Melbourne film lab FilmNeverDie opens ownership to customers
Melbourne film lab FilmNeverDie is inviting customers and film photography enthusiasts to become shareholders as it looks to expand the business after 15 years of growth.
Founded by Gary Wong, FilmNeverDie began after he bought his girlfriend a Polaroid camera around 15 years ago and struggled to find film for it in Melbourne.
After importing a box, he kept a few packs and sold the rest on eBay, eventually building the business into a working film lab in the city's CBD.
Today, the lab processes around 25,000 rolls of film annually, with almost 90 per cent of orders arriving over the counter rather than by post.
The business has also expanded into manufacturing its own film and the award-winning Nana camera, hosting photo walks and helping six other independent labs get established.
“Most of our customers aren't nostalgic. They're in their twenties and they've grown up with phones,” Wong said.
“Film makes you slow down. You think about each frame, then you wait to see what you got. People keep coming back for that, and for each other.”
The company says it has built an annual turnover of around A$1 million from an initial investment of approximately A$250,000.
According to figures supplied by the business, FilmNeverDie returned to profit in the 2026 financial year, recording an unaudited net profit of A$82,691 on income of A$987,115.
Its income is generated by a mix of developing and scanning, bulk processing for camera stores, traditional retail and eduction, software and licensing arrangements.
Wong said the business had funded its growth to this point through debt and family loans over the past 15 years, with the funding offer intended to support the next stage of expansion without relying on further borrowing.
The funds raised will initially go towards strengthening the existing business, with plans to open a first FilmNeverDie store in Japan if the campaign reaches approximately A$500,000.
The company believes the market for analogue photography remains strong, estimating that around 20 million rolls of film are sold globally each year.
It puts annual sales at approximately four million rolls in Japan and between one and two million in Australia, and expects demand to continue growing through 2026.
For existing customers, the offer also provides an opportunity to take a direct stake in an independent lab serving the growing film photography community, and the uptake has been significant, with more than $40,000 raised so far.
The FilmNeverDie crowd-sourced funding offer runs from 13 to 23 October 2026 through funding platform Birchal, with shares available from A$1.80. Access is currently by permission only, but will open to the general public on Thursday.
We should also add that any investment decision should be based on the offer document available on the Birchal platform, and investing in small, unlisted companies carries risk.