Melbourne startup Bardee has raised $5 million in a seed round as it looks to convert food waste into insect protein and fertiliser.
The round was led by Blackbird Ventures with support from angel investors including Who Gives A Crap founder Simon Griftiths and Culture Amp founder Didier Elzinga and his wife, Greta Bradman.
The venture, which has emerged from two years in “stealth mode” has built a 2,500sqm commercial facility in Melbourne’s northwest and is harvesting billions of Black Soldier fly lava to consume a broad range of food waste, convert it into protein for cattle feed, as well as fertiliser.
The larvae grow 3000 times in size in a vertical farming system that offsets 50 tonnes of carbon emissions daily
The project echoes, Giant Leap-backed Goterra which also uses black soldier fly maggots.
