Thirteen-year-old Hart Main’s inspiration for manly-scented candles struck when his sister Camryn sold candles to raise money for their school and he thought this selection was lacking in appeal to the male population. Straying from normalized scents like Egyptian cotton and toasted vanilla that Hart considered more feminine in nature, he dreamt up candles smelling of New York Style Pizza, Grandpa’s Pip, Sawdust, Campfire, New Mitt, Fresh Cut Grass, Coffee, and Bacon, the current breadth of the ManCans line. Hart turned a spiteful spin on his older sister’s production to a full-fledged business venture with the encouragement of his parents and a heart set on a $1,500 bike.
While this transformation required initial investments on the Harts’ part, a primary drive behind its growth has been how ManCans gives back to the community before the candles are even made. As indicated by the name, the candles are made in cans—soup cans, in fact, which Main buys, donating the soup to local soup kitchens and keeping the cans to package the candles. The business’ growth has led to several demands in production—the need for a larger space than the Mains’ kitchen and more hands on deck.
Main—who is now 26—eventually shifted production to the Beaver Creek Candle Company of Lisbon, Ohio, another effort to give back the community as a manufacturing company employing people with developmental challenges. ManCans are sold across the nation, and the vigor Main has demonstrated in driving his venture this far and into the hearts of people in his hometown and beyond show that it will be a long time—if ever—until this thriving business kicks the can.
This story is so amazing! I wrote about this earlier in the year, and it is just so funny that it all started because of him teasing his younger sister about girly scented candles. His way of innovating to manly scented candles and calling his business “ManCans” is just so incredible. Also, I really enjoyed that Hart Main loved giving back to the community! He created all those jobs for the developmental challenged people, and I just thought that was awesome. He also loved giving back to the soup kitchens which is cool considering he uses soup cans to put the candles in. Overall, I really loved this post, and thought you did a great job!