Liquid Death has appointed seasoned finance executive Ricky Khetarpaul as its new Chief Financial Officer.The hire comes at a pivotal moment for the $1.4 billion-valued brand, as it gears up for a 2026 launch into the $23 billion energy drink arena while fending off a fresh trademark skirmish with coffee rival Death Wish Coffee.
Khetarpaul, a 20-year veteran of the consumer goods world, steps in to replace Karim Sadik-Khan, who departed in April after less than a year on the job to assume the CFO mantle at competing health beverage maker Spindrift.
Drawing from his playbook at fast-scaling brands like PepsiCo and kombucha leader Health-Ade, Khetarpaul will oversee Liquid Death’s finance operations and report directly to founder and CEO Mike Cessario. “Building a beloved brand is the biggest challenge that even giant CPG brands struggle with—Liquid Death, in just a few short years, has built one of the biggest fanbases in beverage,” Khetarpaul said in a statement, emphasizing his vision of finance as a “growth driver” rather than a mere cost center.
Khetarpaul’s resume reads like a blueprint for beverage breakthroughs. Most recently, he steered Health-Ade as CFO through its acquisition by Generous Brands, delivering sustainable profitability amid private equity pressures. Before that, he spent four years at hummus powerhouse Sabra Dipping Company, rising to head of global financial planning and analysis (FP&A) and sales finance.
His portfolio also boasts stints as senior director of FP&A at Walgreens Boots Alliance, North American CFO for Lavazza Coffee Corporation, and an eight-year run at PepsiCo, where he honed sales finance expertise across high-velocity markets.
The timing couldn’t be sharper. Liquid Death is set to debut “Liquid Death Sparkling Energy” in January 2026, marking its fourth product pillar after mountain water, sparkling sodas, and iced teas.
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Clocking in at about 100 milligrams of caffeine—roughly a cup of coffee—the lineup positions itself as a “better-for-you” alternative to jolt-heavy rivals like Red Bull and Monster, leveraging natural sources like coffee beans for a cleaner buzz. Cessario credits the brand’s rocket-fueled trajectory to an “entertainment-first marketing strategy and world-class retail execution,” a formula that’s turned skull-adorned tallboys into cultural icons.
“We tried to resolve this amicably, but Liquid Death declined,” the suit thunders, seeking injunctions to halt the products, block four pending trademarks, and award damages for what it calls an “irreparably harmful” incursion. Death Wish, which sells ready-to-drink cans and beans nationwide, fired the first shot after spotting Liquid Death’s May 2025 trademark filings and a July cease-and-desist letter that went unanswered.
Liquid Death fired back with trademark defiance and dark humor. “Death Wish is clearly very nervous we’ll one day launch a ready-to-drink coffee. We have no plans right now to actually launch a ready-to-drink coffee,” the company said , while teasing its energy drink debut on social media.
