First things first: we have to get the pronunciation down.
As LaCroix Water is poised to enter the Ontario market (finally!), natives might be tempted to say the name the way it's spelled. You know — the way we learned in French class.
But no. According to the sparkling water company's website, the way to say the name (and every Francophone would be horrified by it) is "la-croy."
O ....kay.
But who are we to judge? Ontario's the one that's late to the LaCroix game, with its beloved flavoured waters already being sold across the western provinces, and of course, in that oh-so-nearby country down south.
As of this week, however, the cult favourite is coming to Ontario at all seven Whole Foods stores in the province and people are getting stoked.
According to Gary Macdonald, the purchasing coordinator for Whole Foods Market Canada, the four most popular flavours will be there to start — pamplemousse (which, as far as we know, is pronounced as we'd expect), lime, lemon and peach-pear.
"LaCroix is gaining in popularity and many of our customers are anticipating their arrival!" he told HuffPost Canada. "It’s a sugar free, lightly flavoured sparkling water that’s economically priced — for a lot of people it’s a great alternative to sodas."
But that explanation alone doesn't quite suffice when it comes to the rabid following enjoyed by the company. For that, we have to turn to an excellent Vox article that (we'll save you the read if you prefer) notes how easily LaCroix was able to scale up as Americans stopped drinking as much soda.
And then, of course, was the luckily demographic whose interests corresponded with theirs.
"The forces that shape our cultural references, deciding what will be a shorthand for trendiness on blogs and painstakingly documented in the New York Times style section, can seem mysterious," writes Libby Nelson and Javier Zarracina. "But the answer is stupidly obvious: If you want to be written about, win over a bunch of writers."
It doesn't hurt that the brightly coloured cans (there are currently 20 flavours available, in various locations) are super Instagram-worthy too.
So go ahead Ontario — pick up a can or 12. And let us know if all the hype is worth it.