Manpacks
Manpacks was a quarterly subscription service offering men's underwear, socks, toiletries and other basic needs.[1] Buyers created their pack with offered items including boxer briefs, undershirts, socks, shaving products, and condoms, and the pack was automatically delivered every three months.[2] The service has been discontinued.[3]
Private | |
Industry | Men's essentials subscription |
Founded | January 2010 |
Defunct | August 2018 |
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/ |
Foundation
Ken Johnson and Andrew Draper started working on the concept for Manpacks in December 2009 and founded the company in January 2010.[4][5] Manpacks began as an experimental side project, but demand increased. Soon, customer management and the processing of orders turned into a full-time job.[6] Upon launch, the site offered only offered underwear and socks.[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 also raised $500,000 in an angel round from angel investors such as Dan Martell, 500 Startups, and Venture51.[14] The company at one time had more than 10,000 subscribers.[15]
Description
Manpacks automatically shipped men basic needs like socks, underwear, razors, and toiletries every three months or when desired.[16][17] Three months after placing an order, Manpacks would send customers a shipment reminder email.[16] Manpacks' primary customers were people buying for the men in their life, men who are averse to shopping, and the lazy.[1][4]
References
- Manjoo, Farhad (June 9, 2010). "The Man, the Mouse and the Wardrobe". The New York Times.
- Wong, Danny (July 20, 2010). "Innovations in E-Commerce: The Subscription Business Model". Huffington Post.
- "Manpacks". August 22, 2018.
- Odegard, Dave. "Manpacks, For a post-sniff test America". Maxim. Archived from the original on 2012-10-28. Retrieved 2012-11-14.
- Vora, Shivani (October 1, 2010). "Would You Buy Underwear By Subscription?". Inc.
- mario (February 3, 2011). "Ken Johnson – Co-founder and CEO of Manpacks.com". Idea Mensch.
- Kirsner, Scott (June 10, 2010). "Netflix for undies, and more, at Monday's Web Innovators Group". The Boston Globe.
- Chiang, Ben (April 18, 2012). "Subscribe For A Full Box Of Surprise". Business Insider. Archived from the original on June 21, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
- "Innovators: 3 Unusual Ecommerce Models". PracticalEcommerce.com. August 4, 2011.
- Wilhelm, Alex (April 9, 2012). "InsideManpacks, the hot essentials subscription service for dudes". The Next Web.
- Gratt, Matt (March 28, 2012). "Thoughts on #Subcom (Subscription eCommerce)". Grattisfaction.com.
- Warren, Renee (March 30, 2012). "Life of the Subscription Model". ReneeWarren.com.
- "BetaspringProfile: Manpacks". Betaspring.com.
- "CrunchBase Profile". CrunchBase.
- Mullins, Richard (April 8, 2012). "For males who avoid malls". The Tampa Tribune.
- About FAQ Archived 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine. Manpacks.com.
- "HowHacker News Helped Manpacks Take Off – with Ken Johnson". Mixergy. November 1, 2010.