The Seltzer Market Is Holding Its Water

If there’s a box of LaCroix Sparkling Water peach-pear flavor on sale at the Whole Foods Market on North Main Street in Providence, Rhode Island, Walter Farber, a 33-year-old consultant in database administration, is buying it.

Farber was once a soda drinker, consuming two 20-ounce bottles of Diet Coke a day, until he made the switch to seltzer a couple of years ago. “I’ll admit that I still love Diet Coke,” Farber said. But concerns over artificial sweeteners led him to satisfy his love for carbonated beverages with seltzer waters instead. He drinks a variety of brands: Polar, Poland Spring, and Target’s in-house brand, Simply Balanced, as well. But he really waxes poetic about LaCroix, which he just tried for the first time due to the reduced price at Whole Foods.