The firm also confirmed that Liquid Death, which launched a line of iced tea beverage flavours, drove the most dollars from innovation to the category in multi-outlet retail channels in the same year. In February, the brand expanded into a new category with the introduction of Death Dust, an electrolyte drink mix available in flavours dubbed “Severed Lime”, “Mango Chainsaw”, and “Convicted Melon”.Currently, the beverage brand is available in over 113,000 doors around the world including 7-Eleven, Kroger, Publix, Safeway, Target, Walmart, Whole Foods, and several other retail chains. In addition to launching into new beverage categories and expanding retail reach, Bertha explained that the top priority for the brand moving forward is consumer education.“We are still in the early innings,” Bertha enthused.“We’ve only been in brick-and-mortar for four years. We’re continuing to grow our household penetration and our [consumer] awareness, and not just awareness, but the education of the brand.”“You may know the name of the brand, but if you actually ask someone if they know if Liquid Death is a flavoured water, sparkling water, or iced tea, they might not know the answer and may mistake it for another beverage category.”With a name like Liquid Death and a marketing approach like no other, it’s not likely consumers will confuse this company with any other beverage company on the market anytime soon.