Provisions: The VanMan Company

The VanMan Company

Category: Personal hygiene

Founder: Jeremy Ogorek

Founded: 2020

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Representative products: VanMan's Tallow & Honey Balm, VanMan's Miracle Tooth Powder, VanMan's Peppermint Beeswax Lip Balm

At a glance:

• While living out of a van, Ogorek started making his own, non-fluoride tooth powder and tweeting about it; gradually started making it for followers
• VanMan focuses on all-natural, edible ingredients; company is a vocal opponent of "Big Toothpaste" and other chemical-filled hygiene products
• Also sells mouthwash, deodorant, and sunscreen; recently released VanMan's Tallow & Honey Soap.

In his own words (founder Jeremy Ogorek)

The development of VanMan’s Miracle Tooth Powder was one born of necessity. I couldn’t find a single fluoride-free toothpaste on the market. Launched in April 2021, the tooth powder, formulated with a secret ingredient (eggshells), sold out. The reviews speak for themselves. A couple months later, we took the internet by storm with VanMan’s Tallow & Honey Balm. This product, like all the others, is never tested on animals. Testing is reserved for me and some of my closest friends and family. But not to worry! The ingredients are food-grade quality, and have been staples for centuries. Imagine products that are safe enough for the founder to formulate and test on ourselves?! It’s a wild concept, I know.

We don’t believe in taking investors. Democracy can mean compromising on the quality of the ingredients, or even changing them altogether. Beyond that, we believe in family businesses, the kind that can be passed down. Preserving that piece of the American dream is essential to our business plan. Big Pharma, Big Tech, Big Food. These industries don’t help the American people. The VanMan company refuses to participate.

The creation of the VanMan company has unearthed yet another layer of government regulations that raise prices for both the manufacturers and the consumer. Those who raise the cattle used for the tallow balm are put through the ringer when it comes time to get the animal processed. They have to travel for miles to get the animal processed at a state-approved processing center, making it more expensive for the farmer ... which makes it more expensive for the consumer at the grocery store. It’s crazy that the farmers have so little control over how they can process their own cows.

One goal for the future is to utilize an entire animal (bison or cow) in a humane way to increase the cost effectiveness and decrease waste. While vegans may shout “murder,” utilizing and selling every part of the animal would enable the most humane treatment of them in their life. It would require less animals to be used for more provisions and would allow the profits to be used to treat the cattle better. Imagine a pasture filled with pampered VanMan cattle.