Early adopters of the product have been subsisting on the product alone for months, while online communities dedicate themselves to tweaking the formula. Some have suggested that the product, in its economy, could disrupt the food market and become a viable replacement for regular food for the poor in society. A promotional video explains that Soylent's low cost is derived from the fact that taste and texture were not primary considerations.
The name of the product derives from the 1973 Charlton Heston film Soylent Green. At the film's climax, it is revealed that the population's food source, called soylent green, is actually made of people, much to the dismay of Heston’s character. The makers of Soylent were evidently confident that the cult film's cultural footprint was not substantial enough to hurt sales, and the website even kids those in on the joke on the ingredients page. "What's Soylent made of?" the copy asks. "Hint: It's not people."
