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Liquid Death isn’t the first brand to think of putting water in aluminum cans instead of plastic. But they might be the first brand to actually make it cool.
That hip edginess that’s attracted a juicy and profitable demographic of young people (and olds) who still want to seem cool is not a happy accident. Liquid Death co-founder and CEO Mike Cessario was a former creative director at Netflix and previously played in heavy metal and punk bands. Launching in 2018, the brand was entering an already crowded water market. Most brands came packaged in single-use plastic bottles, so using a more eco-friendly material like aluminum would draw consumers looking for more sustainable alternatives to everyday products (or for folks who wanted something at a bar that looked like it maybe was a beer but 100% wasn’t).
But being more sustainable than plastic wouldn’t be enough for the kind of success Liquid Death had achieved so quickly. Nearly everyone loves sustainability, but the messaging is often dull, alarmist, or worse, political. Liquid Death would fly the sustainability flag, but it would be more Jolly Roger than Peace Sign.
Part of that strategy has included using raw, edgy, raunchy comedians and celebrities to hype the Liquid Death brand while cursing plastic to damnation. And the “Death to Plastic” messaging wasn’t ambiguous or an afterthought. Instead, Liquid Death cast itself as a bulwark against problematic polymers, mixing stark facts like the abysmal recycling rate here and abroad and that it takes centuries to degrade in the environment with less-than-subtle sexual innuendo and gross-out humor.
You could even say that Liquid Death was poised to be the water beverage brand strong enough to topple plastic bottled water. Our brand knight had finally arrived to take down single-use plastic, and he came in the form of Murder Man, a can-headed behemoth with eye nipples who wielded a battle axe.
However, Liquid Death’s latest product, Death Dust, is a powdered electrolyte drink mix, and it has us wondering if the brand has turned to the Dark Side.
Unlike Liquid Death’s RTD beverages, Death Dust’s packaging isn’t recyclable. The outer packaging is made of recyclable cardboard, yes, but each serving is contained within a single-serve sachet. According to a spokesperson for Liquid Death, Death Dust packaging “is composed largely of paper and foil and has a very thin layer of plastic to protect from oxygen and ensure the product does not become rock hard.”
For a brand hellbent on murdering plastic (and thirst, obviously), this seems like a curious choice, especially for a brand that has been sustainable from the start. Adding a new offering in a mixed-material packet doesn’t feel like it gels with their mission.
Of course, aluminum cans use plastics to line them and act as a barrier to protect the product, a fact that isn’t lost on us or some of the insufferable LinkedIn bros who love to regularly remind their followers. The small amount used doesn’t impact aluminum’s recoverability, as it either burns off or becomes part of the sludge of impurities left over from the process. Strictly speaking, most aluminum cans aren’t “plastic-free,” but the aluminum part is infinitely recyclable, and using a plastic liner doesn’t make it rejectable by Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) standards. Also, without that liner, the acidity in most foods would eat through the aluminum in days.
As for those dust packets, the multiple layers of different materials and small size means “industry standard” sachets like those used by Liquid Death are unrecyclable, as an MRF cannot process them, unlike aluminum cans.
Packaging decisions are complex, including the choice of materials. Some compromises are easier to make than others, and in some cases, an alternative to unrecyclable, single-use plastic that is also viable business-wise might not exist. An expert who understands the complicated, multidisciplinary intersection of branding and sustainability is Brandi Parker, founder of Parker Brands and co-host of the Zero Waste Creatives podcast. Parker’s thoughts on Death Dust’s packaging are more considered and balanced than many of the rants you’ll encounter online by the anti-plastic purists.
“Those chanting ‘plastic-free’ against all odds will raise their pitchforks,” Brandi says. “But, as someone who works in sustainable packaging, I know how difficult the decisions are when launching a new packaging or format, considering the long list of trade-offs that come with such a decision. In this case, packaging powder can be very challenging—a barrier alone can help keep the product from physically escaping. However, the product, in this case, also requires a very significant moisture barrier for freshness. For individual drinks like this, too, it will need a fairly low set of Cost Of Goods (COGs), so a more expensive material is not practical.”
