Man Crates

What Man Crates does

Man Crates is a consumer gifting brand founded in 2012 and headquartered in San Mateo, California. The company designs and sells curated gift collections targeted at men, with a catalog of approximately 17 distinct products priced between $29.99 and $109.99. Product categories span jerky and hot sauces, BBQ and grilling accessories, DIY hobby kits (including knife making and fishing lure crafting), and occasion-based gifts such as advent calendars and bachelor party sets. The brand is led by founder and CEO Jonathan Beekman and operates with a small team of 11-50 employees.

The business is a direct-to-consumer gifting operation that ships to customers in both the United States and Canada. All products are sold exclusively through the Thoughtfully.com e-commerce platform, which serves as the sole retail channel and effectively acts as the storefront, merchandising, and fulfillment interface for the Man Crates brand. Revenue mechanics are straightforward unit sales across a relatively concentrated SKU set, with no disclosed enterprise contracts, subscription model, or diversified channel mix. The implied target customer is the gift purchaser (likely women buying for men) across a range of occasions including birthdays, holidays, bachelor parties, and Father's Day.

The operating posture is that of a niche lifestyle gifting brand rather than a technology platform. There are no disclosed proprietary technology components, AI/ML capabilities, or platform architecture elements; the value proposition rests on product curation, brand positioning in the masculine-gifting niche, and the partnership distribution arrangement with Thoughtfully. The model's principal risk factor is its single-channel dependency, which concentrates revenue exposure on one retail partner.

Name

Man Crates

Legal name

Man Crates

Website

https://mancrates.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Man Crates is a San Mateo-based consumer gifting brand founded in 2012 that sells curated, masculine-themed gift collections — including jerky, BBQ, DIY hobby kits, and occasion-based gifts priced $29.99–$109.99 — exclusively through the Thoughtfully.com e-commerce platform to US and Canadian customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Men's Gift Sets

NAICS

Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Retailers (45942), Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (459120), Confectionery and Nut Retailers (445292)

SIC

Retail-Miscellaneous Shopping Goods Stores (5940), Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Seasonal & Holiday Gifts & Decor Retail (CRALAJAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Home Fragrance, Candles & Small Giftables Retail (CRALAJAN), Party & Entertaining Disposable Supplies (CRAJAGAL)

Keywords

• Men's gift crates
• Gourmet gift boxes
• Hobby DIY kits
• BBQ grilling gifts
• Jerky gift sets

Headquarters

HQ city

San Mateo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Direct Product Sales: Man Crates generates revenue through direct one-time sales of curated gift crates and products targeting men. Products include food & drink items (jerky, hot sauces, BBQ rubs), hobby kits (knife making, lure making), and gourmet gift sets sold at various price points ranging from approximately $29.99 to $109.99.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Man Crates curates and sells themed gift crates and gift sets marketed to men for occasions including birthdays, anniversaries, bachelor parties, and Father's Day. The product assortment spans jerky and hot sauce collections, BBQ rubs and grilling crates, DIY hobby kits (knife making, lure making), and themed jerky advent calendars. Products are sold as individual gift units, with bulk sets of 24 available for events.

