Food Biz

LaCroix Just Revealed Its Newest Flavor

September 15, 2017

“Essence is—FEELINGS and Sensory Effects!” LaCroix spokesman Rod Liddle wrote earlier this week to a Wall Street Journal reporter. It was in response to a journalistic query about what’s inside a can of LaCroix, that carbonated, mass-market drink that’s taken on the status of a luxury product.

The article is a fun read, and, for those of you who’ve been mercilessly paywalled by the Journal, a summary: Reporter Rob Copeland tried to chase down what, exactly, is in this wildly popular drink’s ingredient makeup. He failed. These are boom times for the drink, which has been circulating in the American market since 1981, yet only now enjoying a real spike in popularity—its mouthfeel less cloying than that of sugar-saturated sodas, its packaging more dazzling than Perrier’s.

“Essence,” Copeland discovered, is the operative word when it comes LaCroix, whose manufacturers shroud its ingredient makeup in secrecy. After all, LaCroix is a drink defined by the absence of certain traits: free of calories, sodium, artificial flavors, gluten; this language of negation doesn’t exactly convey what’s actually in it.

This opacity does not, as Copeland writes, preclude consumers from guzzling cans of LaCroix with abandon. Yesterday, Eater reported that the company has expanded its portfolio of offerings with a Key Lime flavor. It sounds divine. The company has kept mum about when this particular variety will hit stores, though it brags that Key Lime is a drink with a “distinctive aroma and sweet-and-tart flavor,” its aftertaste resembling that of its namesake pie.

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LaCroix already offers quite an array of flavors within its portfolio, from pamplemousse to mango. There's also, of course, regular lime, though key lime is markedly different, with faint, subtle traces of sweetness to offset lime's astringency.

This one is seriously yummy!! What's your favorite LaCroix?! #lacroix

A post shared by Alicia Stemper (@alicia_stemper) on

A can of aerated key lime pie sweat? I’ll take it. Anything but coconut.

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Top Comment:
“I don't have a favourite Lacroix - I have a favourite sparkling water that comes in many flavours, no sodium, no sugar, and comes from a Cdn. grocery chain called President's Choice Super Store - only $2.98 for a case of 12. My husband's not keen on it, but I love it. I have a case of Pellegrino and a case of Perrier I haven't broken open yet. I've been looking for opinions on the safety of aluminum cans, and am wondering if glass is better. ”
— tamater S.
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What’s your favorite LaCroix flavor? Let us know in the comments.

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Mayukh Sen is a James Beard Award-winning food and culture writer in New York. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker, Bon Appetit, and elsewhere. He won a 2018 James Beard Award in Journalism for his profile of Princess Pamela published on Food52.

11 Comments

Zensister November 11, 2017
Cherry-Lime, passionfruit, tangerine, and grapefruit, in that order. I enjoy the rest, except orange. I'm still deciding about the Key Lime. I think it tastes like green Skittles.
 
tamater S. September 18, 2017
I don't have a favourite Lacroix - I have a favourite sparkling water that comes in many flavours, no sodium, no sugar, and comes from a Cdn. grocery chain called President's Choice Super Store - only $2.98 for a case of 12. My husband's not keen on it, but I love it.

I have a case of Pellegrino and a case of Perrier I haven't broken open yet. I've been looking for opinions on the safety of aluminum cans, and am wondering if glass is better.
 
Cynthia C. September 15, 2017
Peach Pear. Just tried grapefruit and passion fruit. Those and mango do not have enough "essence."
 
Connor B. September 15, 2017
Justice for coconut, tbh.
 
sfchicken September 15, 2017
Coconut is my fave, too! Along with tangerine...but there's something especially wonderful about the coconut :)
 
addie G. September 15, 2017
Coconut IS my favorite!
 
Lindsay-Jean H. September 15, 2017
Blasphemy! Coconut LaCroix is delicious.
 
Mayukh S. September 15, 2017
Uhhhh, sure, whatever you say...
 
hungrybruno September 15, 2017
The coconut one is not my favorite on its own, but mixed with rum, a little simple syrup and a squeeze of lime it makes for a pretty tasty cocktail!
 
Mayukh S. September 15, 2017
That sounds great! I'll have to try it.
 
Rachel September 18, 2017
Seems that all it takes is little lime and rum to get everyone to agree.