Quality Food Services General Manager – Brian Saharin
From humble beginnings in the late ‘80s, Quality Foods has grown into one of south-east Queensland’s largest food services distribution businesses – and is now poised for further expansion following investment in a new state-of-the-art cold storage facility and refrigerated truck fleet
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When Frank De Pasquale and Glen Bound joined forces to expand on their range of hotdogs and lasagne sold to school tuck shops in the late ’80s, they may not have envisaged that over the next 30 years the business would evolve into a major player in the food and beverage supply industry in Queensland; or that the journey would lead them to opening the doors on a new multimillion-dollar state-of-the-art distribution facility in Pinkenba, Brisbane.
Quality Food Services’ humble beginnings started in 1988, selling ‘Dinkum Dog Hot Dogs’. In time, the name changed to ‘Oz Dogs Hot Dogs’ and a few more product lines were added, including chicken burgers and lasagne. The company then started marketing its range of products into schools and quickly gained a reputation for ‘quality’ and ‘service’. Over the years, Quality Food Services expanded more into schools and soon had a small pantry list of about 20 products, essentially for the school market. In 1998 Quality Food Services merged with the Tuckshop Warehouse, a business also catered toward supplying schools. Together they moved into Stafford and leased dry, chiller and freezer space from Arquilla Imports. Their core business was primarily in food service and they were importers of European foods. Following the merger, the business grew quickly, supplying 400 schools with an enlarged product range of about 2,000 lines.
In 2004, Quality Food Services purchased Arquilla Imports, a significant milestone that enabled the company to offer a full range of products for schools and general food service customers. And, in 2010, Quality Food Services merged with Healthy Canteens, cementing its business in the schools market and expanding its range to include drinks and confectionery, in addition to its extensive range of dry, chiller and frozen products. Together, the team concentrated on growing the business over the next seven years and, in early 2017, Quality Food Services began to acquire a number of beverage businesses in its quest to further expand the product range and add variety for its clientele.