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2017年09月15日03:02
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The essence wars - flavor, or ‘essence’ あるいは、成功の甘い香りについてのあなたの洞察の材料になるかも
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LaCroix Fizzy Water Is Everyone’s Favorite. Nobody Knows What’s In It
Sales are booming, but fans don’t have a clue what gives these sparkling beverages their flavor, or ‘essence’―and don’t care, either
https:/
LaCroix says the flavors of its popular sparkling water are derived from natural essence oils. WSJ conducted a blind taste test of four flavors to see if we could guess each one. Video/Photo: Rob Alcaraz/The Wall Street Journal
By Rob Copeland
Sept. 13, 2017 10:45 a.m. ET
The makers of LaCroix sparkling water go to great lengths to explain what isn’t used to create the beverage’s 20 flavors.
There are no calories, no sugars, no artificial ingredients, no castoreum, no genetically modified organisms and no added phosphoric acid, according to the company. LaCroix nutritional labels contain only zeros.
LaCroix is less forthcoming about what is actually inside its ubiquitous neon cans. The company says the flavors, such as peach-pear and pomme bayá, are derived from “natural essence oils.” On some cans, LaCroix uses essence rather fancifully, as in “natural cola essenced sparkling water.”
Essence is, essentially, the mystery behind a billion-dollar brand. As cases of LaCroix pile up to the ceiling of grocery stores across the U.S., die-hard fans admit they don’t have a clue what’s inside―and don’t care, either.
“Essence is, like, a combination of hint and aftertaste,” says Antony Merkel, a 31-year-old from Los Angeles. “You definitely recognize the flavors that are there, but it doesn’t feel like you’re drinking a product of that. It’s not a grapefruit juice, or something of a grapefruit. It’s a little intangible, which is kind of the appeal. I have no idea what it is.” Mr. Merkel says he drinks up to 10 cans of LaCroix a day.
Fizzy water first emerged in the 18th century when the British theologian Joseph Priestley designed a recipe for the explorer James Cook, hoping the brew would prevent scurvy. It didn’t. The beverage has found a new market over the past decade among health-conscious consumers in the U.S. and Europe.
LaCroix (rhymes with: toy) was created in 1981 by a brewing company in La Crosse, Wis. Named after the city and nearby St. Croix River, it remained a mostly regional brand until publicly traded National Beverage Co. relaunched it six years ago in bright, multicolored cans.
Ask LaCroix executives for a definition of essence and you may receive something short of a clear response. “Essence is our picture word,” LaCroix spokesman Rod Liddle said in a written response to questions.
LaCroix’s marketing consists largely of social-media images of young women posing with cans of the product or sipping it out of straws. In several photographs, the women kiss the cans.
National Beverage shares, which trade under the ticker FIZZ, are up 139% this year. National Beverage doesn’t hold public earnings calls or answer analyst questions. Company executives declined to be interviewed for this article.
“Essence is―FEELINGS and Sensory Effects!” Mr. Liddle wrote. He added, “hope this answers your inquiry.”
Hart Perez, a 31-year-old video director, became curious about what was inside the product after he spent six months drinking only sparkling water, mostly LaCroix, and “wasn’t feeling as sharp as usual.”
He determined that the product contained “a natural flavor―and natural flavor can really mean anything.” Mr. Perez never figured out more. “I’ve had two this morning already,” he said on a recent weekday.
“Essence is something mysterious,” says Robin Scott, a 56-year-old rancher in Templeton, Calif., who has been drinking LaCroix for 30 years. When traveling, her first stop after the airport is often a supermarket―to stock up on seltzer. “I know what flavors I like but I have no idea what kinds of chemicals are in there and I don’t care. I know it tastes good.”
A laboratory of EAG Inc., a scientific-services company, said more than $100,000 of testing would be required to independently determine that LaCroix contains only natural essence oils.
