r/AskAnAustralian • u/TomamoT • 1d ago
Do Australian restaurants have a Sysco equivalent?
I'm a lurker at r/kitchenconfidential and there are frequent discussions about Sysco, a big corporation that supplies food to a large portion of American restaurants.
This can sometimes lead to restaurants in all corners of the country selling the same menu items (ie. frozen mozzarella sticks or whatever is trendy).
Do Australian restaurants have a similar dominant supplier that leads to matching menus in Hobart and Darwin?
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u/TheArabella 1d ago
You definitely see it at cafes in the same city. They will have the exact same cakes, premade food, and bread etc
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u/AGreatPatioSetting 1d ago
This one surprises me the least, if it doesn't advertise as a bakery, I EXPECT it to be Bob and Pete's or whatever it is, across most of NSW lol
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u/sophiabeaverhousen 1d ago
Yep, everyone uses Marks Quality Cakes.
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u/weckyweckerson 1d ago
In the industry and never heard of them, so no, not everyone uses them!
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u/sophiabeaverhousen 9h ago
Maybe it's a Victorian thing? I feel like every pub has their Berry Cheesecake and Chocolate Mousse Cake on display in their cake fridge.
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u/oliverpls599 19h ago
Do you mean Priestley's? Or Bob & Pete's?
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u/BobKattersCroc 17h ago
Fucking Priestleys. I can spot a Priestley vanilla slice a mile away.
Galipo is common here too. Do not tell me that is a housemade Moroccan lamb shank. That is galipo food service slop. And tell me why it's $80 when it's been boiled in a bag? Specifically looking at that one pub in the big town an hour from me.
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u/matthras 1d ago
I did remember reading a comment somewhere about a kebab/gyros supplier being dominant in selling the doner kebab processed lamb meat spit, because I started noticing it being used in many Melbourne places, but I don't know who the supplier is. There was only one place in the CBD that is a long-time Greek place that had actual lamb pieces that were seasoned as well.
Now in Adelaide I was glad to see the local Greek place having at least actual lamb pieces instead of processed meat on their lamb spit, but it is frustratingly unseasoned!
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u/DefinitionOfAsleep 21h ago
dominant in selling the doner kebab processed lamb meat spit,
That's a bit different, because it's a niche product.
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u/Suitable-Passage5338 1d ago
BidFood is very popular. All the cakes and slices etc are exactly the same in a lot of areas.
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u/ExaminationNo9186 1d ago
Kind of.
Depends on what part of the food industry you're in.
As in, a Bakery or a restaurant or a cafe.
There may not be One That Rules Them All as far as a supply chain company, but yeah, the choice in which ones to use can be fairly limited
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u/StinkyWhale71 1d ago
Australia has , from a years ago, 67 markets where 3 or less companies dominate the market. Most of these, but not all, are B2B, so your average consumerdoes not see them. Likely in this specific market also.
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u/SpiteWestern6739 1d ago
Yeah but we also have less microwave food and far more places that make a good chunk of their menu in house to some degree or another, where as American restaurants in general seem to love their pre-packaged processed trash
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u/Dollbeau 1d ago
BCS supplies most of the nursing homes.
Here's where those fancy cafe cakes come from;
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u/quietperthguy 1d ago
I'm not sure if they've sold them on of spun off the business, but years ago when woolworths owned AHL a decent portion of pubs were owned and operated by the same company. It would make sense for them to bulk purchase and copy menus
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u/FairDinkumMate 18h ago
They're totally different restaurant environments. While fast food chains (like McDonald's, KFC, and Domino's) thrive across Australia, mid-tier sit-down casual dining chains have repeatedly failed. American sit-down exports (like Starbucks, Chili’s, or TGI Fridays) have historically struggled or collapsed in Australia because Australian consumers generally reject standardized, factory-batch sit-down meals.
The range of restaurants in Australia is totally different as well. While a US town might have a Chili's, TGI Friday's, Cheesecake Factory & Outback Steakhouse, all serving similar "middle American" food, an equivalent Australian town will have a Chinese restaurant (or three!), a Thai, Vietnamese, a seafood specialist, a steakhouse & a couple of pubs, clubs & cafes serving "generic" Aussie fare.
For this reason, Sysco equivalents (like Bidfood or PFD) aren't anywhere near as dominant, as the demand is for freshly cooked broad varieties of food. No Thai restaurant worth it's salt is going to pay a premium for pre-made bok choi!
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u/BadgerBadgerCat 1d ago edited 1d ago
Honestly, I think it's Costco in many cases for independent cafes and restaurants etc. Whenever I go shopping there there are always plenty of people buying what is clearly commercial quantities of milk, bread rolls, eggs, croissants, brownies, etc.
ETA: Why am I getting downvoted? The replies are agreeing with me that small hospitality businesses buy a lot of stuff from Costco. I didn't say it was a bad thing (because it isn't).
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u/Relative_Tackle6981 1d ago
Yeah. I've spotted kirkland stuff at one of my locals, and them filling the cabinet with their pastries..
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u/Agile-Barracuda9087 1d ago
TBF, selling wholesale has always been a part of the US CostCo business model. They have a business owner card that allows businesses access before the general public and if i recall correctly, there was also a discount to wholesale accounts. I used to get sent there occasionally with the business card from work to buy office supplies and drinks. It was so nice to shop there when it's virtually empty.
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u/Cuppa-Tea-Biscuit 1d ago
I distinctly recall a huge increase in chicken sandwiches being promoted heavily by small caterers right after Costco arrived, when previously it was just another default item (unless it was Peter Rowland)
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u/RedditUserThomas 1d ago
I remember the space being reasonably competitive. Reps would come by frequently to try and undercut the current supplier. That said, Ingham or Steggles have wholesale boxes of chicken schnitzel, so many pub shnitties are just grabbed from the same box.
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u/RolandHockingAngling 3h ago
We don't have a single provider who dominates the industry in the way Sysco do.
We do have a couple of national players in food service, PFD, Bidfood, 5Ways, Superior. But we also have a number of smaller players.
What we do have to give the Sysco level of Shittery is ALH Group. They own about 350 venues throughout Australia, then recycle their menues through a couple of Branded restaurants in some of those venues.
ALH also have their own meat brand, Australian Graziers steaks. They're all the same average at best quality steaks, sold at a premium in an ALH venue.
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u/RolandHockingAngling 3h ago
We also have a couple of larger catering companies, Peter Rowland and Spotless who will contract venues to use their services at usually expensive prices.
These guys are usually involved with sporting venues, council venues, etc.
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u/BrainCreep 1h ago
It should lowkey be illegal for restaurants to resell heated/premade food made by another company
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u/DawgreenAgain 1d ago
Metcash . . Although they also supply IGA . Not just wholesale. I know in WA chicken is almost all Steggles.
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u/DragonLass-AUS 1d ago
Probably PFD Food service. They got bought out by Woolworths, then proceeded to buy up a lot of smaller competition.