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.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
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.
