In October of 2010, thirteen-year-old Hart Main loved teasing his sister over the “girly” scents of candles she was selling for a school fundraiser. Wanting to buy an expensive Trek bike, Main had the idea of starting a candle company that sold more “manly” scents. He bought the necessary supplies for $100, hoping to sell some candles to raise a meager $1200 to purchase his bike. Not only did Main have the idea of “manly” candles, he also decided to put the candles in “masculine” soup cans instead of the typical glass jars. Within one month, he had sold over 20,000 candles from his garage. Hart recalled the days when his house was covered in cans and candle wax.
Though the idea was very unique, Hart had a dilemma: he had way too much soup. In 2011, he decided to start donating the soup to food banks and homeless shelters in North and Central America. Furthermore, he then decided to donate $0.75 of every candle purchase to homeless shelters in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Michigan.
What are some of the manly scents offered by Man Cans? “Fresh-Cut Grass,” “Campfire,” and “Bacon” are just a few of many manly scents sold by Man Cans. Main uses a team of perfumists in New Jersey to scent his candles. They collaborate and share samples with Main until the perfect scent is found.
What started as a means of acquiring some extra cash has morphed into a company that sells manly candles nationwide. Amazon and Barnes & Noble are just two of many major retailers that sell Man Can candles. Just a little joke about “girly” candles sparked (pun intended) an innovative idea to solve a simple problem: the need for the smell of bacon and two-stroke engines filling the air.