Essence isn’t defined in U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations, an FDA spokeswoman said. Yet the FDA permits companies to use the word when describing “flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof,” according to food-labeling rules.
“I think it’s the sweat of a fruit that you mix with oil,” said Liz Earle, a 29-year-old Nashville creative director.
That’s not so far off.
Essence is actually a clear, concentrated natural chemical that’s been used for decades in products as varied as gravy, ice pops, coffee, shampoo and even insecticide, according to industry executives and scientists.
Natural chemicals are neither uncommon nor unsafe. For instance, ascorbic acid, better known as Vitamin C, is a chemical found in fruit.
Corn flake scion John L. Kellogg invented the process for producing a “fruit beverage extract” in 1915, a patent shows. Three decades later, a pair of Pennsylvania chemists cited Mr. Kellogg’s work in a patent for “apple essence containing substantially all of the volatile flavors present in fresh apples.”
Essence is created by heating at high temperatures the skin, rinds or broken down remnants of fruits or vegetables. Alcohol is sometimes added to the mixture. The vapors that rise off the stew are captured, condensed and eventually sold by the 55-gallon barrel.
A similar process is used to make concentrated orange juice and pasteurized milk that needs no refrigeration.
“When you make tomato sauce and you get that wonderful aroma in the room, that’s the essence boiling off,” says Tony DeLio, chief innovation officer of Ingredion Inc., which manufactures essence for sparkling water and other uses. The company declined to say if it makes essence for LaCroix. “It’s a hyper-complicated chemical, but it’s all natural and we see it every day.”
The LaCroix spokesman didn’t pour cold water on that interpretation, but wouldn’t provide cut-and-dried details of its manufacturing process.
SodaStream , Polar Beverages and others are rolling out their own essence products, hoping for a sip of LaCroix’s success.
By Rob Copeland
Sept. 13, 2017 10:45 a.m. ET
The makers of LaCroix sparkling water go to great lengths to explain what isn’t used to create the beverage’s 20 flavors.
There are no calories, no sugars, no artificial ingredients, no castoreum, no genetically modified organisms and no added phosphoric acid, according to the company. LaCroix nutritional labels contain only zeros.
LaCroix is less forthcoming about what is actually inside its ubiquitous neon cans. The company says the flavors, such as peach-pear and pomme bayá, are derived from “natural essence oils.” On some cans, LaCroix uses essence rather fancifully, as in “natural cola essenced sparkling water.”
Essence is, essentially, the mystery behind a billion-dollar brand. As cases of LaCroix pile up to the ceiling of grocery stores across the U.S., die-hard fans admit they don’t have a clue what’s inside―and don’t care, either.
“Essence is, like, a combination of hint and aftertaste,” says Antony Merkel, a 31-year-old from Los Angeles. “You definitely recognize the flavors that are there, but it doesn’t feel like you’re drinking a product of that. It’s not a grapefruit juice, or something of a grapefruit. It’s a little intangible, which is kind of the appeal. I have no idea what it is.” Mr. Merkel says he drinks up to 10 cans of LaCroix a day.
LaCroix says its flavors are derived from ‘natural essence oils.’
Fizzy water first emerged in the 18th century when the British theologian Joseph Priestley designed a recipe for the explorer James Cook, hoping the brew would prevent scurvy. It didn’t. The beverage has found a new market over the past decade among health-conscious consumers in the U.S. and Europe.
LaCroix (rhymes with: toy) was created in 1981 by a brewing company in La Crosse, Wis. Named after the city and nearby St. Croix River, it remained a mostly regional brand until publicly traded National Beverage Co. relaunched it six years ago in bright, multicolored cans.
Ask LaCroix executives for a definition of essence and you may receive something short of a clear response. “Essence is our picture word,” LaCroix spokesman Rod Liddle said in a written response to questions.
LaCroix’s marketing consists largely of social-media images of young women posing with cans of the product or sipping it out of straws. In several photographs, the women kiss the cans.
