Canadians can live with noisy chip bags

Monday, December 6, 2010

There is a limit to what American consumers will sacrifice in the name of sustainability.  The ability to sneak a handful of chip snacks quietly in the middle of the night is one of those things.

Frito Lay launched biodegradable bags for its SunChip snack line in April of 2009. (The launch in Canada came nearly a year later. See ShortTakes, Better Farming, April 2010.) Citing widespread complaints from consumers, Frito Lay spent the fall converting back to its original plastic packaging for most SunChip flavours sold in the United States. The molecular structure of the plant-based packaging that made them compostable also made them loud. Associated Press reports that a number of Facebook groups were based on complaints about the noisy bags.

"We need to listen to our consumers," Frito Lay spokesperson Aurora Gonzalez said. "We clearly heard their feedback."

Frito Lay Canada didn't follow suit. SunChip bags sold in Canada carried a note about the noisy packaging and stressed its compostability. "Despite what you may have heard, the SunChips brand is, and has always planned on, keeping the compostable bag in Canada," says a Frito Lay Canada website statement signed by Helmi Ansari, sustainability leader.

In late October, the company invited consumers to comment on the chip bags on its own Facebook site.

A few days into the campaign, Facebook comments leaned heavily in favour of keeping the noisy biodegradable bags. Is this proof that Canadians have a stronger commitment to the environment, or that a proactive public relations campaign works? BF