Linda Goldspink-Lord’s family was going through some of their darkest days when she founded her business.
Ms Goldspink-Lord had been going through significant health challenges, and when her eldest daughter was killed in an accident on their Wollongong property, she hit rock bottom and was looking for answers.
Focusing on her gut health, Ms Goldspink-Lord said, had transformed her life.
So she turned her attention to the animals her daughter loved so much – horses – to start developing gut health supplements, transforming her grief into purpose.
“It’s about making a difference and taking that tragedy and turning it into something that has meaning,” Ms Goldspink-Lord told AAP.
Her Poseidon Animal Health supplements for horses and dogs are now available across Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
Ms Goldspink-Lord, who co-owns the business with her husband Peter, said the company planned to expand into the Canadian market in early 2027.
Poseidon Animal Health was part of a delegation that travelled to Canada in June with Supply Nation – a directory of verified Indigenous businesses.
Ms Goldspink-Lord said the trade mission and the relationships the company had built as a registered Supply Nation business had accelerated its expansion into Canada.
“For us that means more horses to help, which is really exciting,” Ms Goldspink-Lord said.
Speaking from the Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Summit in Vancouver, Supply Nation chief executive Kate Russell said Canada was an attractive market for Indigenous businesses.
“Canada is a mature, developed market for Australian Indigenous businesses and their products and services,” she said.
“There is strong recognition of the shared values and potential for collaboration with Canada’s First Nations-owned businesses.”
Pauly Vandenbergh’s Munda Wines cracked the Canadian market in 2023.
The Wirangu and Kokatha man, who has built relationships with Canada’s Arterra Wines and Nk’Mip Cellars, said he was particularly excited about the opportunity to work with Indigenous people from around the world.
With a diverse range of businesses registered and certified by Supply Nation, Mr Vandenbergh said there were opportunities to work with Australian Indigenous companies across every industry.
Mr Vandenbergh started Munda Wines when he was looking for an Indigenous wine company to partner with his seafood business, Wanna Mar – and found none in his home state of South Australia.
He said the philosophy behind Munda Wines was to highlight culture, connection and Country by featuring Traditional Owners of the region where the grapes were picked on every bottle.
“Munda means land or Country in Wirangu and Kokatha language,” Mr Vandenbergh said.
“I felt like that was a real missing piece in the whole wine industry and a real gap that no wine was actually doing an acknowledgement of traditional lands.”
Mr Vandenbergh hopes that by bringing culture into the wine industry this way, conversations will be sparked, as they so often are, with a glass in hand.
“We’re really quite open and proud that we’ve got the Traditional Owners on the front of the label and that becomes a talking point,” he said.
“That’s probably the exciting thing for a lot of Indigenous companies … how do we bring our brand to a Western business mindset to add value to your product.”
Tapping into global markets, particularly through relationships with international First Nations businesses, strengthens that mission.
Mr Vandenbergh said there was still not enough known about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and culture, and working with other Indigenous peoples could open doors to more understanding.
“It’s unfortunate that we’ve been labelled or stuck with labels like ‘primitive’ and these false narratives,” he said.
“How do you flip that on its head?
“By having moments of education.”
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