Frito-Lay getting rid of biogradable SunChips bag because of complaints that bags are 'too noisy'

[Liberal_in_LA]

Posted October 06, 2010 Frito-Lay Silences Noisy SunChips Bags
By Seth Fiegerman

Frito-Lay announced Tuesday that it’s getting rid of biodegradable SunChips bags and reverting back to the original packaging in response to complaints that the current bags are too noisy.

The company first introduced the biodegradable bags back in April 2009 to appeal to more environmentally-conscious consumers. The bags are made from plants and are supposed to be more compostable, even though some question how eco-friendly the bags really are. Unfortunately, while this strategy may have appealed to some, it also infuriated many others because the bags made too much noise.

The bags’ critics have been pretty harsh, calling it the “loudest bag ever." In fact, at the moment, there are nearly 50,000 members of a Facebook group called, “Sorry But I Can’t Hear You Over This Sun Chips Bag.” In case you’re wondering, here is what the bag really sounds like.

So it seems that Frito-Lay may have damaged its brand twice, first by producing a comically loud product that annoys consumers and again by earning a spot in headlines for having to effectively recall its own bags.

http://www.mainstreet.com/article/moneyinvesting/news/frito-lay-silences-noisy-sunchips-bags?cm_ven=msnetzero

[sufrommich]

1. It is,truly, the loudest bag I've ever heard. nt

[gateley]

4. That's too bad. At least they tried. nt

[sufrommich]

8. I agree and my post wasn't against the bag.

I just couldn't believe how incredibly loud it was when I first heard it.

[gateley]

30. Understood -- it's GOT to be loud for so many people to actually complain and

comment about it!

[Liberal_in_LA]

6. Does that loudness embarrass you? Give it away that you are having a snack? Or just annoying?

[sufrommich]

10. Honestly, I don't like Sun Chips and snacks would be an

odd thing to be embarrassed about. I was over a friend's house who said "listen to this", we both laughed.Like I said, it's incredibly loud for a bag.

[phasma ex machina]

38. Re: "Does that loudness embarrass you?"

When you know that everyone else knows ... that you're at it again ... you know? I thought it is was very embarrassing.


If you thought it was so embarrassing, what are you talking about it for? - "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

[HughMoran]

9. Screaming loud. It was the topic of conversation at the supermarket

People felt like they were advertising their purchase based on the noise.

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. wow!

[Lucian]

2. I'd rather have a loud bag that decomposes over...

a quieter bag that takes decades to break down.

[gateley]

7. Me, too - wish they would have taken that stance, but at least they made

an effort.

Hopefully there are lots of complaints about pulling the bag and there will be more R&D into a quieter biodegradable option.

[RufusTFirefly]

20. No way, Dude! A noisy chip bag is wayyy more inconvenient than a devastated planet!!

Come on! Get your priorities straight!

[Crankie Avalon]

21. "Silent but deadly." n/t

[DirkGently]

24. A very fair trade. But it was impressively loud. No midnight snacking possible.

[RZM]

3. File this under: 'you can't make this shit up' n/t

[Dappleganger]

5. They really are quite loud.

[WilliamPitt]

11. They are loud

I scared my wife by balling one up.

It was pretty funny. Too bad they're dumping them. ;)

[Liberal_in_LA]

13. Hee! that's loud! I'm going to check one out at the supermarket before they pull them

[WilliamPitt]

15. You have to crush it quick

Like *SMOOSH*

Sounds like a car accident.

[Common Sense Party]

18. My cat almost peed the floor when I crumpled one up.

He took off for the basement at Mach 3.

[JVS]

29. You'd think they'd make this the standard bag for movie concession stands.

[Radical Activist]

32. I had a similar experience with my girlfriend.

How can you go wrong with chips that biodegrade and provide an additional source of entertainment?

[DJ13]

14. The solution was to put the chips in a ziploc bag

[Common Sense Party]

19. And then throw the Ziploc in a landfill.

[DJ13]

22. Yep!

:silly:

[Sherman A1]

16. They are loud, but

all chip bags happen to be so.

[Liberal_in_LA]

17. Yeah, chips can't be eaten secretly

[LanternWaste]

23. Consumer convenience always trumps consumer responsibility...

Consumer convenience always seems to trump consumer responsibility...

Too loud a bag????

That's the kind of thing I would expect Rand Paul and his fringe whackadoodles to complain about, but not the mainstream. Oh well, I'm wrong far more often than I'm right...

[Stinky The Clown]

25. Fuck you, Frito Lay

The last item in common service in employee dining facilities that care that can't be composted or recycled are these fucking snack bags.

I have worked with a number of clients recently to help them move to greener employee dining operations. It is now possible to get a completely green waste stream - either compostable or recyclable - except for one fucking item. The snack bag continues to be the bane of their plans.

Fuck you, Frito Lay.

And fuck you to the self centered assholes who complain about the bag noise.

[Common Sense Party]

27. And right back atcha. All we're saying is, back to the drawing board.

Develop a biodegradable bag that doesn't sound like hail on a tin roof amplified by a stack of Marshall amps, and we'll jump for joy.

[MadHound]

26. I wondered about those bags,

They remind me of the plastic shopping bags that a local grocery store introduced about twenty years ago. They were also quite loud, but that's not what bothered me. They claimed to be biodegradable as well. They were made out of a corn starch derivative, and it was initially claimed they would degrade when buried in a landfill. Then that claim was modified to claiming they would degrade when exposed to sunlight. I took one and tied it to my porch railing. After two years in wind and rain, sunlight and snow, it still didn't show any signs of degrading. I was wondering if these Sun Chip bags were made out of the same material.

[Liberal_in_LA]

33. I wonder the same about those disposable forks made from potatoes

I should repeat your experiment with the forks

[felix_numinous]

28. It would be great to hear their R & D is working on another biodegradable bag. nt

[Radical Activist]

31. Noooo! These whiny assholes are why we can't have nice things.

I liked having a biodegradable bag and it was fun to make noise with.

[struggle4progress]

34. Ah, the trials of all us long-suffering Americans! The things we have to put up with!

[derby378]

35. I'm cool with a little extra noise if it helps the environment

Too bad. This was a noble and worthwhile effort.

[flvegan]

36. Idiots. The "loud" bag should have been a badge of honor.

Kind of like driving a Prius. It screams, "I'm helping, no matter how horrible it is!"

[Gabi Hayes]

37. it was also very, very, VERY BRIGHT

much too bright

[and-justice-for-all]

39. I do not care how 'loud' the fucking bag is....

put the damn chips in a reuseable container when you get home.

It is biodegradable and that is far more important than petty whining over how 'loud' it is.

[Leftist Agitator]

40. Pringles cans, FTW.

I store all of my bagged snacks in them. They stay much fresher that way.

[and-justice-for-all]

41. It is so damn easy....people just want to bitch..nt

[Leftist Agitator]

42. I wish I could still hear...

Because from what my boyfriend says, those bags are hellaciously loud.

Apparently they have videos on YouTube of just how loud the bags are.

Still, no reason for people to complain. As you said, how damn hard is it to transfer the delicious Sun Chips to a resealable container?

[pipoman]

43. How is this different

than the Cape Cod brazillionaires objecting to offshore wind generators because they are unsightly?