You might have seen our Facebook ads, or heard us on the radio or the telly talking about "the new way to funeral". And you may be wondering 'who owns Bare Cremation?' or 'is Bare an Australian company?' We get those questions a lot.
We're proud to say that we're a 100% independently-owned Australian business, and in no way associated with the big international funeral companies.
Meet the two blokes behind Bare: the death-tech start-up winning the David and Goliath battle against ‘big funerals’.
Who owns Bare?
They certainly don’t look like your traditional funeral home directors. Best mates Sam McConkey and Cale Donovan were under 40 when they started Bare - the funeral home for the 21st century. They're on a mission to shake up Australia's $1.7 billion funeral industry.
The company began with just one employee, Daphney - a former celebrant and funeral arranger who had previously worked for one of Australia’s biggest funeral companies. Two years on, Bare has become one of the nation’s fastest-growing consumer start-ups, supported by a team of dedicated employees, recruiting talent from the likes of Atlassian and Amazon.
Forget showrooms and salespeople, Bare uses technology, simplicity and empathy to challenge the funeral giants who have been doing things the same way for decades. Operating in most regions of Australia, we've already supported thousands of families in our first two years in business alone.
Sam and Cale met as university pals, before earning their stripes in Silicon Valley and Australian tech ventures. After a few years, personal experiences with underwhelming and costly funeral arrangements led them to co-found Bare in November 2019, right before COVID-19 hit.
How are Bare funerals different?
Bare is the funeral provider for Australians who only wants a simple yet dignified service. We don’t have funeral parlours and we don’t have showrooms. Instead, we combine empathy with technology to make end-of-life planning simple, affordable and personal for individuals and families.
To better serve today’s consumer, Sam and Cale established Bare as an independent, Australian-owned, funeral home, to offer simple and affordable funerals for those who didn't want the fuss. Operating only online allows Bare to strip away much of the unnecessary cost associated with a traditional funeral home, like brick-and-mortar showrooms.
Bare focuses on delivering an affordable yet high-quality, personalised service, then supporting families to commemorate their loved one's life in the way that feels right, whether that’s prior or after the cremation.
Bare began with a single focus: to disrupt the Australian funeral industry and provide genuine choice for families who didn’t want a traditional funeral - whether that be due to affordability, choice to customise the farewell, or simply not wanting all the fuss of a traditional funeral home service.
“We started Bare as a technology-enabled, direct-to-consumer funeral home, to support Australians to go out their own way - whether that’s a backyard BBQ, a sunset ceremony at the beach, or a Viking send-off!” Sam said.
Better than funeral insurance.
In their first few weeks of operation, Sam and Cale quickly realised Australians wanted a more secure alternative to funeral insurance. That's why they introduced prepaid funerals in addition to their at-need funeral service.
Prepaid funerals allow Australians to pay off their funeral in advance while they are fit and healthy, so they don't have to worry about who will pay for it later. Unlike funeral insurance where premiums usually continue for a lifetime (and often rise as you get older), once a Bare prepaid funeral plan is paid, there is not a cent more to pay later.
With their funeral pre-arranged, customers tell us they feel at ease knowing their family won't have to make these emotional decisions down the line. Prepaid funerals can even be arranged online in a few minutes, without the confronting task of having to visit a funeral home to meet a funeral director and pick your casket.
Here for you throughout the end-of-life journey.
What started as a direct cremation and prepaid funerals, is now support and guidance through the entire end-of-life journey. From planning your final wishes ahead of time, writing your Will and storing your important documents, to supporting you through your grief and managing deceased estates with our law firm, Bare Law, Bare are here every step of the way. If you have a question, need some advice or simply just want to talk to someone, we're just a phone call or email away.
At Bare, we care!
Bare has also redefined what quality and care mean in the funeral services industry - it's not just about a nice coffin. With an almost perfect score of 4.9 stars from our Bare funeral reviews and a stack of customer testimonials, the proof is in the pudding.
To further streamline the end-of-life process, our in-house team of lawyers provide affordable estate planning and probate services, powered by technology. They even offer a free simple will service.
Additionally, Bare was recognised as the Customer Service Institute of Australia's Customer Service Organisation of 2021 (Small Business) and a finalist in a stack of other customer service and innovation awards.
Bare has its sights set on becoming Australia’s top funeral care provider, giving the funeral giants a run for their money.
To learn more about Bare and our funeral services, head here or give our award-winning customer care team a call on 1800 071 176.
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