Investors continue to pour their funds into Liquid Death, breathing new life into the non-alcoholic beverage space.
The Santa Monica-based retail beverage brand, made famous through its heavy-metal marketing for its canned refreshments, reached unicorn status on March 11, announcing $67 million in new financing, which brings its valuation up to $1.4 billion. That’s double the $700 million valuation from its series D round in 2022.
Science Inc., the Santa Monica startup incubator the brand was born out of, and Beverly Hills entertainment giant Live Nation continue to stack their chips in Liquid Death’s favor. Both companies have collectively participated in five of the company’s fundraising rounds, including this latest raise.
New investors include actor Josh Brolin and National Football League player DeAndre Hopkins.
“We continue to see extremely strong consumer and retailer demand and are proud to have raised a strategic, oversubscribed, ‘up’ round to fuel our growth,” said Mike Cessario, founder and chief executive of Liquid Death.
The company achieved $263 million in retail sales last year and expanded into 113,000 stores across the U.S. and U.K. While its product offerings continue to push new shelf space, Liquid Death is still short of profitability.
“We’re making big strides to get there and have an inherently profitable model over time,” Cessario said. “Profitability is of the utmost importance, and this latest round will help us achieve that goal.”
Liquid Death carved a niche in a saturated water market through its beer can-styled packaging. The product is available through retail, e-commerce and at a growing number of entertainment venues.
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