SunChips Bag Gets Noise Complaint
When Frito-Lay launched a biodegradable SunChips bag, eco-friendly snack eaters cheered! But, it seems as though those cheers were drowned out by the 100% compostable bag’s noisy packaging material. After about 18 months, declining sales and negative consumer feedback, Frito-Lay is pulling the loud snack bags from shelves and returning to the former, quieter bags which cannot be recycled.
While the new bags are undoubtedly louder and a little annoying, is 10 seconds of noise while you open the bag really that big of a deal? It is according to over 44,000 Facebook fans of the “Sorry But I Can’t Hear You Over This SunChips Bag” page. I guess the bags weren’t as loud as they thought if Frito-Lay heard their complaints.
The SunChips brand centers around health and nature. Their website promotes a “healthier you” and a “healthier planet.” SunChips boasts that it is committed to environmental sustainability and changing the world. While removing the bags seems like a step in the opposite direction, USA Today reports that the company is working on creating a new, quieter eco-friendly bag.
Though I’m all for compromise, I think consumers should consider that the sounds of garbage trucks taking the old bags to the dump, or the sounds of children running into the kitchen for a snack are far louder than new bags themselves.
I wonder if Frito-Lay used the complaints as a reason to pull merchandise instead of another potential problem. With the focus shifting to more compostable containers a lot of people are finding their bags/cups/plates are biodegrading while they’re eating. Perhaps Frito-Lay discovered the shelf life wasn’t as long as normal and pulled the product to redevelop their bags. I’ve never noticed the loud sound…
I did read recently that they are still going to use the noisy bags on their second best selling chips, so at least they aren’t scrapping the idea altogether.