A family-owned food manufacturing business from Carole Park, Ipswich has been named the Premier of Queensland’s Exporter of the Year 2019.
Trisco Foods is owned by the Tristram family, which has been manufacturing food and beverage products in Queensland since 1875.
“Congratulations to Trisco Foods for this win and for the success they have experienced in their business,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
“The Tristram family which owns the company has been producing food products in Queensland for more than 140 years.
“This is a deserved win for a family that is always innovating and always striving to provide high quality products and service to clients here and overseas.”
Trisco Foods produces world class food ingredients, such as syrups and flours, that are used here and abroad by leading food companies. It has a strong presence throughout the Asian region and has been exporting for many years.
CEO Mike Tristram missed the big night – he was overseas expanding the Trisco Foods empire.
“We have just opened a factory in the United States. I was in Colorado Springs setting up the manufacturing facility there,” he said on his first day back in Queensland.
“We realised you can’t do all the production here … have product on the water for seven or eight weeks, especially with a short shelf life.”
Mr Tristram said the US was a logical step with a small plant there and headquarters remaining down under.
“We will eventually have 80 staff across the world, that might grow to 100,” he said.
The company’s production and warehousing facility has been located at Carole Park since 2007 with many of the raw materials grown and processed locally.
“The first factory was a small building of two rooms attached to the rear of the family home in Hope Street, South Brisbane,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“From these humble beginnings the business has grown into a huge success story and we’re extremely proud of this Queensland business from (Ipswich) taking on the world.”
The Tristram family is well known among older Queenslanders as the name behind the soft drink with the marketing slogan, “Say Tristrams Please”. The brand and soft drink business was sold to Cadbury Schweppes in 1970 when the Trisco Foods company began and the family concentrated on the ingredients business.
Mr Tristram said health and wellbeing products accounted for 50 per cent of the business these days, having not even been on the radar as recently as five years ago.
“It is the big buzzword now and has been a huge transition for us. It is great being involved in products that make a difference to people’s lives.”
The winners of the industry awards will be automatically entered into the Australian Export Awards, held in Canberra on 3 December 2019.
