Do Household Products Have Man-appeal?

December 8th, 2009

Not to sound old-fashioned, but most household products appeal to women, not men. Women buy them, use them, store them, throw them out when done, and buy new ones when they need them. This is a generalization, I know, but still very true. Any smart marketer knows this to be fact. So, at Base Brands, when we develop new and different household products, we talk to our consumer and listen to her too. But, one of our most recent product launches got me thinking. What makes a typical household product “crossover” to the other side? When does the male of the house start to notice a particular household item and care enough  to give his opinion to the ultimate decision maker?       

A friend of a friend’s husband, who is pretty traditional (not a lot of help with  household or childcare chores), told his wife he wanted them to buy this well-known high-end vacuum cleaner. He doesn’t vacuum, has never vacuumed and probably never will. But he wanted them to have this vacuum. Why? Because it had a  great design and looked cool. It had a “mechanism” to it that made it different.       

And so it is with our new Reduce™ Compactor Can. It’s a kitchen garbage can that features great design and looks cool. And it has a revolutionary feature unlike any other can out there— it has a compacting feature built into the lid so you can compact 2 times your household garbage, all without plugs or batteries. You just push down on the lid handle and a compacting disc then squishes down your garbage. No more sticking your hand into the trash! So it is a sanitary solution to a common problem, that also saves money on trash bags, and sends less bags to the landfill, making it eco-friendly too. And to brag a bit, the Reduce Compactor Can, has recently been selected as  a finalist in a housewares design contest! The 2010 Housewares Design Awards chose the Reduce Compactor Can as one of only 65 finalists out of over 300 entries because of its innovative and eco-friendly design. Check it out at http://www.housewaresdesignawards.com/hda/main.asp.    

We have found that men really like the Reduce Compactor Can. It has man-appeal. Is it because men take out the trash? (Again, generalizing here.)  Is it because they have a gadget to play with? Is it because it appeals to their ego because they can one-up the neighbors with the coolest garbage can in the cul-de-sac? Not sure here. Women still make the buying decisions no doubt, but with more and more household products, they may hear more input from their other half. The big question is will they listen. What other household products do you think have “man-appeal”? Let us know. We’re curious. 

Ken Kreafle, CEO of Base Brands

Entry Filed under: Blog,Reduce Products