Sorry - I'm going to say it. These guys need to change their name already. It's just too much. (their name is derived from a dystopian film called Soylent Green, which I won't give away and other replies shouldn't either. It's really really famous.) I thought it was bad enough when everything was going dandy but when we read about this kind of PR / damage control, it's just too much.
They have a choice about it. This is a conscious joke on their part. They need to take the next step, please.
I got downvoted but I'm going to keep this (it's quickly heading to -4). Go watch the film, in the canon of filmmaking, and then come back and tell me I'm wrong.
You're wrong because we all get the joke, and are over it. It's a very conscious branding choice to label themselves as counterculture and edgy. It won't appeal to everyone, but it clearly is a conscious marketing choice, and you'd have a hard time saying their marketing isn't going well.
I think your time would be better spent telling MetRx or Ensure to change their names, considering they are brands which are not very successful at capturing the market Soylent is dominating (the bottled-nutrition-by-choice market).
As far as I can tell their only issue is quality control and customer communication, changing their name wouldn't fix either.
I guess you would have the same opinion about "Schiit audio" (a brand to fleece audiophiles, and which does very well.) their site[1] reads "Yes, that is our name. Shih-tah. It's a proud German name, host to a long line of audio engineers who slaved away in crumbling Teutonic fortresses as lightning lashed the dark lands outside, working to perfect the best amplification devices in the world...
Or, well, no. Yep, Schiit is our name, and it's pronounced, well, like "hey man, that's some really good Schiit!" And now that we have your attention..."
Sorry. I believe "nomen est omen" and I personally believe that until they update their name they have it baked into their DNA to lie to, to mislead, and to create an awful dystopia. It is quite literally on the label.
Compare the origin of the term Ycombinator: [2]
We might disagree on this but I am going to maintain that when your name clearly embodies some ideal, however vaguely, it affects things.
Why are there no restaurants called Makesyapuke Diner? (or anything like it.)
They need to align their name with their positive vision. They've outgrown the joke.
Actually the name was derived from an earlier book to which the movie was based on [1]. On the other hand, Soylent Green (as a movie) is pretty low in pop culture, and I can't say I've really seen any issue with the name. I'm fairly certain Soylent (as a company) has done market research on whether the name is worth it.
That's fine, a variation would be fine. I'm not a branding expert but any variation ("Soyful" as an example) would be fine by me, even if later they moved away from soy for whatever reason. I object just to their specific name.
They have a choice about it. This is a conscious joke on their part. They need to take the next step, please.
I got downvoted but I'm going to keep this (it's quickly heading to -4). Go watch the film, in the canon of filmmaking, and then come back and tell me I'm wrong.