SunChips Sustainability Challenge

As noted during numerous Good And Green® presentations, sustainable packaging is an important part of a brand’s green initiatives.  But what happens when your eco-friendly packaging strategies interfere with the way consumers engage with your brand?  Ask SunChips.

After introducing the world to its biodegradable bags back in April 2009, Frito-Lay, a unit of PepsiCo Inc., recently announced that it will discontinue using the more eco-friendly packaging on most of its SunChips brand snacks in the U.S.  Why?  While consumers appreciated the biodegradable feature, there was an onslaught of complaints that the new bag was too loud.  “We need to listen to our consumers,” said Frito-Lay spokeswoman Aurora Gonzalez during an interview with the Associated Press.  “We clearly heard their feedback.”  Company executives have stated they are taking “steps to improve their 100% compostable bag in order to address” consumer concerns and will be introducing “the next generation compostable bag” soon.

But Frito Lay Canada is taking a different approach to the ‘noise debate’ by launching an awareness campaign to address the recent discussions, stating, “Our bag is loud, our bag is different, our bag is good for the environment, and our bag will remain on store shelves.”  The campaign invites consumers to go out and test the noise level for themselves and visit the brand’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/sunchipscanada) to post comments and feedback.  For those who still find the bag too loud for snacking, Frito Lay Canada will send them a free pair of earplugs.  “We are continually looking for ways to improve the bag in order to reduce noise while at the same time keeping the environmental benefits, and we expect to have news to share on that soon. In the short term we feel the current bag offers a big reduction in waste for a little amount of noise,” says Helmi Ansari, sustainability leader, Frito Lay Canada. “We always welcome the feedback of Canadians, but also want to encourage them to accept the greater purpose of the bag, noise and all.”

It will be interesting to see which strategy wins with consumers.  At the moment, the SunChips Canada Facebook page appears to be filled with “pro noise” comments including “This is one step on a road of perhaps thousands.  However, getting rid of the bag and ignoring the impact…would be taking a step back.”

From a marketing perspective, what are your thoughts?