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The myth of aluminum rebellion

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Hillary Lyons

Aluminum can of water floating in ocean

Aluminum canned water, with brand names such as Proud Source, Liquid Death, and PATH Water, has emerged from near-novelty status in the 1990s to become a fast-growing segment of the beverage market. How is it continuing to gain traction today, when people so often identify drinking water with plastic bottles?

Bottled water, a couple hundred years ago, symbolized health and sophistication; it came to consumers in glass containers. Branding was rooted in the mountain valleys where that water was sourced, the gushing springs where it was abundant. These select and pristine natural areas truly had better-tasting water, thanks to their unique trace mineral profiles. Glass factories were stood up rapidly by these points of noteworthy freshwater origination to handle an exponentially growing demand for glass bottles.

Today, bottled water is most often associated with convenience, and it’s most often purchased in a plastic bottle. Cheaper to produce, lighter to transport, markedly more durable than a container made with glass. Those plastic bottles, in their abundance, considering the amount of bottled water we all drink has increased a lot since the 1700s, now a million bottles every minute globally, comes with a staggering environmental cost and a whole lot of microplastic exposure. That message hasn’t reached consumers all that much, though. 88% of Americans say they have a positive opinion of water bottled in plastic.

But tomorrow, when consumer demand catches up?

Single-use containers of water will likely come to you in aluminum cans or paper boxes. They’ll come with a more heartfelt sourcing, wellness, and sustainability story, like those original glass bottled water companies from centuries ago.

Beverage giants like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have ramped up aluminum packaging in recent years, testing brands like Smartwater and Aquafina in cans to meet consumer demand for sustainability-friendly formats.

And some of those original stalwart brands that were founded on using glass bottles—such as The Mountain Valley Spring Water, which has been operating out of the United States for over 150 years—already anticipate this shift and are making a transition to aluminum packaging in particular. In that growing market segment, they’ll find stiff, start-up competition.

What makes aluminum cans and bottles great

Plastic bottles can only be recycled so many times before the plastic is spent, but the aluminum in a tall or stout aluminum can? That’s a rare kind of material. Recyclable from now to the end of time—infinitely. At least, that’s what aluminum canned water upstarts, led by the likes of Liquid Death, will tell you throughout their marketing materials. And, in effect, it’s true: 75% of all aluminum ever produced is still in use today, where as only 9% of all plastic ever produced has been recycled. But what’s better may still not be best.

What is Liquid Death?

Liquid Death is a consumer packaged goods company with a bold stance against plastic. Their #DeathToPlastic campaign, which points out that 86% of plastic bottles in the U.S. end up in landfills, not recycling plants, is as direct as it gets. It’s also speaking truth to power: plastic bottles are a gargantuan problem. They clog ecosystems and lingers for centuries in the environment. Big Beverage companies know they need to make fewer plastic bottles but keep failing to actually cut back.

Where does Liquid Death water come from?

Liquid Death’s story begins in 2009, when Mike Cessario, a former creative director, saw a major product opportunity. He noticed that bands and fans at the Warped Tour concert series he was attending in Denver, Colorado were sipping water from already-spent cans of Monster energy drinks.

Curious.

Drinking water from a plastic bottle didn’t look inherently lame until you saw someone doing it from an aluminum tall boy. And why couldn’t products that were actually good for you, like water, also have branding that was cool or irreverent, like Monster?

That’s when it clicked for Cessario. A beverage that looked like an energy drink, with marketing that swaggered like a craft beer, all while the product itself was clean and hydrating. Selling plain spring water in a can was more of a branding challenge than a sourcing or even bottling one. With an audacious tagline—“Murder your thirst”—Cessario set out to make water fun, even edgy.

Cessario’s team threw out the traditional bottled water advertising playbook. Instead of serene mountain or oceanic imagery, shades of blue and green, Liquid Death opted for metal bands, memes, streetware and skate culture. Black and white aluminum cans emblazoned with gold lettering. Water gives you life; Liquid Death has a human skull engulfed in fire printed on its aluminum packaging.

This blog is a part of an editorial series from Bevi that covers the rise of iconic drink brands. Learn more about the full series >> here.

The Liquid Death marketing playbook defies convention

Remember Liquid Death’s Super Bowl ad from a couple years ago? The one titled “Breaking the Law,” which featured kids partying hard with cans of Liquid Death as if they were heavily inebriated and in fantastic spirits as a result. A cheeky finger in the side of your preconceived notions regarding which beverages make use of aluminum cans.

