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- This $1.4B Brand Sells Water. Yes, Water
This $1.4B Brand Sells Water. Yes, Water
No tech. No features. Just brilliant marketing.
Vivek Nanda
June 08, 2025
In partnership with
Hello and welcome to the 171st edition of Fresh Salmon.
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What Happens When You Make Water Feel Like Metallica?
In 2019, a former creative director launched Liquid Death, a canned water brand with a skull logo, death-metal aesthetics, and the tagline:
“Murder Your Thirst.”
It was absurd.
It was brilliant.
And in five years, it became a $1.4B brand.
For a product no one thought needed branding — water.
But here’s the kicker…
Liquid Death didn’t win by being the best water.
It won by being the best story.
Liquid Death’s Strategy in a Can
Here’s what they did incredibly well — and why it matters:
1. They Gave Water an Enemy
Boring, blue plastic bottles.
Fake health vibes.
Corporate wellness BS.
Liquid Death turned that into a villain — and positioned themselves as the punk-rock savior.
B2B Lesson:
Give your product a villain.
Frame your offer as a rebellion.
Not “a better CRM,” but “the end of spreadsheet hell.”
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2. They Branded Identity, Not Just Utility
No one buys Liquid Death for hydration.
They buy it because it’s fun to hold at a party.
It says: I’m edgy, but I don’t drink soda.
It became a social signal. A merch brand. A tribe.
B2B Lesson:
Stop selling features.
Start branding the identity your customers want to claim.
“This tool makes you the smartest marketer in the room.”
3. They Tested Story Before Product
Before water even existed, the founder ran $1.5K in Facebook ads.
The video went viral. 80,000+ fans.
Proof of concept before production.
B2B Lesson:
Your landing page is your MVP.
Your story is your product.
Test message-market fit before you build.
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4. They Made Their Audience the Hero
Their fans don’t feel like customers.
They feel like co-conspirators.
Wearing skull merch, sharing videos, joining a death cult of water.
B2B Lesson:
Make your customers feel part of something bigger.
Show their wins. Celebrate their beliefs. Turn your tool into a movement.
B2B Takeaways — What You Can Steal from Liquid Death
Move | How to Apply it in B2B |
|---|---|
Find a villain | Who or what is the “boring plastic bottle” in your industry? |
Sell identity, not product | What does your buyer become by using you? Not what do they get. |
Test story first | Spend $500 on messaging validation before 5 months on dev. |
Turn users into believers | Give them tools, swag, language, memes — make it a badge. |
Make the boring unboring | If they made water cool… what’s your excuse? |
One-Liner to Steal:
"You don’t need a better product. You need a better enemy and a story worth believing."
Interesting Thing That I Wrote This Week
That’s it for this week! If you found this newsletter valuable, share it with a friend.
See you next time!
Do what is good for your soul ❤️
All the best,
Vivek
PS. Whenever you are ready, here are 3 ways in which I can help you and your business:
#1: B2B Marketing Consulting and Go-To-Market Advisory for your business.
#2: 1-on-1 Personal Coaching and Mentoring on anything related to Marketing and Go-To-Market Strategies for you.
#3: Promoting you or your brand via this newsletter.
For any of these things just shoot me a reply, and we will arrange a time to chat.