New Trend in Marketing: Meet the 'Manfluencers'

It's recognition that more guys are doing the household shopping
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 27, 2013 6:00 AM CDT
New Trend in Marketing: Meet the 'Manfluencers'
   (Shutterstock)

You may have heard the term "mancession," coined because the recent recession took a bigger toll on men than women. But "manfluencers"? That, as Quartz explains, is a trademarked term from Midan Marketing, whose survey revealed that 47% of US men now do most of the grocery shopping and cooking in their homes. A sizable chunk are also clipping coupons and generally overturning long-held notions of gender roles in the supermarket and in the kitchen—which helps explain why companies are tripping over themselves to package foods designed to catch the eyes of guys.

Witness "brogurt," the nickname for Powerful Yogurt, pitched as the first yogurt specifically designed for men. Think more protein, bigger servings, bull horns on the packaging, and tag lines such as "find your inner abs." At Slate, Kristin Hohenadel isn't so sure about this kind of stuff. "Isn’t this just as condescending (and embarrassing) to men as pastel-colored girly yogurt packaging is to women?" Maybe, but don't expect the concept to fade away anytime soon. A recent Wall Street Journal story found that companies are rolling out man-friendly packaging for everything from cold-brew coffee to hard cider to Hamburger Helper. (Click to read about how men still can't compete with women when it comes to multitasking.)

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