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Two years into a whirlwind growth story, Indigenous-owned startup Yarn’n has cracked a major deal with supermarket giant Woolworths (ASX: WOW) that founder Lane Stockton says will bring the sustainable and socially responsible enterprise in front of a significant slice of the Australian retail market.
Yarn’n, which produces eco-friendly toilet paper made from 100 per cent recycled stock, is being sold in 950 Woolworths supermarkets nationally with the deal expected to account for about 40 per cent of total turnover in the near term.
The Brisbane-based Stockton, a former chippie who built a successful career as an award-winning home builder before establishing Yarn’n in 2023, has grown the business rapidly via a direct-to market e-commerce strategy.
The startup, which recorded 330 per cent year-on-year growth in 2024, has also made significant inroads in the wholesale B2B (business-to-business) space creating a specialised product range for hotels, hospitality groups and multinational brands locally under the Our Bunji brand.
“We have a lot of businesses inquiring – they love the brand and the cause,” Stockton tells Business News Australia.
For the serial entrepreneur, the personal motivation is the startup’s direct support for the Yalari Foundation which receives 50 per cent of the startup's annual profits to further the foundation’s mission of providing educational scholarships for Indigenous youth across Australia.
“The cause resonates with people and I think that in itself is a key driver of our success,” says Stockton, finalist in the 2024 Australian Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.
“Yalari is 20 years old this year, offering scholarships to schools around Australia for Indigenous children from remote and rural communities who don’t have access to a quality education.
“They work towards creating generational change and, after 20 years, they are seeing this generational change as students who have gone through are now putting their own children through to get a good education.”
Stockton’s step into the circular economy sector through Yarn’n represents a “drastic” change from his previous business career as a luxury homebuilder.
“I always wanted to be a chippie after finishing school,” says Stockton, who founded and led Stockton Homes.
“I went from being a builder running a crew of five guys, building some nice homes and winning some awards, but I didn’t really get any fulfilment out of it.
“Then when I had my son, who is just over two years old now, my outlook on life suddenly changed.
“I knew I had to do something more rewarding, something to look forward to in the week, so it’s been a pivotal change in my life.”
Yarn'n is described as Australia's only Indigenous-owned and locally manufactured toilet paper brand that brings First Nations culture to bathrooms nationwide.
Setting the product apart is the distinctive artwork on the packaging, which is accompanied by First Nations stories.
The artwork is currently produced by Indigenous artists Katrina Graves, Merinda Gunya and Ambrose Killian, the latter a Brisbane school friend of Stockton’s whose artwork appears on the products being stocked at Woolworths.
While Yarn’n joins fellow Australian profit for purpose toilet paper manufacturer Who Gives A Crap on national supermarket shelves, the product stands apart with its own quirky moniker - “deadly dunny paper”.
“It’s a bit cheeky and fun,” says Stockton, who notes that “deadly” is Indigenous slang for “very good” or “excellent”.
“We definitely price ourselves in a premium category but the reviews on our website speak for themselves with many saying how good our product is compared with others on the market.
“Naturally the cost of manufacturing in Australia is a lot higher than overseas. We haven’t had any pushback yet and we have grown incredibly in the time we have been in the market, which also helps us contribute to the cause by making a difference to Indigenous children.
“This year we are able to sponsor a student with a scholarship for an education which is exciting for us after only two years in business.”
Yarn’n is headquartered in Brisbane, but its products are manufactured in NSW from wastepaper that is sourced locally.
Stockton notes that there is ample capacity to scale production to meet the demand expected from the exclusive deal with Woolworths.
While the Woolworths contract could account for up to 40 per cent of turnover in the near term, Stockton says the company’s continued focus on its online strategy will change the revenue mix again as online sales grow further.
“The Woolies deal will definitely boost sales but, at the rate we are growing as a business, that will drop back to 20 or 30 per cent of sales because online is growing so quickly,” he says.
“We still intend to remain an online business with the retail presence to provide convenience for customers.
“We need to meet customers where they are and online is not always practical for a lot of people.”
The Woolworths products also will be offered in eight-packs, which are much smaller than the online offering.
Stockton notes that Yarn’n is currently working on new B2B deals that are expected to “rocket the brand massively”.
“But at the moment, we are very much focused on growing the online business and Woolworths is a part of that,” he says.
"They have been great to deal with and really supportive of us. They will be a really good fit and partner for us to elevate our brand to the next level."
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