Family owned
Since 1979.
Since Tristate Produce Merchants first began operating out of Sydney Markets in 1979 by Santo Peter Tripodina. Tristate has established itself as one of the premier produce wholesalers in the industry. Tristate Produce Merchants is now managed by Peter's son Adrian Tripodina.
As a family business owned and operated by the Tripodina family, Tristate has been serving retailers and independent grocers across Australia for almost 40 years.
Tristate and its people are passionate about fresh food, supporting locally grown produce and Australian farmers and delivering quality produce to our customers.
Our Mission
Fresh Quality Aussie Produce
We aim to provide superior customer service in supplying quality produce to a large and varied clientele of small businesses through to the large chain stores. We work to support the fruit and vegetable industry by working in partnership with our suppliers and growers to ensure we satisfy our customer’s requirements of fresh, quality, Australian grown produce.
Our Mission
Fresh Quality Aussie Produce
We aim to provide superior customer service in supplying quality produce to a large and varied clientele of small businesses through to the large chain stores. We work to support the fruit and vegetable industry by working in partnership with our suppliers and growers to ensure we satisfy our customer’s requirements of fresh, quality, Australian grown produce.Our Values
We provide the highest level of service on every transaction no matter how big or small
We provide the highest level of service on every transaction no matter how big or small
We provide the highest level of service on every transaction no matter how big or small
We provide the highest level of service on every transaction no matter how big or small
History
Tristate’s early years and it’s Queensland origins.
When owner and founder Peter Tripodina migrated to Australia as a 7-year old with his family from Italy in 1949 he got his first taste of farming when they ended up in far north Queensland cutting sugar cane on farms before relocating to Glebe in Sydney’s inner west. Like most migrant families, of this period, who came to Australia with little or no money, Peter was no different and at the age of 11 worked before and after school delivering milk in the mornings and the newspapers in the afternoon to support the family.History
Tristate’s early years and it’s Queensland origins.
When owner and founder Peter Tripodina migrated to Australia as a 7-year old with his family from Italy in 1949 he got his first taste of farming when they ended up in far north Queensland cutting sugar cane on farms before relocating to Glebe in Sydney’s inner west. Like most migrant families, of this period, who came to Australia with little or no money, Peter was no different and at the age of 11 worked before and after school delivering milk in the mornings and the newspapers in the afternoon to support the family.
In 1964 Peter’s father opened their first fruit shop in Kingsgrove and it was here that Peter along with his brothers and sisters worked in the shop before and after school and on weekends, instilling a strong work ethic from a young age.
With a dream to open his own business someday Peter spent his young adult years working in the fruit and vegetable industry working multiple jobs to save up money. During the early 1970’s he would spend his days working for Ray Hall Unloaders at the old market, where he earned $2 an hour for hand delivering goods by wheel barrow from the truck, and then during the nights would drive overnight trucks to Brisbane for freight companies like Ansett, Tenex, Comet and T&T. Weekends were spent working at Paddys market where he and his good friend sold produce to customers starting late Friday night right through to Sunday.
In 1979 Peter finally saved enough to buy a stand in the Sydney Markets and open Tristate Produce Merchants however things didn’t start smoothly when he realised he didn’t have enough money to operate the business. With that in mind he turned to close business associates Frank Costa, of the Costa Group, and Rob Robson, of One Harvest Group, who after trying to find a way to work together helped cash flow the business through consignment orders which Peter used to fund the business. Since that time Tristate has grown into a premier supplier of produce across the country, having owned and operated farms, retail and supported Australian growers and customers which it continues to do this day.
