Madeline Hamic Art 323 ST1 Spring 2020 Professor Dorn
Market Research La Croix
Company Background
La Croix was founded in 1981 by the G. Heileman Brewing Company, located in La Crosse, Wisconsin for the sparkling water product. Seemingly French, the brand name is actually a combination of the ‘La’ in La Crosse, and ‘Croix’ from the nearby St. Croix River. In order to secure a different target audience, the sparkling water drink was marketed as ‘anti-Perrier,’ opposing the older brand’s focus on the higher social class of the elite. Instead, La Croix marketed the product as appropriate for any situation and social status. Eventually, La Croix became popular in the Midwestern United States during the 1990s. The National Beverage Corporation in Fort Lauderdale, Florida acquired the La Croix brand in 2002, making it a subsidiary of the publicly owned company. At the same time, designer Lyle Zimmerman of the Alchemy Brand Group was tasked with redesigning the packaging and logo of La Croix bottles in order to reinforce the ‘anti-Perrier’ goal of the brand. According to Zimmerman, “casual sophistication” was the tone desired to be conveyed. The resulting fluid and vibrant design caused La Croix cans to stand out among the bland designs of other sparkling water brands. This helped propel the brand to popularity among the younger target audience of millennials. Zimmerman offered to buy La Croix from the National Beverage Corporation but was declined. Today, La Croix is the flagship brand of its parent company, the National Beverage Corp., which is publicly traded under the code, FIZZ, with a market share of 4.18%. The National Beverage Company is based in the United States and Canada and has a pluralistic brand architecture. Within this, the company divides its subsidiaries into sparkling waters, energy drinks, and juices under the category, ‘Power+’, which includes brands such as La Croix, La Croix Curate, La Croix NiCola, Shasta Sparkling Water, RipIt, Everfresh, Everfresh Premier Varietals, and Mr. Pure. The company also features carbonated soft drinks including Shasta and Faygo.
Primary Target Audience
According to the 2019 Annual Report of the National Beverage Corp., La Croix is, “geared to the active and health-conscious consumer.” More specifically, based on the marketing of La Croix, it is apparent that it is targeted to young adults of the Millennial and Gen Z generations who are health-minded and price-conscientious. The social media marketing of La Croix focuses on sharing the posts of young adults who are featuring their fun, lively experiences
Target Audience Cont.
Market Segment
with La Croix drinks. This enables approachability and accessibility to the La Croix brand, as well as a personal experience.
Demographic: 18-35 Years Old All Ethnicities Middle Class College Students Working Professionals Young Adults Psychographic: Health Enthusiasts Social Media Users Image-Conscious Sugar-Free Soda Replacement Paleo Diet Whole 30 Diet Natural Ingredients Budget-Aware Geographic: Suburban North America Customer Behavior: Customers seek to conveniently purchase affordable but visually appealing individual cans or packs of the all-natural flavored sparkling water for casual occasions. According to the 2019 Annual Report of the National Beverage Corp., customers can easily find La Croix at a wide range of accessible locations, including local convenience stores, drug stores, and grocery stores.
Brand Architecture
Pluralistic: The National Beverage Company Power+ Brands: -Everfresh -Everfresh Premier Varietals -La Croix -Mr. Pure -RipIt -Shasta Sparkling Water Sodas: -Faygo -Shasta
Brand Architecture Cont.
Monolithic: La Croix -La Croix -La Croix Curate -La Croix NiCola
The National Beverage Corporation Power +
Sodas
Everfresh Everfresh Premier Varietals Mr. Pure RipIt Shasta Sparkling Water La Croix
Faygo Shasta
La Croix La Croix Curate La Croix NiCola
Stakeholders
Competitors
Board of Directors CEO Competitors Convenience Stores Customers Distributors Drug Stores Employees and their dependents Events FDA Gas Stations Influencers Investors News Reports Shareholders Social Media Suppliers
Perrier: Perrier is a high-class French sparkling water brand. Founded in 1865, it caters to members of high social status and the elite. San Pellegrino: San Pellegrino is an Italian sparkling water drink that is specific to fine dining culture and ‘superlative living.’ It has been featured at Milan Fashion Week and the Cannes Film Festival.
Competitors Cont.
Spindrift: Spindrift is an American sparkling water drink that focuses on the inclusion of fruit-flavors with real squeezed fruit. Recently founded in 2010, the company is very farmer and fruit oriented.
