LINCOLN, Neb. — It started with a scent that Adam Anderson didn’t want on his hands any more — the “girly” smelling soap his girlfriend used.
“I thought, ‘Why aren’t there any soaps for guys?’” he told the Lincoln Journal Star. So he wrote down some of his odoriferous ideas that seemed more manly, like topsoil and, of course, bacon.
Then Anderson did some online research about soap-making and scents and other products on the market. He ordered enough supplies for a test run and in late October made 20 bars that smelled like a fresh-mowed lawn, but wouldn’t set off a flurry of sneezes.
When he showed it to his dad, Anderson had his first happy customer. Because for Terry Anderson, who owns Lawnscapes, a Lincoln landscaping business, this soap hit the mark.
Encouraged, Adam Anderson soon found himself up to his elbows in lather.
“It really wasn’t that hard to make soap,” he said.
A double boiler, basic chunks of generic soap, water, coloring and the ever-important smell was all he needed to get started.
Anderson’s first efforts came from his small kitchen, where he discovered the purchased “scents” needed a little tinkering to produce the desired results.
He named his product ManHands and created a logo of linked handprints. Then he began sniffing around for a dozen or more scents that fit the bill.
Sometimes being an entrepreneur was scary, he says. His containers — a plastic package that doubles as a mold — had to be ordered in volume, 800 to a box.
“When I bought my first case, I wasn’t sure I would ever sell that many bars of soap,” he said.
Turns out November is a great launch time for a product that just screams “stocking stuffer.” Anderson tested the market on weekends at local craft fairs and by putting his new product in a few local gift shops.
He found that women, who were buying the bars, loved the manly soaps, too.
But with making dozens of bars of soap, printing labels and storing containers, which took up a lot of space, his kitchen became overrun with the new product. After his parents offered a storage area in their basement, Anderson moved his new, thriving business over there.
“I hadn’t been sure what my intentions were before, but all of a sudden, I was in the middle of running my own company,” he said.
With a degree in business, Anderson, 27, put some of the economic practices he learned to work. He started with a small investment — he puts it at somewhere around $100 — and he quickly was able to put his profits back into the company.
Early on, he met with an attorney to make sure the ManHands name and logo was trademarked. John Miles, an attorney with Cline, Williams, Wright, Johnson and Oldfather, often works with startups and found Anderson’s product “pretty remarkable.” After sitting down and hearing his story, Miles saw Anderson had a “unique name, with a unique product and was gaining momentum.”
Miles even bought about a dozen of the soaps for holiday gifts. The Urinal Mint scent turned out to be a funny favorite of his friends.
“It’s one of the best-sellers,” Anderson said.
His own preference is Baseball Glove — a natural for a guy who played the sport at Lincoln Southeast High School and in college. Top Soil (farmers and gardeners love this one), Beer and Fresh Cut Grass also are popular scents. Others include Muscle Rub, Mint Blend Chewing Tobacco, Race Day and Bonfire.
By December, Anderson had his own Etsy website and garnered some national attention. CNN’s Anderson Cooper weighed in on the product, and so did morning shows in Atlanta and Australia. Even syndicated radio hosts Bob and Tom mentioned the product.
Not surprisingly his sales increased, and after gadgetsandgear.com, a New York City-based online store, picked up his product, Anderson was selling 300 to 400 bars a week.
Things have slowed down some after the holidays, but business is still pretty steady.
Anderson has perfected his soap-making skills and now makes 100 bars an hour. He prefers to make the orders as they come in, but he usually has all 20-plus scents available.
His own website — manhandssoap.com — is up and running, with a note saying “our soaps are individually handmade and are tested on dudes, not animals!” He also has a Facebook page, which oddly featured a complaint from a mom who said her man/child used the bacon soap and smelled like — yes, bacon.
Locally, Anderson is always on the lookout for stores to carry his product. Right now it can be found at From Nebraska, Plum Creek Gifts, Euphoria, Penguin Pit Stop and Simply Bungalow.
His prices vary, depending on whether it is purchased locally, online or wholesale. In Lincoln, most stores sell it for $4.95 a bar.
What’s next for the manly soap entrepreneur?
“I get a lot of suggestions for new scents,” he said.
But he’s not sure nacho cheese is a winner. For now, he hopes to grow the business, maybe branch out in scented product lines.
“I’m enjoying it,” he said.
With more than 6,000 bars sold, maybe it’s time to break out the soap he named “Cash.”
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