National Beverage shares, which trade under the ticker FIZZ, are up 139% this year. National Beverage doesn’t hold public earnings calls or answer analyst questions. Company executives declined to be interviewed for this article
“Essence is―FEELINGS and Sensory Effects!” Mr. Liddle wrote. He added, “hope this answers your inquiry.”
Hart Perez, a 31-year-old video director, became curious about what was inside the product after he spent six months drinking only sparkling water, mostly LaCroix, and “wasn’t feeling as sharp as usual.”
He determined that the product contained “a natural flavor―and natural flavor can really mean anything.” Mr. Perez never figured out more. “I’ve had two this morning already,” he said on a recent weekday.
“Essence is something mysterious,” says Robin Scott, a 56-year-old rancher in Templeton, Calif., who has been drinking LaCroix for 30 years. When traveling, her first stop after the airport is often a supermarket―to stock up on seltzer. “I know what flavors I like but I have no idea what kinds of chemicals are in there and I don’t care. I know it tastes good.”
A laboratory of EAG Inc., a scientific-services company, said more than $100,000 of testing would be required to independently determine that LaCroix contains only natural essence oils.
Essence isn’t defined in U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations, an FDA spokeswoman said. Yet the FDA permits companies to use the word when describing “flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof,” according to food-labeling rules.
LaCroix enthusiasts Holly Schuldt, Liz Earle and Lee McAlilly in Nashville.
LaCroix enthusiasts Holly Schuldt, Liz Earle and Lee McAlilly in Nashville.PHOTO: EMILY QUIRK
“I think it’s the sweat of a fruit that you mix with oil,” said Liz Earle, a 29-year-old Nashville creative director.
That’s not so far off.
Essence is actually a clear, concentrated natural chemical that’s been used for decades in products as varied as gravy, ice pops, coffee, shampoo and even insecticide, according to industry executives and scientists.
Natural chemicals are neither uncommon nor unsafe. For instance, ascorbic acid, better known as Vitamin C, is a chemical found in fruit.
Corn flake scion John L. Kellogg invented the process for producing a “fruit beverage extract” in 1915, a patent shows. Three decades later, a pair of Pennsylvania chemists cited Mr. Kellogg’s work in a patent for “apple essence containing substantially all of the volatile flavors present in fresh apples.”
Essence is created by heating at high temperatures the skin, rinds or broken down remnants of fruits or vegetables. Alcohol is sometimes added to the mixture. The vapors that rise off the stew are captured, condensed and eventually sold by the 55-gallon barrel.
A similar process is used to make concentrated orange juice and pasteurized milk that needs no refrigeration.
“When you make tomato sauce and you get that wonderful aroma in the room, that’s the essence boiling off,” says Tony DeLio, chief innovation officer of Ingredion Inc., which manufactures essence for sparkling water and other uses. The company declined to say if it makes essence for LaCroix. “It’s a hyper-complicated chemical, but it’s all natural and we see it every day.”
The LaCroix spokesman didn’t pour cold water on that interpretation, but wouldn’t provide cut-and-dried details of its manufacturing process.
SodaStream , Polar Beverages and others are rolling out their own essence products, hoping for a sip of LaCroix’s success.
“The essence wars―that’s what we have essentially been seeing in the market,” says Marcus Smith, chief executive of Talking Rain Beverage Co., a Seattle company that sells bottled “Sparkling Ice Essence of Tangerine,” among other flavors. Promotional materials say Sparkling Ice is “a thirst-quenching punch right to the taste buds.”
Such descriptors are less-than illuminating to water enthusiasts.
“Essence is fairies in a warehouse somewhere dancing with fruits, and suddenly you have this amazing drink,” said Miranda Wicker, 35.
The Atlanta social-media manager was poolside recently with a cold can of pamplemousse (that’s grapefruit) LaCroix. “There are just some things we don’t need to know,” she said.
