When Luke and Rory Rathbone started making biltong in their carport in 2014, they had no idea that 10 years later they'd be selling one million packets of it a year.
Barbell Foods has grown from a literal backyard operation into one of Canberra's most successful food manufacturing businesses; the biltong and meat sticks are now in about 2500 stores nationwide and they're looking for export markets.
"When we first went to make it, I had to Google 'How to make biltong'," says Luke, now the company chief executive officer.
The Rathbones grew up in South Africa, where biltong is quite common. They remember making it, and eating it, as children and started to experiment with their own recipes.
"I remember finding this old cabinet on the side of the road and turning it into a drying cabinet with some computer fans and it worked really well," says Rory.
"When we look back at how far we've come, we're extremely proud of what we've achieved."
They started making it commercially in 2016 and in 2019 moved from the Kamberra precinct near EPIC, to larger facilities in Hume.
Six tonnes of organic raw beef comes in from farms in northern NSW and Queensland every week and within a week, it's processed, marinated, dried out and packaged ready for distribution.
Biltong is air-dried meat that's been marinated in vinegar and spices such as black pepper, coriander and sea salt. That's all there is to it. Don't get them started on jerky which is, they say, a far more processed product.
"We started making biltong to take on our camping trips, Rory was working as a personal trainer and some of his clients were buying it," says Luke.
"Biltong's for people who want to eat more healthily, maybe they used to snack on protein bars or chips or something.
"It appeals to those people who want to eat whole foods ... don't want to snack on rubbish ingredients."
The Rathbones, Matt Laing and Tom Hutchinson are the company's backbone. Upstairs in their office-cum-man cave, complete with pool and foosball tables, they're working on how to take the brand further.
"We all have a very similar growth mindset," says Laing.
"We all love learning and one of the most rewarding things is thinking about how the business has developed us as people over the years. We've gone from these bushy-tailed kids to running an expanding business."
The biltong comes in three flavours: classic, chilli and sea salt. A few years ago they launched a range of "meat sticks", or droewors, made out of wild-harvested kangaroo meat mixed with the organic beef.
"I genuinely believe they're the most sustainable and healthy meat product in the world," says Luke.
"They're made from wild-harvested kangaroo, which is an incredibly low-carbon footprint meat, naturally organic, and there's an environmental need to control their numbers in Australia.
"And kangaroo meat is back in favour, people are recognising the health benefits of it."
Barbell Foods can now be found in more than 400 Woolworths supermarkets nationwide and is also selling extremely well in service stations, of all places.
"Everyone has to get petrol," says Rory. "So if we can put biltong in front of people who've never seen it, it's a great thing."
- For a full list of stockists and online sales head to barbellfoods.com.au
