Bardee

Founded in 2019 by Phoebe Gardner and Alex Arnold, and based in Victoria, Australia, Bardee is an ag-tech company that transforms food waste into protein and fertilizer with insects. In November 2021, Bardee raised USD 5 million in seed funding led by new investor Blackbird Ventures alongside angel investors including Greta Bradman, Didier Elzinga, founder of Culture Amp and Simon Griffiths. The company owns a facility in Melbourne, growing and harvesting billions Black Soldier Fly, whose larvae can consume a broad range of food waste and convert it into nutrient-rich protein and organic fertilizer. The larvae grow three thousand times in size in a vertical farming system that offsets 50 tons of carbon emissions per day.

The company prevents food waste from turning into methane and recycles the nutrients back into the food system. The company's services are used by shopping centres, supermarkets and local food manufacturing businesses to process their food waste. The company's technology recovers 90% of the nutrients discarded in food waste, ten times faster than commercial composting. The company also launched a protein in new carbon positive pet foods such as Grubbo, livestock feed and aquafeeds.

Bardee plans to hire for roles across production, insect breeding and business development.