Product overview

Man Crates is a gift brand offering themed gift crates and curated product collections targeting men. The portfolio consists primarily of themed gift sets organized into four product lines: Food & Drink (including hot sauce crates, jerky hearts, and advent calendars), BBQ & Grilling Gifts (Steak Night Crate, Grill Master Crate, BBQ rub sets), DIY Project Gifts (Folding Knife Making Kit, Lure Making Kit, Knife Making Kit Box), and occasion-based gifts (Anniversary, Birthday, Bachelor Party, Father's Day). The products are sold as distinct, individual gift items priced between $29.99 and $109.99, with a focus on masculine-themed gifting occasions. The brand also offers bulk party-packs (sets of 24) for events like bachelor parties.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Skull Inferno Hot Sauce Flight A flight/tasting collection of skull-themed hot sauces at multiple heat levels, designed as a gift for heat and hot sauce enthusiasts.
• Meat Heart A heart-shaped beef jerky gift designed for jerky enthusiasts and as a romantic or indulgent meat gift.
• Hot Sauce Crate A curated crate featuring multiple hot sauce varieties, targeted at heat and flavor enthusiasts.
• Man Crates Real Houseguys Hot Sauce, Set of 24 A bulk 24-bottle set of Real Houseguys branded hot sauces, intended for group events such as bachelor parties and gatherings.
• Folding Knife Making Gift Kit A DIY project kit enabling the recipient to build their own folding knife, targeted at hobbyists and craftspeople.
• Lure Making Kit A hobbyist kit for crafting fishing lures, targeted at fishing enthusiasts and DIY hobbyists.
• Founding Fathers BBQ Rub Crate A themed crate of BBQ rubs inspired by the Founding Fathers era, created for grilling enthusiasts.
• Steak Night Crate A gift crate containing everything needed for a premium steak night experience, for grilling and food enthusiasts.
• Knife Making Kit Box A comprehensive knife-making project kit for DIY enthusiasts; the highest priced item in the Man Crates collection at $109.99.
• Dad 12 Day Jerky Advent Calendar A 12-day countdown calendar with daily jerky portions designed as a Father's Day gift.
• Slaughterhouse Crate A themed gift crate featuring meat and savory products in a dramatic presentation, targeted at meat lovers.
• Birthday 12 Day Jerky Advent Calendar A birthday-themed 12-day jerky advent calendar for celebrating with daily jerky portions.
• Grill Master Crate A premium grilling gift crate containing grilling accessories and ingredients for BBQ enthusiasts.
• Man Crates Grill Squad BBQ Rubs, Set of 24 A bulk set of 24 BBQ rub varieties featuring the Grill Squad branding, suitable for grilling events and group gifting.
• Daddy's Nut Snack Gift Set A nut-based snack variety gift set designed as a humorous gift for dads.
• Advent of Love Jerky Calendar A romantic-themed 12-day jerky advent calendar intended for sharing with a loved one.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ThoughtfullyprimaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMan Crates products are distributed exclusively through Thoughtfully.com's e-commerce platform as a curated collection. Thoughtfully acts as the primary retail channel, hosting the Man Crates product catalog and handling customer transactions and fulfillment.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• FabFitFun: Seasonal lifestyle subscription box. Comparable themed, occasion-driven gifting model and similar price tier, serving overlapping gift-giver demographics.
• Harry & David: Established premium food gift retailer (fruit towers, meat, gourmet baskets). Comparable curated gifting experience with broader assortment and significantly larger scale, serving overlapping corporate and personal gifting occasions.
• BarkBox: Subscription themed gift box operator. Comparable subscription/curated-box business model and lifestyle-gifting positioning, though targeting pet owners rather than men directly.
• Uncommon Goods: Curated novelty and personalized gift retailer. Comparable across unique/novelty men's gifts (DIY kits, grilling tools) sold direct to consumers for gifting occasions.

Emerging players

• ButcherBox: Subscription meat/protein box service. Comparable on curated meat and BBQ-adjacent products targeting male consumers, though primary model is subscription rather than one-time gifting.
• Whiskey Crates (and similar crate-format competitors): Smaller male-focused themed gift crate retailers offering whiskey, BBQ, and hobby kits. Closely comparable niche position, format, and male-gift occasion targeting.

Direct peers

• Goldbelly: Curated gourmet food gifts marketplace. Comparable on curated, themed food gifts (jerky, BBQ, steak) sold direct-to-consumer for gifting occasions, with similar price points.
• Fuego Box: Hot sauce subscription and gift box specialist. Direct overlap with Man Crates' hot sauce crate and 24-pack offerings, targeting heat-enthusiast male consumers.
• Wine Country Gift Baskets: Specialty retailer of themed gift baskets for men and corporate recipients. Closely comparable format (curated multi-item gift packages) and target occasions (birthdays, Father's Day, holidays) to Man Crates.
• JerkyXP: Beef jerky and exotic meat snack retailer with curated gift offerings. Directly comparable on jerky hearts, jerky advent calendars, and novelty meat gift formats.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/mancrates
• Instagraminstagram.com/thoughtfullygifts
• TikToktiktok.com/@thoughtfullygifts
• Xx.com/mancrates

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors8 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Man Crates