Our Cow doubles valuation and unveils plans for Voly acquisition

Meat delivery subscription service Our Cow is now valued at $60m and the couple behind have grand plans for further growth.

Founders of direct-to-consumer beef producer Our Cow, Dave McGiveron and Bianca Tarrant.

Paddock-to-plate food delivery service Our Cow has closed a $2m crowd-funding round, doubling its valuation in less than 12 months to $60m as its co-founders unveil their next steps for Voly, the failed quick delivery start-up they acquired late last year.

Our Cow, which is based in rural NSW and offers a meat delivery subscription service aimed at giving farmers a fair set price, last week raised $2,096,150m on crowd-funding platform Birchal, breaking records on the platform including the most widely-supported investor webinar.

More than $100,000 was pledged in the first 15 minutes of the offer opening and $1m within the first day, according to Birchal co-founder Matt Vitale.

“We have never had more registrations for an investors webinar,” he said in an interview.

“We had to update our Zoom account to accommodate them all. It should be an encouraging sign for the start-up community that investors are still backing businesses they believe in.

“We’re thrilled for Our Cow. It’s timely for them to be raising as many families look to balance cost of living pressures and maintaining nutrition with quality produce, with Our Cow using technology to connect farmers and consumers to benefit both.”

Birchal's Matt Vitale, Kellie Morton and Adam Vise. Source: Supplied.

Our Cow co-founder Dave McGiveron said the start-up has grown significantly since it was started in 2019. It’s now generating around $20m of annual recurring revenue from over 50,000 customers and is working more than 150 farmers across Queensland and New South Wales.

“Market conditions are certainly challenging at the moment and we do think that we were able to raise more than $2 million in the current economic climate is testament to our business model and the support there is for the Australian agriculture industry,” Mr McGiveron said.

“This raise was as much about us as it was about the farmers and graziers we work with. To see that support is validation for the business and it shows just how much consumer interest there is in the quality of food and its origin.

“It’s wonderful to see how much Australians really care about supporting local farmers and producers.”

Our Cow acquired Voly’s assets and customer database in January. As The Australian previously reported Voly offered 15-minute grocery delivery and had around 80,000 users across Sydney. The start-up terminated all of its 112 employees in November.

The start-up, which had raised $18m in seed funding from venture capital outfits including Sequoia Capital India and the Australia-based Artesian Capital, entered administration on November 21, with its founders blaming high inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for its demise.

“So far, Voly has been a great fit for us. The customer base is very enthusiastic about the Our Cow offering and we’re looking to speed up delivery times and expand the product range so we can become a one-stop shop for the best quality Australian produced meat, seafood, vegetables and other fresh produce,” Ms Tarrant said.

She said the acquisition of Voly’s assets primarily comprised of information and materials that will help Our Cow reach a broader demographic in the Australian market.

“The information has already been seamlessly integrated into the internal databases and marketing systems that Our Cow utilises to communicate with existing as well as prospective customers.”

Founders of direct-to-consumer beef producer Our Cow, Dave McGiveron and Bianca Tarrant.

Mr McGiveron said Our Cow has grappled with bushfires, drought, floods and rock bottom beef prices to get to the point it‘s at today. Mr McGiveron and co-founder Bianca Tarrant each nearly lost everything in the bushfires and came up with the idea of selling their beef directly to consumers over Facebook.

“The business was born from hardship. Life on the land is always challenging,” he said.

“It has not been easy but that adversity has been the driving force behind our business. It’s what made us determined to succeed.

“Because we know first hand the struggles farmers face on a day-to-day basis and we want to improve conditions for them and have an impact on an industry that is becoming harder and harder for families to sustainably remain in.”

Ms Tarrant said that funds raised through the crowd-funding round will enable the company to expand its range of fresh food, improve delivery times and expand nationally.

“It’s no secret that the Australian food market is dominated by a very small number of giant providers,” she said.

“People are increasingly searching for better ways to source sustainable, ethical, fresher and tastier produce that provides support to Australian farmers. The fact that people are looking for this alternative has already been proven by the amazing support for Our Cow.

“Our customer numbers growing rapidly every month and we expect this trajectory to continue as more people become aware of us and what we do.”