Would you buy his and hers loaves of bread? Bakery markets gender-based bread

WATCH: Stonemill Bakehouse says the gender-based breads were made based on the dietary needs of consumers. Marianne Dimain reports.

TORONTO – Two new loaves of bread made by Stonemill Bakehouse in Toronto are stirring up controversy in the grocery aisle because they are separately marketed by gender.

One loaf, made of hemp and quinoa is packaged for women with a pink label. The other is made of barley and rye and packaged with a black label for men.

The company says each loaf was created based on dietary needs but some consumers question whether such gender-based marketing is necessary.

Marketing expert Brynn Winegard of Winegard and Associates says despite some backlash, such a strategy has proven to be effective and goes through research and focus groups before it’s officially put on the market.

“A lot of consumers don’t want to be sterotyped and that’s one of the issues with gender-based marketing,” said Winegard. “Though, as I say, alot of that packaging goes through extensive testing before it gets to shelf.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "A lot of consumers don't want to be sterotyped and that's one of the issues with gender-based marketing," said Winegard. "Though, as I say, alot of that packaging goes through extensive testing before it gets to shelf."

The concept of gender-based marketing is not a new one. Products have been created and geared towards men or women for years: Kinder Surprise released limited edition blue and pink eggs for boys and girls, Bic sells a pen made just for women and a brand called Powerful Yogurt sells its product boasting a thicker, protein rich formula that will help you find your inner abs.

“It is very important for companies to have their product standout especially at shelf in stores because as you know we walk into a store and there’s so much choice,” said Winegard.

According to NPD Group recent statistics have found that men are shopping more than women in some sectors. That has become an opportunity for companies to gear their products specifically towards men and women.

“Taking it back to basics, between Venus and Mars, what attracts men versus what attracts women,” said Sandy Silva, Retail Analyst at NPD Group. “I actually do think that marketing accordingly, taking it back to basics, is effective.”

But not all consumers eat it up, after being shown the two loaves of bread by Stonemill Bakehouse, one woman tasted both and decided she like preffered the heartiness of the one geared towards men.

“I actually like this one better than the other one,” she said.