Male-friendly candles reshape market

A US teen is selling “manly” candles in a bid to change people’s perceptions about candles being a traditionally feminine product.

American teenager Hart Main, 13, got the idea for his “Mancans” while ridiculing his sister’s girly-scented candles.

The young entrepreneur says the $5 candles are packaged in old soup cans, stating: “We just served 250 cans of soup in a soup kitchen in Lima for the cans.”

Main divides his smells into three categories: things men can eat, things men like and things man can do. He says his favourite Mancans scent is freshly cut grass. Other scents include pizza, leather and bacon.

StartupSmart recently wrote about a Mexican brewery company, which is marketing beers to appeal to the gay and lesbian community.

Under the title Queer Beer, the company is hoping to hone in on this particular market with a tailored offering and some clever branding.

Mancans appears to go down the same path, angling a product at a demographic not normally associated with that item. Can you think of any other products or services overlooking a potential market?