Liquid Death may soon be looking to enter the RTD coffee category – but not if another coffee brand has anything to say about it.
Death Wish Coffee filed a trademark lawsuit on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court Central District of California Western Division alleging that Liquid Death is infringing on its trademarks with a line of soon-to-launch coffee drinks.
According to the complaint, Liquid Death has applied to register trademarks for both the Liquid Death name and “Liquid Death Deathuccino” for use on coffee beverages and could be looking to launch these products as soon as January.
The lawsuit is the first indication that Liquid Death is looking to launch coffee products. The brand, which earlier this week announced a new distribution partnership with major New York DSD house Big Geyser, has been actively innovating and expanding its platform with new product categories, including tea, powdered sticks and, in the near future, lightly caffeinated energy drinks.
While Death Wish and Liquid Death have co-existed in peace in the beverage market until now, these apparent plans to encroach on Death Wish’s territory in coffee seem to be a step too far for the business.
Death Wish relaunched its RTD coffee line in cans in March, after previously introducing a canned line in 2017.
“The Infringing Coffee Products will confuse consumers, infringe the DEATH WISH Marks, and irreparably harm Death Wish and its valuable brand,” the complaint states. “They will likely appear in the same retailers and side-by-side with Death Wish’s products in stores.… And they will share similar consumer bases and advertising, distribution, and marketing channels.”
“Liquid Death is well aware of Death Wish’s established trademark rights in the coffee market, but plans to launch the Infringing Coffee Products anyway,” the complaint adds, calling it a ‘dead-to-rights’ case of willful trademark infringement.”
Death Wish claims that it sought to avoid the lawsuit by asking Liquid Death to voluntarily withdraw the trademark applications, but that the company refused to comply.
The two morbidly marketed brands have had a friendly relationship up until now, occasionally acknowledging each other on social media. Despite being around since 2012, Death Wish claims in the suit it has been fine with another Death-themed beverage brand in the market due to the lack of direct competition, but that the larger Liquid Death – valued at $1.4 billion – now poses a significant threat to its business.
It even sees Liquid Death’s upcoming move into energy drinks as a challenge, suggesting in the complaint that Liquid Death’s marketing claims its energy products “feels like a coffee” are “a sign of its disregard for Death Wish’s trademark rights in the coffee space and a harbinger of deliberate infringement to come.”
According to trademark attorney Josh Gerben, Death Wish may have a legitimate claim, suggesting there is real concern that a Liquid Death coffee product could create consumer confusion, particularly if it utilizes the brand’s traditional packaging format of dark cans.
“Moreover, a review of the U.S. trademark register shows that very few companies have used the word ‘DEATH’ in connection with coffee products,” Gerben wrote in a blog post Wednesday. “Death Wish has essentially owned the ‘death space’ in coffee since launching in 2012. That long-standing use gives them a strong argument that Liquid Death’s entry into coffee could infringe on their rights.”
Update 10/9/25: Liquid Death responded to Death Wish on Instagram this morning, claiming it has “no real plans” to introduce a coffee product.
“Perhaps the executives at Death Wish Coffee are amped up on too much caffeine to be this paranoid about the future? Which is why the new CEO at Death Wish (Steve Gardiner) may want to consider trying our new better-for-you energy drink (coming in January) that has zero sugar, 5 calories, essential vitamins, and a sane level of caffeine (100mg),” the company stated. “And whether or not we ever go into coffee one day, we don’t believe any one company can legally own the word DEATH regardless of how it’s used. And since Death Wish publicly filed their lawsuit against a Liquid Death product that doesn’t exist, feel free to let them know on their socials whether or not you support their case.”
But in a statement to BevNET, Liquid Death appeared to leave the door open for future interest in the category, saying “Death Wish is clearly very nervous Liquid Death will one day launch a ready-to-drink coffee. We have no plans right now to actually launch a ready-to-drink coffee. However, as a multi-category brand, we are always thinking about future innovation.”