Member-only story
Sun Chips’ Revenue Dropped 11% Over A Bag Design Blunder
Eco-friendly intentions are good. But if the customer isn’t happy, then it’s back to the drawing board.
Sun Chips set out to save the planet but ignored an important part of the customer experience. The result was deafening.
As a strategist and thought leader in the sound in marketing space, this case study has always grabbed my attention. It’s an unusual cautionary tale wrapped up with a good sense of humor. I share this example with clients as proof that strategic sound truly does matter. The last thing they want is to lose revenue and customers over a distracting sound.
Case in point, Sun Chips lost a lot of money over a silly bag design flaw.
Too noisy to taste
In 2010, Sun Chips created a bag that was 100% compostable. They said the bag would biodegrade within two weeks in a landfill, which is amazing!
However, it was loud. Too loud.
Apparently, touching, opening, and basically manipulating the bag in any way was recorded as making 95 decibels of sound to the regular bag’s 60–70. To put that in perspective, a pilot had said the bag was noisier than his cockpit!
Think that’s an exaggeration? Here’s a quick video of someone handling the bag.
