Parting Stone, the solidified remains startup sweeping across the U.S. death care industry, has announced a $1MM investment from the leading Australian funeral services company, InvoCare. InvoCare’s investment comes during a rapid expansion for Parting Stone and the capital will be used to facilitate the company’s continued growth focusing on building more tools for funeral homes to educate their communities about their complete alternative to conventional cremated remains. Parting Stone is now expanding its U.S. team with new Partner Success Manager and Director of Marketing positions now open for applications on Indeed.
This news follows the recent announcement from New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham who visited the Parting Stone lab in Santa Fe to grant the company a $175,000 state LEDA award.
Additionally, the companies are partnering to launch Parting Stone Australia which will be Parting Stone’s first international laboratory. Parting Stone Australia is planned to launch in late 2023 and will be headquartered in Newcastle, NSW.
“We cannot think of a better partner to have at this stage in our growth,” says Justin Crowe, Parting Stone’s founder. “Working with Invocare’s team to launch Parting Stone Australia will help us design a roadmap for continued international expansion to bring solidified remains to more families around the world.
InvoCare is the largest death care provider in Australia serving around 21% of the country’s death care market with significant operations in the pet loss space. This strategic partner brings capital, deep expertise in the human and pet death care spaces, a drive to innovate the death and dying experience, and a respected brand that aligns with the social impact ethos of Parting Stone.
“InvoCare is delighted to partner with Justin and the team at Parting Stone. InvoCare’s purpose is honoring lives and celebrating memories for generations – Parting Stone helps families to remember their loved one and maintain a beautiful connection that meets the growing need for personalisation. Parting Stone’s quality control procedures, commitment to customer care and innovation is best in class. We made this investment through our Innovation Hub, which connects leading innovators like Parting Stone with our client families via our leading positions in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore” said Tim Higgins, Executive General Manager – International, Strategy & Innovation for InvoCare Limited.
Additionally, Parting Stone Australia and solidified remains will bring innovation and new life to the wider death care profession in Australia. Bec Lyons, President of the ‘Natural Death Advocacy Network’ (NDAN), President of the newly formed charity ‘Australian Home Funeral Alliance’ (AHFA), Churchill Fellow, author of ‘A Heartfelt Undertaking’, TEDx Speaker, and Co-Founder of the Tasmanian education and advocacy service ‘You n’ Taboo’, explains why Parting Stone is an important addition to death care options in Australia:
“Australians currently have a very limited set of options on what to do with cremated remains and those options are even smaller if they are planning on using the entire lot of the ashes. We have seen an increase in people choosing things that are tactile, interactive and unique. Parting Stones are beautiful and they tick all of those boxes. The notion of solidified remains will be well received in Australia by those who want to keep the remains of their people close without having them sit in a cupboard […] Australia is a whole new landscape for the technologies that are being introduced around the world. We don’t yet have some of the disruptive and emerging products and services being offered elsewhere. We are well placed to embrace the changes in the end of life landscape in Australia. As the death literacy rates of Australians rise their call for new, personal, and unique ways to engage with the dead increases.”
The partnership between the two companies is an exciting development that will offer better options to families who choose cremation in Australia. This expansion is one step on the path of making solidified remains availible for cremation families around the world.
If you would like to learn more about Parting Stone’s expansion into Australia or want to explore working for Parting Stone Australia, offering solidified remains, or partnering in AUS, fill out this form!
