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6 de out. de 2011

LaCroix

          LaCroix (pronounced 'la croy' — but really should be 'la krwa') was born in the early 1980s in La Crosse, Wisconsin, near the banks of the Mississippi River.
          It was started by the now defunct G. Heileman Brewing Company, seemingly as part of an effort to diversify beyond beer. The brand didn’t seem to gain much traction and it was sold to Florida-based National Beverage Corporation in 1996.
          National Beverage, which has a portfolio of other drinks, ordered a reboot of LaCroix sometime in the early 2000s. The history of its rebranding is well-documented but the gist is that the company took the drink to branding experts and LaCroix’s packaging was reborn — alongside an increasing number of flavors.
          LaCroix’s choice of can during their big relaunch was unorthodox to say the least.
Its neon camouflage seems more suited for the set of Saved by the Bell, than next to turmeric-infused kombucha on the shelves of Whole Foods. It seemed to play on a kind of 80s nostalgia, setting it apart from fancy glass bottles, as well as the familiar plastic tubes that usually carry water.
          Also unlike its rivals, it became the sparkling water of the social media age. Not only do its neon colors pop on Instagram (more luck than strategy it seems), but it built a community of consumers from the ground up as social networks began to spread over the last decade.
          As Vox pointed out, there was no “patient zero” for LaCroix’s social media efforts. There was no photo with Kim Kardashian or Beyoncé sipping a can on a yacht off Santa Catalina Island.
Rather, LaCroix worked steadily to build the brand through the clever use of platforms like Instagram (it currently has nearly 120,000 followers) and Facebook (430,000 followers), positioning itself as a sign of cool for millennials rather than for middle aged Midwesterners —the drink’s original consumers.
          LaCroix has added new flavors like crazy over the last few years. While most sparkling water usually has variations on lemon, lime and, perhaps, something more exotic like peach, LaCroix has nearly two dozen flavors, including pamplemousse (French for grapefruit) and coconut.
          LaCroix isn’t without rivals of course. Coca Cola’s Topo Chico purchase and Pepsi’s new Aquafina sparkling water lines have tried to imitate LaCroix’s success. So far they don’t seemed to have slowed the brand down. That doesn't mean that more competitors won't come breathing down its neck, of course.
(Fonte: LinkedIn - Alexander B.)

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