Moen Uncovers Consumer Cooking Activities -- And the Differences Between Men and Women in the Kitchen

NORTH OLMSTED, OH--(Marketwire - Aug 29, 2012) - We all know that women can bring home the bacon... but more often than not, she's also the one that's shopping for it, finding the recipe, cooking the bacon and even cleaning up after the meal. And that's just a glimpse at what Moen uncovered in their latest consumer behavior study. Moen surveyed hundreds of consumers to learn more about their cooking activities -- and how they differ among couples. Who makes a bigger mess? Who religiously follows a cookbook; or rarely uses a recipe?

"We not only wanted to better understand the differences between men and women in their approach to cooking; but also learn about the types of cooks out there," explained Jack Suvak, senior director of market research and insights, Moen. "The study gave us a perspective on the prevalence of different cooking approaches within U.S. households."

Moen uncovered four cooking categories:

• Family Cook (42%) - Takes care of the family and cooks for other people. They enjoy cooking and do it as often as they can.
• Adventurous Cook (31%) - Tries anything once. Loves creating new and exciting recipes in the kitchen. Their family never knows what to expect at mealtimes. No cooking task is too difficult -- and they rarely use recipes.
• Carry-Out Cook (18%) - Does not like to cook and avoids it as much as possible. They cook when they must. It takes too much time or effort, and these folks end up turning to takeout more often than they like to admit.
• Cautious Cook (9%) - Likes cooking; but it causes concern. They're reluctant to try new dishes and are afraid of messing up. They stick with the recipes that are tried and true and these cooks require a lot of guidance from them.

"In total, almost three quarters of respondents approach cooking favorably: 73 percent fall into either Family or Adventurous Cooks. More women are Family Cooks; and more men are the Adventurous Cooks," added Suvak. "Our latest kitchen innovations, including faucets with MotionSense™ hands-free convenience, are perfect for these folks who are active in the kitchen. A faucet with MotionSense makes it surprisingly easy to accomplish a variety of routine tasks with speed and efficiency."

Cook Book? Or Internet?
Despite the ubiquity of all things digital, paper cookbooks are not a thing of the past. In fact, while women tend to gather ideas from other sources; a good, old-fashioned cookbook still ranks first as the top source of inspiration. Perhaps it's the comfort of a hand-me-down book that provides a bit of extra reassurance to tackle a tricky dinner dish for a Cautious Cook. Or maybe it's the handwritten notes jotted in the corner that help give the recipe a little adventurous twist!

Cook at Home vs. Eat Out
Moen found that men like to grab breakfast on the run. Women tend to prepare more meals at home: on average, three to four meals each day. Possibly it goes back to women's multi-tasking prowess -- they can cook while juggling work, kids and more. And men? Well, they just may not be as interested in reading a morning email and frying an egg at the same time. 

Who Does What?
Men and women both agreed that the women tend to be more involved in meal preparation. The details should come as no surprise to most ladies:

• 81 percent of women do the grocery shopping
• 82 percent of women prepare the meal
• 86 percent of women cook the meal
• 80 percent of women clean-up after the meal

Men do lend a helping hand, however. They tackle an important task: opening the wine. Fifty-two percent of men are in charge of un-corking the evening libations.

Who Makes a Bigger Mess?
Another area where men and women tend to agree is with regard to cleanliness in the kitchen. Males are the messier cooks. Sixty-one percent of males and sixty-five percent of females agreed. "We might chalk it up to all those men with Adventurous Cook energy," says Suvak.

Now We're Talkin'
Seems it's true that food brings people together. Once the groceries have been purchased, messes made, food is prepped and cooking... over 50 percent of men and women report that talking to their spouse is the #1 activity done while cooking. In addition, over 40 percent of men and women also have a television on. About 40 percent of men are sampling the meal, and 31 percent of women report also listening to music in the kitchen.

Dreading the Dirty Dishes?
When asked what their least favorite job is following a meal, most agreed that hand washing pots and pans was the worst; followed by putting food away and cleaning dishes. The majority of all respondents (more than 80 percent) use a dishwasher; and -- despite what some dishwasher manufacturers recommend -- more than 80 percent also pre-rinse their dishes before loading them. Unfortunately for man's best friend, about 70 percent of homeowners don't allow their pets to take care of the pre-wash. (At least they didn't admit it for this survey!)

Both men and women can tackle dirty dishes with more efficiency if they had a faucet that made it easier to do so. MotionSense from Moen can actually sense what the user is trying to accomplish, and with a simple wave of the hand, will immediately respond to his or her needs. 

"Touchless technology is the future of our homes," says Rebecca Kolls, senior director consumer strategist, Iconoculture/CEB. "Moen's MotionSense not only makes clean-up easier, but has far reaching health benefits at home; it prevents cross contamination when prepping foods, it helps prevent the spread of germs and bacteria (great for families with children) and for an aging generation (Boomers are turning 65 years old at the rate of 1 every 10 seconds), it makes kitchen work effortless for aging joints."

Suvak concluded, "Great innovations in the kitchen -- ones that can make prep and clean-up more efficient and convenient -- are welcome by anyone who cooks. That may seem obvious. But Moen always takes their new product ideas an extra step. Our people ask questions and listen to consumers to find out exactly what new features or functions will truly deliver real benefit to their lives. It's part of what makes Moen #1."

For more information about Moen and its products, visit moen.com.

About Moen
As the #1 faucet brand in North America, Moen offers a diverse selection of thoughtfully designed kitchen and bath faucets, showerheads, accessories, bath safety products and kitchen sinks -- each delivering the best possible combination of meaningful innovation, useful features, on-trend styling and lasting value. 

Moen is part of Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc. (NYSE: FBHS), which creates products and services that help fulfill the dreams of homeowners and help people feel more secure. For more information, please visit www.fbhs.com