I drove out to the Manassas, VA Costco warehouse last week and much to my delight I discovered a brand new Kirkland Signature (KS) item:
Kirkland Signature sparkling water (item #4164943)!
This calorie-free, sodium-free, sweetener-free sparkling water is essenced with the natural flavors of lime, lemon & grapefruit, and suspiciously similar to my beloved LaCroix sparkling water.
The KS sparkling water costs 33% less than the LaCroix sparkling waters at Costco! At $7.49 for a 32-pack, the KS sparkling water is just $.23 per can, compared to $.33 per can for the regularly priced $7.99, 24-pack of LaCroix sparkling waters sold at Costco. The KS brand even still costs less than the La Croix instant savings price of $6.39, which works out to $.27 per can making the regularly priced KS sparkling waters 15% cheaper than the LaCroix sale price.
The KS 32-pack includes: 12 Lemon, 12 Lime but only 8 grapefruit, which is a similar ratio to the LaCroix 24-pack which includes: 12 lime, but only 6 lemon and 6 pamplemousse (grapefruit).
Besides the price, one thing I immediately liked about the KS sparkling water was the packaging. The KS sparkling waters are not held together by those plastic 6-pack rings, instead the 32 KS cans are nestled into their sturdy cardboard tray and rely on the exterior plastic wrap to keep them all in place. By contrast, the 24 LaCroix cans are corralled in groups of six by those plastic 6-pack rings inside a slightly less sturdy cardboard tray, then all secured together by the exterior plastic wrap. Not having those additional plastic 6-pack rings which have to be cut up for recycling is a big plus for me.
But savings and packaging aside – how does the KS sparkling water actually taste?!
In a side by side taste test I found both the KS lemon sparkling water and lime sparkling water tasted exactly the same respectively as the LaCroix lemon and lime sparkling waters. While the KS grapefruit had a familiar hint of grapefruit taste, it was a slightly different grapefruit flavor than what I was used to from the LaCroix pamplemousse sparkling water – not bad mind you, just different.
However, the biggest difference I noticed between the two brands wasn’t the taste at all, but the bubbles. The KS sparkling waters seem to have more carbonation than the LaCroix waters, which I really enjoy. I would say the increased carbonation is similar to how Topo Chico sparkling mineral water is bubblier than the San Pelligrino sparkling mineral water.
The nutrition labels for both KS and LaCroix sparkling waters are identical, and the ingredients are nearly the same:
The final verdict: with the similar taste, more bubbles and 33% savings I am completely hooked on the new KS sparkling water! Definitely give it a try if you enjoy sparkling water and let me know what you think.
As always, selection, availability & prices vary from warehouse to warehouse.
Until next time,
the Costco Connoisseur
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