Differentiation
According to the 2019 Annual Report of the National Beverage Corp., La Croix differentiates from competition through use of, “novel methods of innovation, focused social media, innovative packaging, and efficient distribution methods.” La Croix is also focused on setting itself apart by implementing affordable prices that allows it to be accessible to those who are budget conscious. La Croix contains natural and pure ingredients, as well as zero calories. It is vegan, kosher, gluten free and non-GMO. These factors all favor toward individuals who are mindful of their health. Contrary to the high-class of Perrier, La Croix offers a youthful and healthy drink that is highly accessible and suitable for any occasion. The encouragement of its promotion on social media emphasizes the approachability of the brand and the personal and youthful experience that it provides.
Window of Opportunity
Product: The product of La Croix provides a healthy sugar and calorie free alternative to sodas in an affordable way that promotes youthfulness and energy. Target Market: The audience of La Croix is specifically focused on middle class millennials and gen z young adults who are health-conscientious and eager for personal, youthful experiences. The Competitive Landscape: La Croix is the best combination of pure, natural ingredients with an affordable price and youthful experience. The Promise: La Croix promises the reliability of all-natural ingredients that coincide with numerous healthy lifestyle diets with an affordable price.
Positioning Statement
Touchpoints
La Croix provides millennials and Gen Z young adults with an affordable and approachable alternative to sugary sodas with several flavors of our sparkling water. We accomplish this by using all-natural ingredients, a personal marketing experience, and a reliably low price.
Bags Beach Balls Billboards Baseball Caps
Touchpoints Cont.
Images
Beverage holders Bottles Boxes Bumper stickers Calendars Cans Clothing Coasters Emails Facebook Ad Folders Instagram Ad Letterhead Logo Magazine Ad Packaging Shirts Stickers Website
Images Cont.
Sources
Accessed 01-13-20 https://www.lacroixwater.com/corporate/ https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-pronounce-lacroix-water-20169?r=UK&IR=T https://www.fastcompany.com/90357062/la-croix-sales-tank-a-failed-experiment-in-hipster-design https://www.nationalbeverage.com/an-american-story/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/andriacheng/2019/06/26/lacroix-is-losing-its-fizz-as-parent-national-beverage-reports-another-quarterly-sales-drop/#d86e2d453a8c https://csimarket.com/stocks/competitionSEG2.php?code=FIZZ https://www.forbes.com/sites/andriacheng/2019/06/26/lacroix-is-losing-its-fizz-as-parent-national-beverage-reports-another-quarterly-sales-drop/#d86e2d453a8c https://www.ion.co/lacroix-sparkles-millennials-thanks-influencer-marketing https://www.inc.com/betsy-mikel/lacroix-uses-this-brilliant-tactic-to-winover-millennials-by-the-droves.html https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/stock-market-news-today-053019/h_71befa86e4303029fcf6f126d18f0be9 https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/30/business/lacroix-sales/index.html Statistics: https://snapshot.numerator.com/brand/la_croix https://www.business2community.com/marketing/marketing-that-doesntlook-like-marketing-the-la-croix-story-02115595 https://smbp.uwaterloo.ca/2018/07/lacroix-utilizes-micro-influencers-to-market-their-brand-to-millennials/ https://www.vox.com/2016/6/20/11666314/lacroix-sparkling-water-seltzer https://www.kayeputnam.com/lacroix-sparkling-water/ https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-products/g29443085/best-sparkling-water-brands/
Sources Cont.
https://www.nestle-waters.com/get-to-know-us/through-our-waters/perrier https://www.nestle-waters.com/get-to-know-us/through-our-waters/s-pellegrino https://spindriftfresh.com/our-story/about-spindrift/ Accessed 01-14-20 https://www.rewindandcapture.com/why-is-la-croix-called-la-croix/ https://www.bonappetit.com/story/the-secret-history-of-the-lacroix-label http://ir.nationalbeverage.com/static-files/911ea4d8-0c0c-4712-9c1646250a63b8d3 https://www.lacroixwater.com/nutritional-facts-faq/ https://twitter.com/lacroixwater https://www.sanpellegrino.com/us/en https://spindriftfresh.com/our-story/about-spindrift/ https://spindriftfresh.com/our-story/our-farmers/ https://www.perrier.com/us/since-1863/history/before-perrier-was-called-perrier https://www.naturalblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/La-Croix.jpg https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61xAfhL1k3L._SL1130_. jpg http://cdn.thedailytop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/LaCroix-KeyLime-WebRotatorBanner-1135X670-TA.jpg https://classpass.com/blog/2016/09/16/news-customize-la-croix-flavors/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/2019/03/08/lacroix-owner-loses500-million-in-hours-blames-injustice-for-fizzling-sales/#6f7dcee651d3 Accessed 01-15-20 https://www.costco.com/la-croix%2C-variety-pack%2C-12-fl-oz%2C-24-count. product.100381464.html