Fizzy Water Fashion
LaCroix, pronounced la-croy, is a seltzer water brand sold in grocers throughout the United States (Lafuente, 2017). Their candy-colored canned, sometimes bottled, carbonated beverages come in 21 subtly fruity flavors such as Cran-raspberry, Coconut, and my favorite, Pamplemousse (Heil, 2019).
In the early decades of it’s existence, LaCroix was predominantly enjoyed by Midwestern moms. But after some strategic business moves and some flattering publicity, most notably the feature in The New York Times’s 2015 “Letter of Recommendation,” the popularity of the drink skyrocketed (Nelson & Zarracina, 2016). Combine that with smart, colorful rebranding and the integration of influencer marketing and the drinks have become a cult favorite, taking up substantial space in home and workplace fridges everywhere (Duran, n.d.; Lafuente, 2017).
LaCroix’s unique selling point, which the company fully embraces, is that it does not contain many of the “unhealthy” ingredients of other popular carbonated beverages. The LaCroix website touts that its fizzy drinks are devoid of calories, sugar, sodium, and caffeine and are gluten-free, vegan, and Non-GMO (LaCroix, (2021b). To further emphasize the wellness factor and to serve as a reminder that their product is guilt free, the word “innocent” is exclaimed on each vibrant can.
This sort of messaging appeals to the health-conscious, a market that tends to skew more female. Therefore, the company has made deliberate branding choices to appeal to women. For instance, the cans are covered with splashes of bright hues made to appeal to women’s tastes. While the image on the LaCroix homepage of a young, good-looking couple arm-in-arm attempts to convince women that LaCroix is associated with a desirable lifestyle (LaCroix, 2021a).
Furthermore, within the health-conscious female audience, LaCroix seeks to target the Millennial and Gen Z demographic more precisely through the use of social media. LaCroix is fairly active on social media with 453k followers on Facebook, 179k followers on Instagram, 34.1k followers on Twitter, and 5.1k followers on Pinterest.
Instagram (IG) happens to be the optimal platform for LaCroix to reach young, health-conscious women since 18–29 year-olds are the most active on the network and the LaCroix products are quite photogenic (Duran, n.d.). Not surprisingly LaCroix posts to IG daily and uses #LiveLaCroix to promote engagement. Recently, their efforts were focused on creating buzz around the announcement of three new flavors with #EscapewithLaCroix. After much suspense, they introduced Guava São Paulo, Black Razzberry, and Beach Plum on March 18th and announced a product giveaway involving the tagging of a friend.
A few years back LaCroix started to partner with social media influencers to boost the popularity of their drinks among a younger demographic (Duran, n.d.). They sought influencers large and small to promote an image that is healthy, fun, carefree, and colorful. Additionally, they are very active participants on their accounts and take the time to share and acknowledge tagged posts often (Duran, n.d.). This social media strategy has worked extremely well for LaCroix and kept them relevant among their target audience.
Marketing a product to anyone and everyone and still having success is rare. Casting too wide of a net often discourages brand loyalty and makes good products fade into the background. Instead, determining and focusing efforts on a target audience is far more efficient and if done right some major benefits can be reaped. LaCroix did just that. They had a clear idea of who they were marketing to — a young, health-conscious, fun-loving woman. They made LaCroix appealing to her in the social channels where she can be found and now fizzy water is fashionable.
Duran, H.B. (n.d.). LaCroix partners with influencers of all sizes to associate the flavored sparkling water with healthy choices, relaxation and having fun. Influencer Orchestration Network (ION). https://www.ion.co/lacroix-sparkles-millennials-thanks-influencer-marketing
Heil, M. (2019). 25 Things You Didn’t Know About LaCroix. Thrillest. https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/la-croix-water-facts
LaCroix. (2021a). Homepage. https://www.lacroixwater.com/
LaCroix. (2021b). Nutritional Facts & FAQ. https://www.lacroixwater.com/nutritional-facts-faq/
Lafuente, C. (2017). The untold truth of LaCroix. Mashed. https://www.mashed.com/81729/untold-truth-lacroix/#:~:text=Rather%2C%20LaCroix%20traces%20its%20humble,tributary%20of%20the%20Mississippi%20River.
Nelson, L. & Zarracina, J. (2016). Why LaCroix sparkling water is suddenly everywhere. Vox. https://www.vox.com/2016/6/20/11666314/lacroix-sparkling-water-seltzer
