Liquid Death closes $67 million in strategic financing including top distributors

Liquid Death, a healthy beverage platform and one of the fastest growing non-alcoholic brands, announced it has closed $67 million in financing from strategic partners and new investors including top national distributors, along with notable names in entertainment and sports.

“Liquid Death has become the fastest growing and leading brand across the water, flavored sparkling water, and iced tea categories. 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,” Mike Cessario, founder and CEO of Liquid Death, said in the announcement. “What began as appealing to inbound interest has culminated in a leading group of strategic investors from finance, entertainment and distribution backgrounds. This round, coupled with the appointment of Stephen Ballard, a seasoned sales executive and White Claw alum, will enable us to continue scaling a world-class distribution network to murder thirst and plastic bottles around the globe.”

According to the announcement, the $1.4 billion valuation is a strong increase over prior funding rounds. Distributor investors include leading distributors in North Carolina, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, and top distributors in other key markets around the country. 

Liquid Death has expanded to 113,000 retail doors across the U.S. and U.K. The company achieved over triple-digit growth for the third consecutive year, becoming a fast-growing, top water and top iced tea brand.

The company’s newest product lines, iced tea and flavored sparkling water, saw hypergrowth in 2023. Liquid Death’s flavor line is the top dollar contributor in the convenience channel to the flavored sparkling category despite being in the market for less than two years.

New institutional investors include SuRo Capital alongside follow-on investors Live Nation, Science Inc., and Gray’s Creek Capital Partners. Other prominent investors in the round include actor Josh Brolin, NFL All-Pro and entrepreneur DeAndre Hopkins, The Chapelle Show co-creator Neal Brennan, Brazil’s largest metal band Sepultura’s Derrick Green, and Australian comedian Jim Jefferies.

The funding will go toward product innovation as a multi-category beverage platform and scaling operations, the needs for which have been accelerated by higher than anticipated retailer demand for Liquid Death’s new flavored sparkling water flavors and iced tea flavors slated to launch this spring.

The news follows the launch of Death Dust, Liquid Death’s hydration sticks and first core product beyond the ready-to-drink beverage category.

This summer, Liquid Death will be prominent at music festivals, iconic music and entertainment venues and bars through its partnership with Live Nation, a longtime investor in the company, which also participated in this round.