Write to Rob Copeland at rob.copeland@wsj.com
https:/
LaCroix Fizzy Water Is Everyone’s Favorite. Nobody Knows What’s In It
Sales are booming, but fans don’t have a clue what gives these sparkling beverages their flavor, or ‘essence’―and don’t care, either
https:/
LaCroix says the flavors of its popular sparkling water are derived from natural essence oils. WSJ conducted a blind taste test of four flavors to see if we could guess each one. Video/Photo: Rob Alcaraz/The Wall Street Journal
By Rob Copeland
Sept. 13, 2017 10:45 a.m. ET
The makers of LaCroix sparkling water go to great lengths to explain what isn’t used to create the beverage’s 20 flavors.
There are no calories, no sugars, no artificial ingredients, no castoreum, no genetically modified organisms and no added phosphoric acid, according to the company. LaCroix nutritional labels contain only zeros.
LaCroix is less forthcoming about what is actually inside its ubiquitous neon cans. The company says the flavors, such as peach-pear and pomme bayá, are derived from “natural essence oils.” On some cans, LaCroix uses essence rather fancifully, as in “natural cola essenced sparkling water.”
Essence is, essentially, the mystery behind a billion-dollar brand. As cases of LaCroix pile up to the ceiling of grocery stores across the U.S., die-hard fans admit they don’t have a clue what’s inside―and don’t care, either.
“Essence is, like, a combination of hint and aftertaste,” says Antony Merkel, a 31-year-old from Los Angeles. “You definitely recognize the flavors that are there, but it doesn’t feel like you’re drinking a product of that. It’s not a grapefruit juice, or something of a grapefruit. It’s a little intangible, which is kind of the appeal. I have no idea what it is.” Mr. Merkel says he drinks up to 10 cans of LaCroix a day.
Fizzy water first emerged in the 18th century when the British theologian Joseph Priestley designed a recipe for the explorer James Cook, hoping the brew would prevent scurvy. It didn’t. The beverage has found a new market over the past decade among health-conscious consumers in the U.S. and Europe.
LaCroix (rhymes with: toy) was created in 1981 by a brewing company in La Crosse, Wis. Named after the city and nearby St. Croix River, it remained a mostly regional brand until publicly traded National Beverage Co. relaunched it six years ago in bright, multicolored cans.
Ask LaCroix executives for a definition of essence and you may receive something short of a clear response. “Essence is our picture word,” LaCroix spokesman Rod Liddle said in a written response to questions.
LaCroix’s marketing consists largely of social-media images of young women posing with cans of the product or sipping it out of straws. In several photographs, the women kiss the cans.
National Beverage shares, which trade under the ticker FIZZ, are up 139% this year. National Beverage doesn’t hold public earnings calls or answer analyst questions. Company executives declined to be interviewed for this article.
“Essence is―FEELINGS and Sensory Effects!” Mr. Liddle wrote. He added, “hope this answers your inquiry.”
Hart Perez, a 31-year-old video director, became curious about what was inside the product after he spent six months drinking only sparkling water, mostly LaCroix, and “wasn’t feeling as sharp as usual.”
He determined that the product contained “a natural flavor―and natural flavor can really mean anything.” Mr. Perez never figured out more. “I’ve had two this morning already,” he said on a recent weekday.
“Essence is something mysterious,” says Robin Scott, a 56-year-old rancher in Templeton, Calif., who has been drinking LaCroix for 30 years. When traveling, her first stop after the airport is often a supermarket―to stock up on seltzer. “I know what flavors I like but I have no idea what kinds of chemicals are in there and I don’t care. I know it tastes good.”
A laboratory of EAG Inc., a scientific-services company, said more than $100,000 of testing would be required to independently determine that LaCroix contains only natural essence oils.
Essence isn’t defined in U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations, an FDA spokeswoman said. Yet the FDA permits companies to use the word when describing “flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof,” according to food-labeling rules.
