Young entrepreneur is in business to help others
ManCans was born out of the concept that candles are typically sweet-smelling and marketed toward women. “While about 75 percent of our business is still women, ManCans are candles that appeal to men,” said Main. With scents like Campfire, New Mitt, and Fresh Cut Grass, the three original scents, ManCans now come in New York Style Pizza, Grandpa’s Pipe, Sawdust, Coffee, Dirt, Santa’s Beard, Cigar, Hot Cocoa, Gunpowder and Bacon. Diesel is poised to debut around Father’s Day.
A for-profit business, ManCans donates a portion of its profits to soup kitchens across Ohio and several other states. ManCans are made of Ohio-sourced wax poured into recycled soup cans. “We started using the soup cans that my parents bought to feed the family,” said Main. “We could only eat so much soup so we decided to buy soup, donate it to local soup kitchens, and then go back for the cans when the soup was used.”
ManCans grew rapidly and the young entrepreneur learned much along the way. “I had never been to a soup kitchen before I started the business, and neither had my parents,” said Main. “The first time we went to a soup kitchen, I saw there was a great need and it was in my own community. I learned that there was a story behind every person there. They were not the people I had expected. Only a small number of the people were homeless. Most of the people were at the end of a paycheck and they came to find a meal so they could pay a bill with what little they had.”
Main consistently gets requests for new scents, and while he is not always able to oblige, he understands the requests show there is a market for his product. In the last three years, Main has received national attention, with television appearances and articles from the likes of Huffington Post and Time. “The national attention brought us a lot of new business,” said Main. “There were many nights when I was up until 2 a.m. in order to fulfill orders. As the business has grown, my grades have suffered. But I have learned that life is more than a GPA.”
Main sees the importance of small businesses working together in order to succeed. “We have been approached by Wal-Mart more than once,” said Main. “A store like that would diminish the value of the product and the people and small businesses that have allowed us to be a success.”
No longer able to use only those cans donated to soup kitchens, Main knows in order for the business to continue growing, bulk cans and labor are a necessity. Beginning soon, the Beaver Creek Candle Company, a Columbiana County business that employs developmentally disabled individuals, will manufacture ManCans. “This will allow us to consistently supply some of our wholesale customers, one of which ordered 15,000 candles from us last year.”
Main has learned he can better serve the hungry with cash donations to operations that have more purchasing power when armed with real dollars. “Food pantries can get something like eight meals from $1.38,” said Main. “That is a lot better than what I can do with small donations of soup.” Main’s efforts thus far have allowed him to provide upwards of 65,000 meals to individuals in need.
Main hopes to study finance and become a sports agent. “I have some trouble in school,” said Main. “I go back to a Mark Twain quote, ‘Never let school interfere with your education.’”
ManCans are available in 130 retail outlets nationwide, including local retailer, McDonald Niklaus Framing & Gifts at Dover, and on the ManCans website at www.man-cans.com.