
Liquid Death Raises $23 Million To “Murder Your Thirst”
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The recent IPO of Chinese bottled water company "Nongfu Spring" made Zhong Shanshan China's richest man.
In Santa Monica, a three-year-old startup called "Liquid Death" which sells bottled water from the Austrian Alps, announced yesterday it is raising a $23 million series B funding round.
Yes, we are serious.
The Premise
Liquid Death describes itself as a "completely unnecessary approach to bottled water." It leads with the tag line "Murder Your Thirst."
But behind the extreme marketing tactics, there is a real and friendly-ish vision. The company aims to compete with sugary energy drinks such as Rockstar and Red Bull, and its aluminum can design is billed as an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic water bottles.
Murder Your Wallet: A twelve pack of its water, which comes in 16.9 ounce cans, sells for $13.99 on the company's website. Liquid Death launched in Whole Foods in February and is available in 1,000 7-Eleven outlets.
The Takeaway: The round comes after Liquid Death raised $9 million in a series A round just 7 months ago. The investment was led by an unnamed “consumer-focused family office” with participation from Pernod Ricard Group’s venture arm and punk rocker Fat Mike. Makes sense.