The aesthetic
This goes first, because it's pretty all-encompassing. It's midwestern earnestness somehow seamlessly mixed with a yearning for all things European. The mispronounced French name that's really midwestern geography, the cans that look like linoleum floors, the new line of flavors called "Cúrate" (which means "cure yourself" in Spanish). Amazing. Think the Griswolds go to the French Riviera.
Young people love this stuff in the same way they love most things - a love that starts out ironically and then morphs into pure enthusiasm. But always in a heavily documented and hashtagged way (#LiveLaCroix).
[Photo via @lacroixwater]