Liquid Death, the canned water startup, announced it raised $9 million in Series A funding to help push the hardcore brand into more brick-and-mortar retailers.
Co-founder and CEO Mike Cessario told Cheddar they were able to raise the money "fairly quickly" after deciding to expand beyond online sales.
"It wasn't until we really realized that we wanted to start going heavy into the more traditional brick-and-mortar retail space, that obviously gets a lot more capital intensive," Cessario said.
Cessario, who is a punk rock and heavy metal fan, says there weren't many healthy brands marketing to rock and roll subcultures and saw that as an opportunity to be creative in the brand marketing.
"There were really no healthy brands that were speaking anywhere near that kind of demographic. At the end of the day we wanted to take the healthiest thing you can drink and build a really fun, entertaining brand around it," Cessario said.
Hence the Liquid Death "murder your thirst" tagline that combines an aggressive and tongue-in-cheek approach to marketing. The company continues to roll with the same branding in its new advertising campaign "Keep the Underworld Beautiful" that is asking customers to save Hell from plastic bottle waste.
Although the branding is the most visual element of the company's ethos, Cessario says it's not the company's only priority. Liquid Death prides itself on its aluminum cans that contain over 70 percent recycled material and that it exclusively ships products by boat to reduce its carbon footprint.
"We ship by boat to the U.S., which most people don't realize sea freight is the most carbon-efficient mode of transportation that exists," Cessario said.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
Hear from Gabino & Stephen Roche on Saphyre’s institutional AI platform that centralizes pre‑ and post‑trade data, redefining settlement speed and accuracy.
