Richard “Hart” Main
Ten years ago, a 13 year old boy came up with the idea of manly scented candles after teasing his sister about the girly scented ones she was selling for a school fundraiser.
Encouraged by his mother, the boy put in an initial investment of $100, his parents put in $200. They all worked together in the kitchen to develop the candles as a family. The first available scents included Campfire, Bacon, Sawdust, Fresh Cut Grass and Grandpa’s Pipe.
And, to keep it manly, the candles were put in repurposed soup cans instead of glass or plastic jars, which meant the family, and then friends and neighbours, had to eat a lot of soup.
In about 6 months, they sold their first 20,000 can candles.
That’s a lot of soup.
The family, with the last name “Main” finally got the idea to donate soup to a nearby soup kitchen. Two-hundred cans were donated, and the supply of empty cans was expected to last about five months.
However, a local news station heard about the story and broadcast it. The story was picked up by the Associated Press , and soon they had orders for more than 4,500 candles.
Finally, in the year 2014, Beaver Creek Candle Co. approached the family, and now they take care of manufacture and distribution.
In the year 2018, Man Cans had sales of $260,000. Since he stop donating soup, Main said, he has donated a total of $50,000 to 15 soup kitchens in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan.
Hart is currently a Kent State University, studying economics and he has stated that he plans on entering politics.
