People value what they helped make. In the 1950s, a market researcher called Ern
By Frederic Mathieu · October 20, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
People value what they helped make.
In the 1950s, a market researcher called Ernest Dichter sat down with housewives to find out why they felt odd about using cake mix.
The answer he kept hearing was some version of "The mix saves me a lot of trouble, but it doesn't feel like I'm really baking anything."
His advice was to leave them something to do, like cracking in a fresh egg or mixing in the oil and milk themselves.
Cake mix went on to become a staple in American kitchens.
When people put a bit of their own effort into something, they enjoy it and care about it far more.
The effort makes it feel partly theirs, and people are generous towards anything that feels like theirs.
Milka used the same instinct on a street in Argentina.
Tenderness has sat at the centre of their brand for years.
Instead of repeating the word in another ad, they set things up so strangers had to rely on each other's tenderness and generosity to get a free bar of chocolate.
They could easily have just handed out free chocolate, but people would have forgotten it by the next corner.
Making them earn it together gave them a part in the story, and that's the part people remember.