Jul 25, 2025 (MarketLine via COMTEX) --
CEO Mike Cessario announced the prospective launch of the Sparkling Energy line last week.
Liquid Death's energy drinks entry might be just what the doctor ordered to pump up sales in the otherwise saturated soft beverages category.
When Liquid Death launched on the market in 2019, it was with a single category in canned water. A quirky punk-style design, a better-for-you focus and the catchy punchline to aEURoemurder your thirstaEUR were expected to pull in consumers.
Canned water is still the groupaEUR(TM)s core product but it has also ventured into flavoured sparkling waters and iced teas. And the business has now announced another expansion into energy drinks.
The Sparkling Energy line will launch in the US in January. The drinks will not have any sugar or the alternative sucralose aspartame sweetener, along with an aEURoeunextremeaEUR level of caffeine, founder and CEO Mike Cessario said in a statement on LinkedIn last week.
In March last year, the business raised $67m in an investment round, which it said valued the group at $1.4bn. Retail sales reached $263m in 2024.
Speaking to Just Drinks later that year, then-CFO Karim Sadik-Khan said that outside the US, the business was present in the UK, Ireland, Germany and Australia.
Early in 2025, however, the company's growth momentum appeared to be decelerating, with reports detailing Liquid DeathaEUR(TM)s pause in its international operations.
As the business focuses on its domestic market for now, a move into energy makes sense given itaEUR(TM)s an area the company says its customers are already playing in. As Cessario said in his statement: aEURoeEnergy drinks are the number one item purchased with Liquid Death in a basket.aEUR
The companyaEUR(TM)s chief clearly sees an opportunity to lock in loyal consumers through one of their regular drinks purchases and perhaps gain some sales momentum.
Nevertheless, in an already saturated market with heavy competition, can Liquid Death stand out from the dominant brands in the segment, and will the move give the business a sustainable boost long term?
Expanding audienceAs Cessario said last week, the business sees its current range of products being bought most frequently alongside energy drinks, so a move into an area where they know customers are already playing makes sense. AA
As well as attracting already loyal consumers, Brent Vrdoljak, the founder of FMCG marketing firm Mind Control, also sees energy as a way for Liquid Death to expand its audience to drinkers who may be aware of the brand but just havenaEUR(TM)t seen an appeal in its current line-up.
aEURoeThis probably opens them up to a whole new audience set who like their brand, like what they do, but just wouldn't really drink regularly, like drink sparkling water on a regular occasion,aEUR he explains.
aEURoeThat ability to activate their audience better gives them an advantage to enter this market because they've already established such high awareness. And now it's probably a better opportunity to convert audiences.aEUR
This probably opens them up to a whole new audience set who like their brand, like what they do, but just wouldn't really drink regularly, like drink sparkling water on a regular occasion
Brent Vrdoljak, founder, Mind Control
Liquid DeathaEUR(TM)s energy entrance marks another attempt by the group in expanding into multiple non-alcoholic drinks categories under a single brand. And it's a move that is quite unique within the non-alcoholic category, according to Richard Wyborn, a partner at UK-based food-and-drinksAconsultancy Food Strategy Associates.
aEURoeTo what extent do you find brands that play across non-alcoholic beverage types? You don't see that very often,aEUR he says. aEURoeCokeaEUR(TM)s not playing with a single brand across multiple types. MonsteraEUR(TM)s not playing outside of its space. Red Bull, likewise, they're staying in their lanes.aEUR
Liquid Death is working to prove it can play in multiple areas, with the support of one brand and a better-for you and more environmentally friendly USP. The mountain water product pushes itself as a product containing water aEURoefrom real American mountain rangesaEUR in aEURoeinfinitely recyclable cansaEUR.
The groupaEUR(TM)s soda-flavoured sparkling waters and iced teas, meanwhile, also highlight having much lower sugar than other competitors, but still having the flavour that consumers are looking for.
Fighting competitionWhile Liquid DeathaEUR(TM)s one-brand approach for multiple drinks categories is distinctive compared to other players in soft drinks or energy, whether its prospective energy drink is unique enough to grab consumers in a competitive category is less clear.
According to Vrdoljak, the groupaEUR(TM)s brand positioning could do a lot to help carry the Sparkling Energy product.
aEURoeThat type of positioning is kind of unique in energy. You've got Red Bull about extreme sports and, lots of different spaces there. But is anyone a bit satirical, playing on capitalism in the way that Liquid Death do? I don't think so. And the category is really controlled by most of the big [drinks] giants, right? So being independent and breaking through, itaEUR(TM)s interesting.aEUR
Liquid Death will certainly need a strong differentiator to make it stand out, especially given the energy category has had some brands playing there for several decades (e.g. Red Bull).
aEURoeThe one observation and the one caveat is that whilst water is a tired space that is ripe for disruption, that's not the case in energy drinks,aEUR explains Wyborn at Food Strategy Associates.
aEURoeMonster and Red Bull are absolute trains. Celsius is flying. Alani Nu is flying. You know, you've got a lot of brands that are really taking offaEUR and therefore, the question is, what is Liquid Death bringing that is new to the party?aEUR
The one observation and the one caveat is that whilst water is a tired space that is ripe for disruption, that's not the case in energy drinks.