Or this ad spot titled, “Kegs for Pregs,” which featured collegiate field hockey player and modern media personality Kylie Kelce, glowingly and literally pregnant at the time of filming. The title of the campaign says the rest.

Liquid Death is also known for their limited edition merchandise releases and partnerships, including a skateboard infused with Tony Hawk’s blood. Yes, the most famous and influential skateboarder in human history had a vile of his actual blood drawn up for that.

By leaning into humor, rebellion, and sports, Liquid Death carved out a new identity for canned water that matched the much sleeker aluminum material it was made of. By 2024, just seven years after its founding, Liquid Death had amassed millions of social media followers.

Who owns Liquid Death? Private equity backs up the transition to aluminum cans

Liquid Death is owned by Supplying Demand, Inc., a company founded by Mike Cessario. The brand has attracted investments from notable figures, including Michael Dubin, founder and CEO of Dollar Shave Club, and Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter. 

Behind the punk rock attitude lies serious business acumen. Liquid Death’s rapid rise attracted major investor attention. After several funding rounds, including a $67 million raise in 2024, the company achieved a $1.4 billion valuation—all for selling canned water and a handful of flavored variants.

Liquid Death didn’t stop at still water. In 2020, they expanded their lineup to include flavored sparkling options with names like “Mango Chainsaw” and “Severed Lime,” leaning into the brand’s irreverent style. Their distribution network also grew exponentially, from niche festivals to mainstream giants like Whole Foods, Target, Publix, and 7-Eleven.

Looking ahead, we can expect more brands to try different branding and packaging angles like Liquid Death has and canned water could very well become the norm. Yet, it’s important to remain critical: will these shifts genuinely serve sustainability? The answer is most certainly not.

Aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and the disposable mindset

Aluminum might beat plastic in the recyclability Olympics, but the medal it’s wearing is made with fool’s gold.

Producing new aluminum cans is still energy-intensive, and despite high recyclability, not every can makes it to the recycling bin. 75% of all aluminum ever produced may still be in circulation today, but only 43% of aluminum cans in the U.S. are getting recycled every year. Captain, we’ve got a serious leak.

A majority of the single-use aluminum cans we’re cracking open are destined for landfills or otherwise lost in the waste stream. Aluminum cans may not be shedding millions of microplastics into the environment like plastic bottles. But these cans are still creating unnatural waste, harming animals and plants, polluting our water and land.

The real issue with plastic bottles is the same for aluminum cans: it’s selling convenience

Swapping one single-use material for another doesn’t tackle the root problem. Our addiction to disposability remains. As PlasticsToday aptly noted, even aluminum can’t kill the damage done by “single-use thinking.” A can of water shipped across the country in a refrigerated truck racks up carbon miles, no matter how recyclable the vessel.

So yes, aluminum canned water is a step up from plastic bottled water. But it’s not a solution. It’s not the tomorrow we should champion. Real sustainability means rethinking the system entirely. Stopping the production of single-use containers. Instead, we should rely on the water already available to us on tap. Recycling is good, but reducing? Far, far better.

Plus, no matter what the marketing suggests, bottled and canned water isn’t the purest, most highly-filtered water available. Packaged water in general isn’t subjected to the same rigorous oversight as municipal tap water. Studies have shown cans of sparkling water contain PFAS, or forever chemicals, likely introduced during the manufacturing process. So while aluminum packaging may feel like a greener choice, the type bottling doesn’t equate to a cleaner final product.

The future of hydration

Liquid Death’s journey from quirky startup to billion-dollar powerhouse underscores the power of branding in reshaping consumer behavior. They took one of the simplest and most commoditized products imaginable—water—and proved that great marketing can sell anything. The rise is a part of the bigger story of how we bottle freshwater. Even when we’re far from a pristine mountain valley, we want that beverage experience.

But while aluminum cans are a step up from plastic, they’re not a leap forward. Just another 19.2 oz tombstone in the graveyard of convenience culture. Filtering water at the source and putting it in a reusable bottle is infinitely better than infinite recyclability. Next time you see an aluminum can of water at a concert or the grocery store, appreciate the brilliance of the branding. Then remember that the truly rebellious choice doesn’t come in a can.

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Hillary Lyons

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