Liquid I.V. hires Jenny Danzi to deepen cultural reach

Liquid I.V. has appointed Jenny Danzi as CMO, bringing experience from Poppi and Pepsi to its next stage of brand building. The appointment puts attention on how a hydration brand can connect cultural partnerships with a concrete reason to choose its products.

What experience does Danzi bring to the role?

Marketing Dive reported the appointment on October 28, 2026, citing the brand's LinkedIn announcement. Danzi held multiple positions during more than 17 years at PepsiCo and most recently led marketing at Poppi. Her responsibilities there covered brand, creative, culture and media. Liquid I.V. emphasized her understanding of consumers and her ability to connect brands with their interests.

The Unilever-owned business sells powdered hydration products mixed into drinks. The report places the appointment against international expansion and increasing competition from private-label alternatives. That context creates a question about differentiation: consumers need to understand why this particular product fits a situation they encounter. Hiring an experienced executive does not itself answer that question or establish a sales outcome.

How can partnerships support a product story?

The brand has used sports and entertainment associations to broaden its audience. Marketing Dive describes a McLaren Racing campaign featuring Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, which promotes a sugar-free Hydration Multiplier variant. Such activity is part of the brand's existing marketing history and should not be credited to the new CMO merely because it appears in an appointment story.

A recognizable racing partnership can make a creative asset easier to notice. Whether it helps the business depends on what happens after that attention: consumers understanding the variant, locating it and deciding to purchase. Celebrity association is also separate from evidence supporting any functional benefit. Product claims should remain within their own substantiated scope.

Takeaways for marketers: keep the reporting boundaries clear

Marketing Dive reports Unilever's underlying sales growth of 5.2% and volume growth of 2.9% for the third quarter of 2026. The broader beauty and wellbeing segment recorded underlying sales growth of 5.7%. Those figures are not standalone Liquid I.V. results. The report also notes that wellbeing was down 1% year to date, illustrating why an umbrella segment's growth should not be assigned to every business within it.

1. Label company, segment and brand measures separately.
2. Connect partnership exposure to product understanding and shopping actions.
3. Distinguish first purchases from subsequent repeat buying.
4. Account for existing campaigns and distribution changes when comparing periods.

For another consumer brand, the appointment is best treated as a prompt to define observable decisions rather than a completed turnaround story. Teams can examine whether each partner introduces the product to an appropriate audience, whether the creative makes the product's role clear and whether the shopping journey supports that message. These questions help turn cultural relevance into a testable marketing plan. Our Services describe support for coordinating brand messages across customer touchpoints.

Source: Marketing Dive on Liquid I.V.'s CMO appointment, October 28, 2026.