Listen "How Liquid Death founder, Mike Cessario, created a billion dollar water brand"
Episode Synopsis
Today I'm joined by Mike Cessario, the founder and CEO of Liquid Death, a water brand worth $1.4b. With the use of creative brand marketing and punk aesthetic, Mike was able to break into the biggest beverage category in the US and disrupt market dominated by huge brands such as Coke and Pepsi. This is a truly inspirational story on how you can defy the odds, break convention, disrupt a category and do it all on a shoestring budget. If you're a challenger brand, this is a must listen.Timestamps00:00:00 - Intro00:01:10 - Mike’s background00:06:24 - Mike’s brandy startup00:10:33 - Navigating regulation00:12:46 - The benefits of being an outsider distrupting an industry00:14:57 - Coming up with the idea for Liquid Death00:19:30 - How to create an innovative brand00:23:48 - Selling the Liquid Death concept00:27:08 - Raising money for Liquid Death00:29:50 - Launching on Amazon00:30:52 - Generating demand in the early days00:31:46 - Figuring out distribution networks for the drinks industry00:35:45 - Why limited budgets helped Liquid Death grow00:44:11 - Why D2C was pivotal for Liquid Death00:46:12 - Liquid Death’s unique Super Bowl campaign00:49:54 - The power of the Liquid Death merch00:53:00 - Innovation for the future of Liquid Death00:54:15 - Scaling and exit00:56:02 - Having famous investors00:57:29 - Maintaining the challenger spirit01:01:58 - Mike’s advice to aspiring founders
More episodes of the podcast Uncensored CMO
Unreasonable Marketing - lessons from the creator of the world’s #1 restaurant - Will Guidara
05/11/2025
70 Years of TV Advertising - why it works & the best ads of all time - Carolyn McCall, ITV
01/10/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.