Parker notes many of the positives of these single-serve packets, including using less overall material and a lower shipping footprint, both in volume and weight. These are all pluses for the environment compared to conventional RTD sports drinks. In powdered form, it’s less plastic per serving and has less dinosaur juice burned to distribute it.
Still, “Death to Plastic” is a significant and fundamental part of Liquid Death’s ethos. It won fans over, raised capital, and signed lucrative venue and festival contracts partly because it was a cool brand that would lead the charge against single-use plastic.
If the only option for Death Dust powder packaging is unrecyclable, “industry standard” (an ironic phrase when used by a brand like Liquid Death) sachets, then why even bother with Death Dust? Is the world so in need of yet another powdered electrolyte beverage mix that Liquid Death was forced to bend the knee and start using unrecyclable pouches containing a layer of plastic?
Julia Marsh, co-founder and CEO of Sway, a materials technology firm using seaweed, points out that Liquid Death not only made being anti-plastic such a critical piece of its branding, but it also missed a chance to mainstream one of several alternatives on the market, including Sway.
“As a designer and brand builder, I am an enormous fan of Mike Cessario. I deeply respect the entire Liquid Death brand and find their origin story to be extremely compelling from a design lens,” says Julia. “I believe the can was originally motivated by delight first, and the ‘Death to Plastic’ motto came second. However, Liquid Death is now 100% known for its firm anti-plastic stance and has funneled immense advertising dollars into that messaging.”
Marsh continues, “Liquid Death has an opportunity to herald plastic-free solutions for their powdered drink mixes, helping further mainstream plastic-free packaging. For example, a compostable paper sachet like what Blueland uses for detergent or a home compostable, cellulose-based sachet like Kencko’s smoothie sachets from Natureflex. These broadly available solutions would help elevate Liquid Death’s commitment to making earth-friendly packaging sexy.”
(Also, if anyone at Liquid Death is still reading this, Julia adds that Sway would leap at the chance to collaborate on a compostable seaweed solution for Death Dust.)
According to Liquid Death, retail sales for the brand totaled $263 million in 2023. Based on its latest funding rounds, Liquid Death’s valuation stands at $1.4 billion. That’s impressive growth by any measure. It might also mean that Liquid Death’s market position is so solid that it can take a few steps back from its ardent “Death to Plastic” messaging, and it won’t hurt the bottom line in much the same way Google abandoned its “Don’t Be Evil” philosophy over time with little financial consequence.
“I don’t think it will matter. Customers buy into Liquid Death because of the strength of its brand, not for its eco-credentials,” says Jo Barnard, founder and creative director at Morrama, a design studio focused on creating more sustainable products. “Death Dust has been live for a month or so, and there is only a handful of comments about the conflict between its death to plastic message and clear use of plastic in their sachets. Ultimately, it’s better for the environment to ship a lightweight flavor sachet for consumers to pour into their own tap water than package up water in cans, and there are many other brands with similar intentions. No doubt they will be watching keenly to see how this works out over time. To me, this feels a bit try-it-and-see, and we may well see Death Dust end up as ‘that thing they did in 2024.’”
Maybe the more cynical critics of Liquid Death’s branding were right along, and this was just empty marketing talk draped in edginess and served up to us by rock stars, celebrities, and stand-up comics. Perhaps it doesn’t matter, and Liquid Death is too big now to be toppled by some unrecyclable packaging decisions. Or it’s possible that Liquid Death is yet another example of why consumers should be wary of corporate “allies” to a cause like plastic pollution.
Regardless, Death Dust evokes some of those nagging feelings we might get when our favorite band sells out.
Rudy Sanchez is a product marketing consultant based in Southern California. Once described by a friend as her “technology life coach,” he is a techie and avid lifelong gamer. When he’s not writing or helping clients improve their products, he’s either watching comedies on Netflix, playing the latest shooter or battle royale game or out exploring the world via Ingress and Pokémon Go.
Images via DIELINE.