LaCroix made an old seltzer brand a millennial status can

LaCroix was not invented for the 2010s; it was an older sparkling-water brand inside National Beverage. As soda lost cultural heat, the company pushed LaCroix as a bright, flavored, no-sweetener alternative rather than a plain health product.

The Fiscal Times described LaCroix's colorful cans, Instagram presence and millennial appeal, and reported that brand sales had grown to $175 million, almost tripling since 2009.

By late 2016, National Beverage was telling investors that LaCroix had the highest sales rates among national sparkling-water brands. Net sales for the six months ended October 29, 2016 rose to $420.3 million from $364.1 million a year earlier.

LaCroix sales almost tripled from 2009 to $175M by 2015; six-month company sales rose to $420.3M in 2016.

The brand made water visually loud at a time when big soda looked tired.

New flavors gave shoppers a collecting and sharing behavior, not just a beverage choice.

The company used the health shift without making the product feel medicinal or joyless.

A sleepy brand can ride a category shift if its packaging, flavors and community make the new habit feel ownable.

LaCroix's rise drew larger competitors into flavored sparkling water, which later made growth harder. But the revival proved that an old regional can could become a national lifestyle signal without celebrity-led advertising.