“I think it’s the sweat of a fruit that you mix with oil,” said Liz Earle, a 29-year-old Nashville creative director.
That’s not so far off.
Essence is actually a clear, concentrated natural chemical that’s been used for decades in products as varied as gravy, ice pops, coffee, shampoo and even insecticide, according to industry executives and scientists.
Natural chemicals are neither uncommon nor unsafe. For instance, ascorbic acid, better known as Vitamin C, is a chemical found in fruit.
Corn flake scion John L. Kellogg invented the process for producing a “fruit beverage extract” in 1915, a patent shows. Three decades later, a pair of Pennsylvania chemists cited Mr. Kellogg’s work in a patent for “apple essence containing substantially all of the volatile flavors present in fresh apples.”
Essence is created by heating at high temperatures the skin, rinds or broken down remnants of fruits or vegetables. Alcohol is sometimes added to the mixture. The vapors that rise off the stew are captured, condensed and eventually sold by the 55-gallon barrel.
A similar process is used to make concentrated orange juice and pasteurized milk that needs no refrigeration.
“When you make tomato sauce and you get that wonderful aroma in the room, that’s the essence boiling off,” says Tony DeLio, chief innovation officer of Ingredion Inc., which manufactures essence for sparkling water and other uses. The company declined to say if it makes essence for LaCroix. “It’s a hyper-complicated chemical, but it’s all natural and we see it every day.”
The LaCroix spokesman didn’t pour cold water on that interpretation, but wouldn’t provide cut-and-dried details of its manufacturing process.
SodaStream , Polar Beverages and others are rolling out their own essence products, hoping for a sip of LaCroix’s success.
By Rob Copeland
Sept. 13, 2017 10:45 a.m. ET
The makers of LaCroix sparkling water go to great lengths to explain what isn’t used to create the beverage’s 20 flavors.
There are no calories, no sugars, no artificial ingredients, no castoreum, no genetically modified organisms and no added phosphoric acid, according to the company. LaCroix nutritional labels contain only zeros.
LaCroix is less forthcoming about what is actually inside its ubiquitous neon cans. The company says the flavors, such as peach-pear and pomme bayá, are derived from “natural essence oils.” On some cans, LaCroix uses essence rather fancifully, as in “natural cola essenced sparkling water.”
Essence is, essentially, the mystery behind a billion-dollar brand. As cases of LaCroix pile up to the ceiling of grocery stores across the U.S., die-hard fans admit they don’t have a clue what’s inside―and don’t care, either.
“Essence is, like, a combination of hint and aftertaste,” says Antony Merkel, a 31-year-old from Los Angeles. “You definitely recognize the flavors that are there, but it doesn’t feel like you’re drinking a product of that. It’s not a grapefruit juice, or something of a grapefruit. It’s a little intangible, which is kind of the appeal. I have no idea what it is.” Mr. Merkel says he drinks up to 10 cans of LaCroix a day.
LaCroix says its flavors are derived from ‘natural essence oils.’
Fizzy water first emerged in the 18th century when the British theologian Joseph Priestley designed a recipe for the explorer James Cook, hoping the brew would prevent scurvy. It didn’t. The beverage has found a new market over the past decade among health-conscious consumers in the U.S. and Europe.
LaCroix (rhymes with: toy) was created in 1981 by a brewing company in La Crosse, Wis. Named after the city and nearby St. Croix River, it remained a mostly regional brand until publicly traded National Beverage Co. relaunched it six years ago in bright, multicolored cans.
Ask LaCroix executives for a definition of essence and you may receive something short of a clear response. “Essence is our picture word,” LaCroix spokesman Rod Liddle said in a written response to questions.
LaCroix’s marketing consists largely of social-media images of young women posing with cans of the product or sipping it out of straws. In several photographs, the women kiss the cans.
