Sampler x Daddy’s Digest – What does it mean to be a dad in today’s consumer (CPG) market? 

When Daddy’s Digest teamed up with Sampler, we knew we would be in for some amazing information about what dads care about most on the market today.  One of the main reasons we wanted to start this partnership was because we are passionate about dads having a say and voice in the products families are consuming. For so long, so many “home goods” products have only been given to and sampled by women or moms. But, as we all know at Daddy’s Digest, a father’s interests go beyond what people may expect.

“More and more, we’re seeing brands start to shift toward marketing products for the whole family to all caregiver roles,” says Morgan Kingdon, Director of Audience, Sampler. “With new technology like Sampler (who power the Daddy’s Digest Samples program) marketers can quickly find parents of any age or gender and give them the opportunity to test out the product in the comfort of their own home.”

Our learnings from our partnership with Sampler have demonstrated 

What products get attention from dads? 

Of the products distributed through Sampler, here are some of the Top Rated Sampler Products, as told by Dads (based on at least 100 reviews, out of 5 stars!)

1. WaterWipes Unscented Baby Wipes – 4.70 stars
2. St. Dalfour Fruit Spread 4.68 stars
3. Persil ProClean Original Scent Discs 4.64
4. OxiClean White REvive Laundry Whitener 4.63
5. all Free Clear Pure Liquid Laundry Detergent 4.59
6. Nutella 4.59
7. AXE Invisible Solid AntiPerspirant 4.59
8. Wild Planet Sustainably Caught Wild Albacore Tuna 4.58
9. Bromley’s For Men Get a Grip Razor 4.56
10. Axe Body Spray 4.56

So many dad-centered publications and media portrayals of dads, even in the year 2022, focus on how father-figures are focused on alcohol, poop and “dad” jokes. Dads are often reduced to a narrative of being useless, engaged only when it comes to money, beer and cars.  However, that’s just not true. Here are some of the top interests amongst 36,000 Canadian dads and 423,000 Canadian moms (!!!) 

**Please note: These two interest questions were multi-select from Sampler (a user can select multiple responses) so %’s will not sum to 100%. Over 36k dads responded to the question, and over 423k moms responded to the question.

What you can see from this is that fathers and mothers are not ALL that different. We don’t radically see dads prioritizing home renovation and “manly things” (even sports)  over moms, and we don’t see moms only prioritizing housework. In fact, moms and fashion/beauty (80.5%), which we would also describe as self-care, rank higher as a top interest than dads and movies.(75%) What these numbers show us, even though there is certainly more data from women/moms, is that moms and dads both value the food they are eating and the way their home looks. Both moms and dads care about watching movies. 

Dads, keep speaking up!

Our major takeaway here is the disparity between moms who are interested in sampling programs and dads. We want to see that number – 36,000 dads – get closer to 423,000. When it comes to products for everyday life and your home, a fathers voice does matter! 

What we are learning: 

Parents are a lot more alike than we may assume, but we have so much more to learn. 

Are you surprised by anything you learned in this article?

To sign up for sampler (moms or dads), get started here!