Canned water company Liquid Death is claiming they were pressured into changing the name of its lemonade-iced tea combination beverage.
The drink, which launched as “Armless Palmer” in early 2023, has been rebranded to “Dead Billionaire,” the company announced in an Instagram post.
The company claims it was threatened with legal action by a “large enterprise” for its use of the word “Palmer.”
“It’s the [exact] same thing, only now it has a way cooler name that won’t require us to fight a senseless legal battle with a large enterprise who sent us a letter saying we can’t use the word ‘Palmer’ and who is also partnered with a giant iced tea corporation,” the company wrote on Instagram. “Both of whom have far more $$$ to burn on legal fees than we do.”
Golf legend Arnold Palmer‘s name has become synonymous with the lemonade-iced tea concoction because he often ordered the mixture on the golf course. People started copying this order, and the rest is beverage history. His image and namesake have been used by AriZona Beverages for the mix since 2002, per USA Today.
At the time of his death in 2016, Palmer had a net worth of $1.4 billion, per Forbes.
“Dead Billionaire” is now available on Amazon and will be in retail stores by 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, per the Washington Post. The company is now worth $700 million.
Reaction to the product’s old (and new) name has been mixed.
Liquid Death was profiting from Palmer’s namesake. Then, when the Palmer family took action to prevent this, Liquid Death disgustingly mocked Palmer by renaming their beverage “Dead Billionaire”. I can’t believe a company that big could be so outwardly low class.
— Nathan R. Watt (@NathanWatt724) November 28, 2023
Liquid death is satanic. Arnold Palmer was a fantastic golfer from Latrobe, PA, a hero to the blue collar man. Way more than a ‘dead billionaire’
— I need to pray (@obamnaphone) November 28, 2023
Liquid Death renamed their drink from “Armless Palmer” to “Dead Billionaire” after Arnold Palmer’s estate allegedly threatened to sue them.
The company proves once again why their branding is top-tier. pic.twitter.com/mYBsf74HZf
— Bruce Hamilton (@iBruceHamilton) November 29, 2023
