In 2010, the Frito-Lay brand SunChips reached a ‘Eureka’ moment.

They’d finally done the impossible — SunChips had found a way to deliver millions of bags of their tasty chips in 100% compostable packaging.

It's a notable and noble example of a major consumer packaged goods company seeking to decrease the environmental impact of a high-volume, high-waste product.

The consumer reception?

Horror.

Despite all the benefits of this remarkable innovation, SunChips consumers en masse were distracted and in fact disturbed by…the noise of the bag.

The new bag was loud enough to prompt a Wall Street Journal reporter to measure the sound of the bag with a decibel reader…

And prompted 2010s-era Facebook groups titled “I wanted SunChips but my roommate was sleeping.”

​The audio on this NPR report gives you an idea of how loud we’re talking.

SunChips eventually discontinued the bag. (Quietly.)

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The advice to check in with your customers during development is not particularly profound or novel.

But the SunChips example is a good reminder that even when you think you’ve cracked the code on the holy grail service that will solve your client’s problem…

A simple listening tour can surface new, unexpected angles of input that you wouldn’t have considered by building in a vacuum.

💡

-Wes

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If you’re interested, here’s a 10-years-later look back at the fiasco through the lens of the ever-more-pressing climate crisis.