Archive for Household Goods – Page 2

Hart Main – Man Can

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.

Mmm Mmm Smells So Good

Entrepreneurs are entrepreneurs no matter how small. One of these innovative individuals is Hart Main. In 2010, 13-year-old Main created ManCans, a candle company that sells manly scented candles in soup cans. The original driving force for the formulation of the business venture was to purchase a $1,200.00 bike to compete in triathlons. Production used to occur in the Main’s kitchen but has quickly grown and production now happens at Beaver Creek Candle Company and ManCans are now sold in nearly 150 stores across the United States of America. Main and his father co-wrote One Candle One Meal. This 90 paged book depicts Main’s journey of starting his own business and provides inspiration to other young entrepreneurs looking to achieve the same goal.

ManCans first came to light when Camyrn, Main’s sister, was selling candles for a school fundraiser. As a teenage boy, Main thought the candles that his sister was selling were too girly and that most men probably would not purchase such a girly scented candle. Main aimed to create manly scented candles and put them in soup cans rather than glass jars in order to aid the brand perception. For the first few months of production, the Main family and close friends ate the soup before then using the empty can for candle. As production increased the demand for empty soup cans also increased. Main then decided to donate the soup to local soup kitchens. As of a few years ago, Main’s growing company has given 100,000 cans of soup and $35,000.00 to 25 soup kitchens in four states. In one interview Main states, “my goal in the book is to teach entrepreneurship and promote it for youth because that’s something that’s very important to me.”

Recent sources report that Main plans to attend Kent State University to major in economics. He wants to learn more about the topic not only for his business but because he wants to be a sports agent. Main states that sports is something that he’s always been interested in but when he started ManCans he didn’t expect for it to take off like it did.

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