Former Supie director Ben Kepes says the online supermarket's failure is tragic for everyone - and there are people lower on the food chain than the workers owed wages. 

Supie announced on Monday it had gone into voluntary administration owing about $3 million to creditors, with nearly all the 120 staff instantly losing their jobs and unlikely to be paid for their last two weeks of work or annual leave. 

Founder Sarah Balle launched the Auckland-based independent virtual supermarket in 2021 in competition with the two big chains. 

The company had three directors up until last Friday - when two bailed out just before the company's financial predicament was made public. One of them, Ben Kepes, told Checkpoint they had been spread around the country and stood down after they met on Friday to make the necessary changes easier.