It’s been nearly a decade since MacKenzie Proudlove first set out to find scents that would appeal to a more masculine audience. At first, he intended to make scented candles for men – the cleverly named “ComMANdles” – but Proudlove soon realized his ideas could also serve another market.
Enter the Bro Brick, a series of soaps designed for those who love outdoorsy and boozy scents.
Over the years, Proudlove has followed his nose to create a veritable Father’s Day gift basket of scents and suds. Instead of hints of jasmine, roses or lilies, Proudlove paired scents like sandalwood and vanilla, spruce and campfire smoke, and even rum and Coke. Some of the scents are even more imaginative, like Barbershop, which he asserts smells exactly as the name suggests.
“Or, I guess how I think a 1950s barber shop would smell, since I haven’t obviously been in one,” he laughs.
In time, he’s landed on 21 different Bro Brick scents, along with a limited edition feature scent produced every few weeks. He produces all the soaps by hand in Edmonton, and has formed partnerships with Alberta-based brewers Rapid Ascent and Raven Wolf to produce suds like Oatmeal Stout and Blood Orange Ale.
“They give me the product I need, and I hand them off some soap,” he says. “It’s a great working relationship.”
After 10 years in the game, Proudlove is still just as focused on creating the perfect product as when he set out. He recently switched out plastic packaging in favour of cardboard boxes – not only for environmental reasons, but also so customers can more easily smell the soaps they’re purchasing.
After all, he’s in the business of making good scents.
Shop at thebrobrick.com
This content was supplied by the advertiser for commercial purposes. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Edify staff.
