Man Cave Worldwide

Man Cave was the idea of Nick Beste, an entrepreneurial management student at the University of Minnesota. The Minnesota Daily reported in July 2010 that the concept came out of a family cookout, where talk turned to grilling and to the home parties his mother went to. Beste co-founded the company with business partner Kevin Carlow. The company later said Beste launched it in 2008.

Selling started in spring 2009 with, in a spokesman's words, "three or four guys in the Midwest." It spread quickly. The Minnesota Daily counted 820 Advisors under contract in 47 states by July 2010, with 10 staff in Northeast Minneapolis. Two months later the Rochester Post-Bulletin put the number above 900. Revenue rose from about $100,000 in 2009 to roughly $600,000 in the first half of 2010, the Post-Bulletin reported, citing the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

“It just kind of clicked. It's kind of like Pampered Chef … nobody does that for guys. Maybe we should.”

Nick Beste, founder — The Minnesota Daily, July 2010

The company later moved to Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Its website kept the party message through 2013, calling the business "Like Mary Kay on steroids!" and promising guys they could "Throw parties. Get paid."

Man Cave sold food and gear for grilling with friends. Meat came first. The company carried 33 to 35 brat flavors over the years, along with steaks, sirloins, brisket, pork chops, chicken breasts, ribs, jerky and snack sticks.

• Meat: bratwurst in dozens of flavors, burger patties, steaks and brisket.
• Flavor: barbecue sauces, rubs, marinades and spices.
• Grilling tools: a giant slotted spatula, grill gloves, meat thermometers, flavor injectors, kebab skewers, rib racks, chicken roasters and knife sets.
• Bar gear: beer mugs, shot glasses and shot boards, bottle openers and coasters.
• Man Cave merchandise: T-shirts, caps, magnets, banners and "man laws" posters.

Food mattered for the business. The old Direct Sales Aid profile pointed out that meat runs out and gets reordered, while a set of power tools is bought once. Some of the tools were deliberately over the top. At one 2010 MEATing a guest waved the oversized spatula and joked to the Post-Bulletin, "You can carry that in your truck."

Sellers were first called Advisors; by 2011 the company's website called them Guides. They booked MEATings at a host's home, brought the meat, the products and the beer, grilled free samples for the guests and took orders. Most did it part time. A company spokesman told the Post-Bulletin in 2010 that about 80% of Advisors treated it as a side job.

Starter Kit

In 2010 an Advisor paid $99 for a starter kit with a mug, poster and T-shirt, and the fee was waived for $1,000 in sales in the first 30 days, according to the Post-Bulletin. The later kit described in the old Direct Sales Aid profile was valued at $342. It held a sirloin steak, a brat sampler, a stainless steel barbecue set, a chicken roaster, a steak knife, a beer mug, a T-shirt, catalogs, order forms and one free month of a personal website. It was free for new sellers who sold at least $999 from two MEATings in their first 28 days.

Pay

Sellers earned a 25% commission on their own sales and up to 7% on sales by people they recruited, paid monthly, with no minimum sales requirement for new sellers. Hosts earned 10% of party sales in free products on parties of $199 or more, and could buy up to four items at half price for booking two new MEATings. The reality was modest for many. One Rochester Advisor said a $400 night left him about $50 after paying for beer and meat, and called it "my fun money."

The party plan gave way to grocery stores. Man Cave signed its first 20 grocery store accounts in November 2013, The Line reported in September 2014, and grew to about 200 accounts in the Twin Cities, greater Minnesota and North Dakota. The archived company website shows the switch. In January 2014 the home page still carried a "Hey Guides, log in here" button and invited visitors to MEATings. By April 2, 2014 it described Man Cave as "a new craft meat brand to grocers," with no mention of parties or Guides.

A news post on the site that spring summed it up: Man Cave, "known for staging Mary Kay-style home grilling parties for men," was "expanding into grocery store and restaurant sales." The brand became Man Cave Craft Meats, led by Nick Beste and his brother Josh, and later traded as Man Cave Foods. The Provisioner reported in April 2017 that its burgers and brats were sold in hundreds of stores across the Midwest and West Coast. The company never brought back a seller program.

Today there is nothing to join. The old mancaveworldwide.com address has redirected to the meat brand's site since mid-2015, and that site, mancavefoods.com, did not load when Direct Sales Aid checked it on October 2, 2026. Former Guides kept any stock and gear they had, but cannot order more. People who liked the food-party idea can compare live companies in the food and cooking category.