Insider Ep. 51: The ‘Death’ of Modern Brands

In this episode, we’re joined by Mike Cessario, the founder and CEO of Liquid Death, a canned water brand whose heavy metal vibe and edgy marketing has generated considerable online buzz and attracted  funding from a range of prominent investors.

As part of our interview, Cessario spoke about the rapid rise of Liquid Death, which earlier this year raised $1.6 million in a seed round that included Dollar Shave Club founder/CEO Michael Dubin and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, and how his experience as an ad exec and as a creative director for Netflix played into the creation of the brand. He also explained why he views Liquid Death as a rebuke to extreme marketing, and how the company attempts to communicate authenticity.

Show notes:

1:18: We Open With Hope and Beth -- NOSH’s Beth Kaiserman, who joined the team in April, discussed her experience as a food writer and reporter, and, along with the show’s regular hosts, riffed on non-alcoholic beer, better-for-you Bugles, non-dairy dip, and negronis, among other topics.

13:33: Interview: Mike Cessario, Founder/CEO, Liquid Death -- In a call with BevNET reporter Brad Avery, Cessario discussed the development of Liquid Death, which was born out of his passion for music, design and counter-culture. He spoke about cutting his teeth in the beverage industry as the founder of a brandy company and how he drew upon his experience for the creation and launch of Liquid Death. Later, he explained why upstart CPG companies must “do and say things that big brands would never do,” and how his team is attempting to dissect and harness broad appeal for Liquid Death. Finally, he talked about the surprising reaction to the brand’s “Sell Your Soul” campaign.

Brands in this episode: Infinite Session, From the Ground Up, Hope Foods, Picnik, Prymal, MALK, Granny Squibb’s, Liquid Death, Hendrick’s Gin, Sailor Jerry Rum, Monster Energy, Red Bull, Full Throttle, Bang Energy, LaCroix