We’ve always thought the idea of “Men’s” versions of products was a little silly. After all, do we really need to be told which candy our gender has been determined to eat? Well, Pocky took care of that a while back with “Men’s Pocky”, which is more bitter than the other versions. Finally! Everyone now knows which chocolate-covered cracker stick fits their biology.
Kanebo also made a オトコ香る “Men’s Flavor” rose gum to get stray Pocky out of your teeth.
Rain falls differently for men and women apparently, so this umbrella solves that problem as well.
Perhaps the differentiation is more focused on getting men to buy things at all. We had to go get some chapstick the other day, but had no idea which one to choose! There were so many colors and versions, all which seemed to be for women, but upon seeing the Gatsby chapstick for men we had a huge sigh of relief…until we tasted it. Yuck.
Otokomae is a tofu company with a hip (albeit noisy) website with the ”男” (man) kanji all over everything. The branding is very masculine, and each kind of tofu has a masculine name like “handsome tofu”.
Otokomae’s tofu is more or less targeted at women of course, but the theme of “men’s” is becoming more and more common these days. After all, if you’re a man and you need something, wouldn’t you prefer one that’s made with you in mind?
Michael is CEO and Co-Founder of the 
