Canned water company Liquid Death claims they were pressured to change the name of their iced tea and lemonade combination drink.
The drink, which launched as “Armless Palmer” in early 2023, has been rebranded as “Dead Billionaire,” the company announced in an Instagram post.
The company claims it was threatened with legal action by a “big company” over the use of the word “Palmer”.
RELATED: After 3 years in business, liquid death was valued at $700 million. These are the 3 big secrets to the success of its founder.
“Is the [exact] the same thing, only now it has a cooler name that won’t force us to fight a pointless legal battle with a big company that sent us a letter saying we can’t use the word “Palmer” and is also associated with a giant iced tea corporation,” the company wrote on Instagram. “They both have a lot more $$$ to spend on legal fees than we do.”
Golf legend Arnold Palmer’s name has become synonymous with the lemonade iced tea mix because he often ordered the mixture on the golf course. People started copying this order and the rest is drink history. His image and namesake have been used by AriZona Beverages for blending since 2002, for USA Today.
At the time of his death in 2016, Palmer had a net worth of $1.4 billion, for Forbes.
“Dead Billionaire” is available now on Amazon and will be in retail stores in spring 2024, the company said.
RELATED: Strokes of Genius: 3 Business Lessons from Arnold Palmer
The canned water company was founded in 2019 by Mike Cessario and has become popular with Gen Z and millennials, who make up more than 70% of the brand’s customer base, according to the Washington Post. The company is now worth $700 million.
Reaction to the product’s old (and new) name has been mixed.
Liquid Death benefited from Palmer’s namesake. Then, when the Palmer family took steps to prevent this, Liquid Death disgustingly mocked Palmer by changing the name of his drink to “Dead Billionaire”. I can’t believe such a big company can be so low class.
— Nathan R. Watt (@NathanWatt724) November 28, 2023
Liquid death is satanic. Arnold Palmer was a great golfer from Latrobe, PA, a hero to the blue collar man. Much more than a “dead millionaire”
— I need to pray (@obamnaphone) November 28, 2023
Liquid Death changed the name of their drink from “Armless Palmer” to “Dead Billionaire” after Arnold Palmer’s estate allegedly threatened to sue them.
The company proves once again why its brand is top notch. pic.twitter.com/mYBsf74HZf
— Bruce Hamilton (@iBruceHamilton) November 29, 2023
[ad_2]
Source link
