Hart Main saw his sister, Camryn, selling candles for a school fundraiser. He thought that the scents from the candles were “too girly.” About one month after, Hart completed a triathlon and said that he did not do well in the bike race, because his bike was older. He wanted a Trek racing bike that costed $1,200. However, his parents told him that he would have to buy it with his own money. In 2010, when Hart was only 13 years old, he founded ManCans, a candle company that sells “manly” scents in a soup can. In 2011, a soup kitchen in Lima received 200 cans of soup from Hart. The cans were projected to last approximately five months. A news station in Columbus heard about Hart’s company and broadcasted a story about it. The Associated Press also got word, which lead to Mancans being requested an average of three candles for every order. The cans were From 2010 until the time the article was written in 2015, Mancans have went from being created in Hart’s kitchen to being created at Beaver Creek Candle Company and sold in almost 150 stores in the United States. Mancans has also given thousands of dollars to many soup kitchens. As of 2015, the company has donated 100,000 soup cans and $35,000 to 25 soup kitchens in four different states. Most people would have never considered doing something that they at first thought was bad. However, Hart gave the candles a second chance and it resulted in great success.
https://www.timesreporter.com/story/news/local/2015/07/21/young-entrepreneur-hart-main-17/985981007/
The name “Mancans” cracks me up. What a hilarious name for a genius product! Talk about sibling rivalry, making a manly version of your sister’s fundraiser. Does the Mancan business recycle soup cans or make their own?
That is such a funny product idea. Crazy how something he started just to raise $1,200 now has gotten so popular that he was able to donate $35,000 to charity. So cool that something so simple has come so far.