Agtech startup Bardee remains Bunnings supplier amid staff challenges

Victorian agtech startup Bardee remains a supplier to DIY and gardening superstore Bunnings, and continues to provide its fertiliser products to farmers, despite a production slowdown, deep layoffs, and an investigation by the wages watchdog.

Bardee, founded in 2019 by Phoebe Gardner and Alex Arnold, is one of several Australian ‘deep tech’ startups harnessing black soldier fly larvae to break down industrial quantities of food waste.

The startup processes the larvae into a protein source for pet food, and sells the larvae castings as fertiliser to farmers and household consumers.

To date, Bardee has raised $8 million from investors, including a $5 million seed funding round backed by Blackbird Ventures, and investors including Culture Amp founder Didier Elzinga, and Who Gives A Crap co-founder and CEO Simon Griffiths.

It secured a national distribution deal with Bunnings in March, extending its reach to consumers and marking what Gardner called a “huge acceleration” for the sector.

However, the startup faced new difficulties in 2023, laying off approximately 30 staff in early August as it slowed production and contended with surging operating costs.

On Monday, the Australian Financial Review reported the Fair Work Ombudsman is now investigating claims that laid-off staff have not been paid their full entitlements.

“Bardee is committed to ensuring that all employees receive their full entitlements,” Gardner told the paper earlier this month.

In June, the startup also mourned the death of a staff member in a tragic workplace incident, which is now under investigation by WorkSafe Victoria.

While those factors have shifted Bardee’s trajectory, SmartCompany understands the startup has maintained its commercial relationships, including with one of Australia’s most prominent retailers.

Bardee remains a supplier to Bunnings, where its Superfly fertiliser is still available for purchase.

Bunnings does not disclose sales figures of individual product lines, and it is understood that Bardee sales figures are difficult to gauge against the sales of other established fertiliser manufacturers, which may offer multiple varieties across a greater number of stores.

Bardee also continues to sell its products through its own e-commerce store.

Separately, Bardee maintains its wholesale offering to farmers and is understood to be selling down pre-existing stock while charting its course back to full production.