Richard Wyborn, partner, Food Strategy Associates
From the initial details provided by CEO Cessario, one of the key features of the Sparkling Energy products is a lower caffeine level (100mg), which he said was an aEURoeunextremeaEUR amount and aEURoeequal to a cup of coffeeaEUR.
The energy line also wonaEUR(TM)t contain any sugar or aspartame sweetener, nor artificial colours or dyes, but will contain vitamins B and C, L-Theanine and magnesium. It positions the Sparkling Energy drinks in the better-for-you segment of energy, where the likes of CelsiusaEUR(TM) Alani Nu and Keurig Dr PepperaEUR(TM)s Ghost also sit.
When it comes to the liquid itself, Wyborn says it is aEURoeundifferentiatedaEUR from other better-for-you players already in energy. The aEURoeunextremeaEUR caffeine level is not exactly novel, he argues, with a 250ml can of Red Bull containing 80mg.
He also points out that while the business may be looking to offer a healthier proposition within energy and a more moderate caffeine level, it might not be enough to grasp consumers when the category in the US is seeing levels of caffeine aEURoepushing higher and higher and higheraEUR.
Ivan Izus Torossian, a consulting director at Just Drink's parent company GlobalData, also notes the groupaEUR(TM)s energy product is aEURoea smart moveaEUR, but he admits the business may need to eventually feed that demand for a greater buzz.
aEURoeI feel at some point, very soon people will be asking if you want to convert people from Monster or from Red Bull to Liquid Death, they will need to have a higher caffeine option, in my opinion. That will happen sooner rather than later,aEUR he says.
Global opportunityIn comparison to its other drinks categories, aEURoeenergy is a different sort of beastaEUR, says Vrdoljak at Mind Control.
aEURoeIf you look at more global markets, I think it's probably a more likely winner for them given the consumption behaviour and growth in those segments. I think on that lens, it makes sense.aEUR
While the groupaEUR(TM)s focus for now is on the US, a shift into energy could provide Liquid Death with a new way back into international markets, according to some.
For Vrdoljak, the move into energy wonaEUR(TM)t have much impact on the groupaEUR(TM)s overall brand positioning because it is one that already has some global recognition. But the energy move itself, he says, could mean the brand performs better internationally.
AaEURoeI don't think they'll change at all. I think they'll just keep hammering down, doing it the way they're doing it, because it seems to work,aEUR he says. aEURoeThey have this platform, with a global social audience, it makes sense to me that they're trying to find products that are more globally appealing.aEUR
Energy could also be a slightly easier sell for Liquid Death globally than canned water, given consumers are more likely to pay slightly more for energy than water products, he explains.
The Sparkling Energy drinks line-up. Credit: Mike Cessario/LinkedIn aEURoePrice points are more acceptable where there's more margin in the category. Like canned water or even bottled water is in other markets, it's just not as established, so the price point plays so different," Vrdoljak says. "Whereas people are used to paying a premium for a can of energy drink, and that's why there's more margin in it.
aEURoeThey could probably afford, better go-to-market plans. I think they'll be back in the UK. They took more of a soft exit, like aEUR~we're pausing salesaEUR(TM), so IaEUR(TM)ll be interested to see how the energy rollout goes in the US.aEUR
GlobalDataaEUR(TM)s Torossian agrees with Vrdoljak, noting the launch aEURoecould actually be their bridge to global marketsaEUR.
Some issues the company faced in the UK, he explains, were retail and distribution hurdles, and a aEURoecultural disconnectaEUR over the brand tone that didnaEUR(TM)t resonate in the same way as it did in the US. Another hurdle it faced was aEURoea can confusionaEUR, with the taller cans being seen by consumers more as aEURoecraft beer or [a] prank productaEUR, which the company is less likely to experience with an energy drink, he says.
aEURoeIt's always great, not just with this example, but in most industries or categories to make the most out of your current local market before expanding, unless you have distribution networks, which in this case, did not happen," Torossian added.
Not everyone agrees that a move into energy makes it easier for a business to scale internationally.
aEURoeEveryone thinks it's super easy to grow international. It's not,aEUR says Wyborn. aEURoeThere are a thousand energy drinks that have launched in the US and failed. Someone pops, but that doesn't mean that that pop is replicable internationally. Having said that, you've got Monster, which is one of the most phenomenal cases for possibly working. But, I mean, Monster did all of this 20 years ago. Energy didn't.aEUR
What about the core business?Liquid DeathaEUR(TM)s move into energy can be seen as a positive expansion of the companyaEUR(TM)s non-alcoholic beverages line-up, giving the group new avenues for customer onboarding in its home market. And, potentially, the chance to try again with more success in global markets down the line.
As Torossian notes, the entry can be seen aEURoeas a form of risk managementaEUR by aEURoediversifying beyond your current revenue streamaEUR so it becomes less vulnerable to the market fluctuationsaEUR.
But while diversification is healthy for drinks brands, some also wonder whether bringing in another product could divert the business away from its core product in canned waters. A
As Wyborn says, aEURoeI guess a question for me is, to what extent the existing core product, the canned water, to what extent are they reaching headroom?aEUR
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