Colorful Pages, And Colorful Experience
A UX review of LaCroix sparkling water: it’s a joyful experience
It is psychologically supported that colors impact our moods, feelings, and behaviors. That’s why so many brands have their unique represent color, like Tiffany’s blue and Coca-Cola’s red. LaCroix, greedily, uses so many colors to make the brand image. It succeeded; as I opened their webpage, the freshness almost jump out of my laptop screen.
Besides all the pictures with smiling faces, colorful cans, tropical fruits, the website is also full of fun special effects. I was definitely in a good mood after viewing the website. Yellow, blue, pink, and turquoise are all in a bright tone. Everything is expressing an energetic and youthful brand image.
Instead of a hamburger button, all the options are listed at the top of the page. I personally prefer that way because the options are apparent, and it encourages me to explore. It is also because they only have five options that a hamburger button seems unnecessary. I also like how the website use pictures more than words. That makes the website easy to browse, and I can still read more by clicking the “read more” only if I want to. (It’s because it is a sparkling water website; a technology company would have a different story.)
One thing I like the most about the website is the recipe page. There are tutorial videos and recipes that teach customers how to make Mocktails by mixing the LaCroix sparkling water with fresh fruits. That is not the first time I see this part on a website. Blue Bottle Coffee, which sells coffee beans and brewing equipments, also has a brew guide page (but they only have a textual guide, not videos on their website. Videos can be found on YouTube.)
As the mood made up by colors quickly fleet away, I noticed something imperfect. On the very first page, the picture under the menu makes the words unclear. But if you click the menu, there will be a white background for the letters and then followed by the images. The same thing also happens when you go to the recipes and live LaCroix page. The white letters are indiscernible in front of the colorful photographs.
There is no chatbot built into the website. Still, the FAQ part includes pretty much all the questions a regular customer would have on sparkling water. ( I don’t think a person would ask a hundred questions before she buys a box of sparkling water, but who knows.)
I think LaCroix’s smart to focus on delivering brand value and product profit on its website. Unlike clothing brands’ websites like Zara, where people make their purchases on the website, sparkling water’s website may not be the preferred place to place an order. People buy their water while doing grocery shopping (at Amazon, Costco, etc.). If they want to learn more about the brand they choose, they visit the website. Customers click the website link with interest; you don’t want them to lose that mind — you want them to keep being interested. Instead of saying, “come on and buy my product!” it is wiser to say, “Hey, here is how people are enjoying our sparkling water!”
Now, from a marketer’s point of view, I didn’t see an eye-catching USP (unique selling point). What they have on the main page, besides those cans, can be easily changed to the name of Bubly or Spindrift. They should have explained why LaCroix is a better option than its competitors on the very first page so that customers can leave with an impression. Otherwise, they may feel what I’m feeling right now: LaCroix is good, but I just can’t remember why it is good and how good it is.
