Powder pink egg boxes for girls, matte black cola cans for boys, should food products really be gender targeted?
Choosing eggs in Sainsbury’s last week, my eye was drawn to the right hand corner of the top shelf, where I saw stacks of pink egg boxes. Ah, what new eggy treat was this? A new type of duck egg, perhaps? The produce of a fascinating new breed of hen, which popped out pastel pink eggs rather than the pedestrian beige and brown varieties?
Not exactly. On closer inspection these “pink” eggs turned out to be entirely ordinary. By ordinary I mean that they are not even pink, the box alone is. They are though competitively priced at £1.29, for large free range eggs compared to £1.51 for Sainsbury’s Woodland Large Free Range Eggs and £1.98 for the organic ones. Now that is an incentive to buy.
But pink eggs. Pink eggs! And not only do they come in a cutesy pink carton, they have specific powers too: they are meant for baking. According to the website, “Ella Valentine Free Range eggs were born to be baked.” It’s as if the laying hen could visualize a glossy pink cupcake as she popped it out, and thought it far superior to mere scrambled eggs on toast.
Girls love a big egg
The marketing blurb continues: “These big beauties will make your cakes fluffy and your desserts delicious – as every girl knows size is important. Plus they come in pretty pink cartons that are hard to resist.”
I’m not making this up, by the way. I love baking and am in favour of encouraging others to get stuck in, female or otherwise. But if the deliciously sweet products of an afternoon of baking labour aren’t enough to tempt you, I doubt a pink egg carton is, even with a remarkably out of place phallic reference thrown in.
Do price and quality trump colour?
And yet, and yet, my ire at the adfolk behind these eggs is not wholly sparked by the fact they dared to appeal to women, rather that they have done so in such an entirely unsophisticated way. We know that one use for eggs is baking. And we aren’t all hardwired to perk up at the sight of something pink. The price, and the quality, if both are right, should do the trick.
The pink egg people tell me different. “The inspiration for the brand colour came from the brand’s target – a young female that enjoys baking.” It’s as patronizing as the phrase “pink pound”.
They are called baking eggs because, according to consumer research, some people are not sure which eggs to use in a cake. I’m tempted to say that if you’re trying to make a Victoria sponge with quails eggs you’d be better off buying in, but an alternative would be to read the recipe.
Gendered food marketing is not new
Of course this is not the first time marketers have assigned genders to food products to appeal to a perceived target market. We all know that Yorkies are for blokes (not for girls) and that Special K, Ryvita, Philadelphia and Maltesers are for the ladies. Oh, and Diet Coke too, musn’t forget the Diet Coke, which felt the need to rebrand itself as Coke Zero in a black can for the image-conscious menfolk out there.
Men also get McCoy’s (man crisps) and Pot Noodle Doner Kebab (ultimate man food), which, like Coke Zero, comes in a black package.
The Flake folk were a bit smarter. Women wanted to relax in that bubbly bath with a Flake, men wanted to jump in and, er, share it with her.
Mars vs Venus
The rules are simple. Women respond to colourful packaging and clearly worded information about how a food product will improve their health or provide some much-needed indulgence, after afternoon tea with the girls or a hectic school run. Men need macho monochrome, some blokey jargon and the promise of edible fuel to power them through a tough day fighting the enemy/chopping logs/wowing the boardroom.
Who am I to argue with this marketing genius? The funny thing is, it seems that, for once, women are getting the better deal here. We get chocolate, the men get Pot Noodles. I know which focus group I’d rather be in.
What do you think? Fellas do you reach for Coke Zero rather than Diet Coke? Ladies would you pick up pink eggs? Let us know in the comments below.
Some great uses for eggs
Gizzi Erksine's egg, ham and chips