National Beverage shares, which trade under the ticker FIZZ, are up 139% this year. National Beverage doesn’t hold public earnings calls or answer analyst questions. Company executives declined to be interviewed for this article
“Essence is―FEELINGS and Sensory Effects!” Mr. Liddle wrote. He added, “hope this answers your inquiry.”
Hart Perez, a 31-year-old video director, became curious about what was inside the product after he spent six months drinking only sparkling water, mostly LaCroix, and “wasn’t feeling as sharp as usual.”
He determined that the product contained “a natural flavor―and natural flavor can really mean anything.” Mr. Perez never figured out more. “I’ve had two this morning already,” he said on a recent weekday.
“Essence is something mysterious,” says Robin Scott, a 56-year-old rancher in Templeton, Calif., who has been drinking LaCroix for 30 years. When traveling, her first stop after the airport is often a supermarket―to stock up on seltzer. “I know what flavors I like but I have no idea what kinds of chemicals are in there and I don’t care. I know it tastes good.”
A laboratory of EAG Inc., a scientific-services company, said more than $100,000 of testing would be required to independently determine that LaCroix contains only natural essence oils.
Essence isn’t defined in U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations, an FDA spokeswoman said. Yet the FDA permits companies to use the word when describing “flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof,” according to food-labeling rules.
LaCroix enthusiasts Holly Schuldt, Liz Earle and Lee McAlilly in Nashville.
LaCroix enthusiasts Holly Schuldt, Liz Earle and Lee McAlilly in Nashville.PHOTO: EMILY QUIRK
“I think it’s the sweat of a fruit that you mix with oil,” said Liz Earle, a 29-year-old Nashville creative director.
That’s not so far off.
Essence is actually a clear, concentrated natural chemical that’s been used for decades in products as varied as gravy, ice pops, coffee, shampoo and even insecticide, according to industry executives and scientists.
Natural chemicals are neither uncommon nor unsafe. For instance, ascorbic acid, better known as Vitamin C, is a chemical found in fruit.
Corn flake scion John L. Kellogg invented the process for producing a “fruit beverage extract” in 1915, a patent shows. Three decades later, a pair of Pennsylvania chemists cited Mr. Kellogg’s work in a patent for “apple essence containing substantially all of the volatile flavors present in fresh apples.”
Essence is created by heating at high temperatures the skin, rinds or broken down remnants of fruits or vegetables. Alcohol is sometimes added to the mixture. The vapors that rise off the stew are captured, condensed and eventually sold by the 55-gallon barrel.
A similar process is used to make concentrated orange juice and pasteurized milk that needs no refrigeration.
“When you make tomato sauce and you get that wonderful aroma in the room, that’s the essence boiling off,” says Tony DeLio, chief innovation officer of Ingredion Inc., which manufactures essence for sparkling water and other uses. The company declined to say if it makes essence for LaCroix. “It’s a hyper-complicated chemical, but it’s all natural and we see it every day.”
The LaCroix spokesman didn’t pour cold water on that interpretation, but wouldn’t provide cut-and-dried details of its manufacturing process.
SodaStream , Polar Beverages and others are rolling out their own essence products, hoping for a sip of LaCroix’s success.
“The essence wars―that’s what we have essentially been seeing in the market,” says Marcus Smith, chief executive of Talking Rain Beverage Co., a Seattle company that sells bottled “Sparkling Ice Essence of Tangerine,” among other flavors. Promotional materials say Sparkling Ice is “a thirst-quenching punch right to the taste buds.”
Such descriptors are less-than illuminating to water enthusiasts.
“Essence is fairies in a warehouse somewhere dancing with fruits, and suddenly you have this amazing drink,” said Miranda Wicker, 35.
The Atlanta social-media manager was poolside recently with a cold can of pamplemousse (that’s grapefruit) LaCroix. “There are just some things we don’t need to know,” she said.
Write to Rob Copeland at rob.copeland@wsj.com
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