A moment of silence, please, for the compostable SunChips snack bags.
Snack maker Frito-Lay revealed this week it is yanking most of its 100 percent biodegradable SunChips bags amid a deluge of consumer complaints that the packaging is too noisy.
The company had ballyhooed the bags, made from plant material, as a game-changer when they were trotted out 18 months ago. But the green appeal apparently was no match for the racket the pouches made when consumers ripped them open and reached in for a chip. No sneaking a snack here. Sales have dropped 11 percent amid an outpouring of grousing about the noise.
Frito-Lay, a division of Pepsico, says it'll keep selling plain SunChips in the compostable bags, but will revert to the oiriginal packaging for the other five chip flavors.
Maybe it's just me and my failing hearing, but I wasn't that put off by the crackling of the new bags. It was obnoxious, sure, but not enough to skip the occasional SunChips snack.
The company's still touting its compostable bags on its website, by the way. But perception is reality, especially in the marketing world, so it seems Frito-Lay's going back to the drawing board to search for a quieter green packaging.
(Baltimore Sun photo by Sarah Kelber)