Manpacks

Manpacks
Private
Industry Men's essentials subscription
Founded January 2010
Headquarters Providence, Rhode Island
Key people
 Founded by Ken Johnson and Andrew Draper
Products Men's underwear, undershirts, socks, hygienic items
Website http://www.manpacks.com/

Manpacks is a quarterly subscription service offering men's underwear, socks, toiletries and other basic needs.[1] Buyers create their pack with offered items including boxer briefs, undershirts, socks, shaving products, and condoms, and the pack is automatically delivered every three months.[2]

Foundation

Ken Johnson and Andrew Draper started working on the concept for Manpacks in December 2009 and founded the company in January 2010.[3][4] Manpacks began as an experimental side project, but demand increased. Soon, customer management and the processing of orders turned into a full-time job.[5] Upon launch, the site offered only offered underwear and socks.[6] The site now offers a wider selection of products from brands including Hanes, Calvin Klein, American Apparel, Saxx, Crest, Nivea, Gillette, and Durex.[7]

Manpacks was the first American subscription ecommerce service offering men's essentials.[8][9][10] Numerous sites have since spawned and imitated Manpacks' business model.[11][12] Shortly after launch, Manpacks was accepted into Betaspring's startup accelerator program.[13] Manpacks has also raised $500,000 in an angel round from angel investors such as Dan Martell, 500 Startups, and Venture51.[14] The company currently has more than 10,000 subscribers.[15]

Description

Manpacks automatically ships men basic needs like socks, underwear, razors, and toiletries every three months or when desired.[16][17] Three months after placing an order, Manpacks sends customers a shipment reminder email. [16]

According to Johnson, Manpacks is growing the idea into something larger and wider-reaching.[5][17] Manpacks' primary customers are people buying for the men in their life, men who are averse to shopping, and the lazy.[1][3] The site and company are both set up to save men time and allow them to do more of what they love doing.[18] The company answers the question "What is Manpacks?" by stating: "Imagine if Netflix and iTunes had a baby that sold underwear."[19]

Reception

Manpacks has been featured in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, NPR, ESPN Radio, NBC, Maxim, The Boston Globe, Inc., and The Tampa Tribune.[1][2][3][4][6][15][20][21][22] The Huffington Post described Manpacks as a service "for the guy that doesn't want to bother with the small details in life."[2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Manjoo, Farhad (June 9, 2010). "Man, the Mouse and the Wardrobe". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Wong, Danny (July 20, 2010). "Innovations in E-Commerce: The Subscription Business Model". Huffington Post.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Odegard, Dave. "Manpacks, For a post-sniff test America". Maxim.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Vora, Shivani (October 1, 2010). "Would You Buy Underwear By Subscription?". Inc.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 mario (February 3, 2011). "Ken Johnson – Co-founder and CEO of Manpacks.com". Idea Mensch.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kirsner, Scott (June 10, 2010). "Netflix for undies, and more, at Monday's Web Innovators Group". The Boston Globe.
  7. ↑ "Manpacks Products Page". Manpacks.com.
  8. ↑ Chiang, Ben (April 18, 2012). "Subscribe For A Full Box Of Surprise". Business Insider.
  9. ↑ "Innovators: 3 Unusual Ecommerce Models". PracticalEcommerce.com. August 4, 2011.
  10. ↑ Wilhelm, Alex (April 9, 2012). "InsideManpacks, the hot essentials subscription service for dudes". The Next Web.
  11. ↑ Gratt, Matt (March 28, 2012). "Thoughts on #Subcom (Subscription eCommerce)". Grattisfaction.com.
  12. ↑ Warren, Renee (March 30, 2012). "Life of the Subscription Model". ReneeWarren.com.
  13. ↑ "BetaspringProfile: Manpacks". Betaspring.com.
  14. ↑ "CrunchBase Profile". CrunchBase.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Mullins, Richard (April 8, 2012). "For males who avoid malls". The Tampa Tribune.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 About FAQ. Manpacks.com.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "HowHacker News Helped Manpacks Take Off – with Ken Johnson". Mixergy. November 1, 2010.
  18. ↑ Kessler, Sarah (November 6, 2011). "3 New Time-Saving Technologies". Mashable.
  19. ↑ "Manpacks Blog". Manpacks.com.
  20. ↑ "Wait Wait . . . Don't Tell Me!". NPR. March 13, 2010.
  21. ↑ "The Erik Kuselias Show, Two for the Road". ESPN Radio. March 12, 2010.
  22. ↑ Granite, Matt (June 15, 2010). "MAN-PACKS: Come and get yours for just $13!". NBC.

External links