I'm aware of the novel. You are missing the point a bit, aren’t you? It wasn't about the origin of the word. What does one make of a company which chooses to name its product after a darkly dystopian piece of fiction?
One might make that it was a moment of refreshing dark humor in a world where most companies put a giant fake smile rictus and saccharine optimism on everything
Fair enough, but they must have known about the film. A huge chunk of my family perished in the Holocaust. I therefore don't find "dark humor" about forceful mass euthanasia terribly funny.
At the very least, using that name shows a measure of immaturity on the part of company's leadership and makes me frankly question their judgment in other matters. Recall for example their early struggles with health and safety inspections.
I am hoping to be constructive here, in case someone from Soylent is reading. The name is offensive to some people: why lose even one customer over a clever cultural reference? Why willfully associate your product with population control and cannibalism?