Liquid Death might sound like something that kills. In reality, its founders are set to make a killing. The 3-year-old environmentally conscious canned water startup is now valued at $700 million after its latest funding round, making it "70% of a unicorn," as Alex Wilhelm at TechCrunch points out. CNN is somewhat incredulous: "A startup that sells water in beer cans—that's literally it—is approaching a $1 billion valuation." But Liquid Death is undoubtedly a growth business. Bloomberg reports the Santa Monica, Calif.-based company did $45 million in revenue last year and is set to nearly triple it this year.
Indeed, Peter Pham of the venture fund Science Inc., which led the the $70 million round, writes on Medium that "we believe Liquid Death may be the fastest growing non-alcoholic beverage of all time. From our research, it took Monster four years and Celsius 12 years to reach the level of retail success Liquid Death has had in just three." The money raised in this round will allow for continued expansion into other beverage categories (CNN notes it currently also offers flavored seltzer with names like "Mango Chainsaw") as well as the European market, and CEO Mike Cessario says they're toying with the idea of an IPO in the next couple of years.
He tells Bloomberg his product's look was intended to come across as "unhealthy like beer or an energy drink." But the reality is the exact opposite, and "if you don't want to drink, this is way more fun." Inc. dives deeper into the company's "punky attitude," noting rapper Wiz Khalifa's praise of Liquid Death as "the finest bong water on Earth," a limited-edition skateboard that includes investor/legend Tony Hawk's blood in the paint, and a commercial starring an adult film star (watch it here).
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
