From farm to fam: 101 years of O’Toole’s

The horticulture industry is founded on family, with many growers, wholesalers and retailers citing family members from generations past as the origins of their businesses.

One such multi-generational family business is prominent Brisbane Markets wholesaler, O’Toole Produce, which is celebrating 101 years of business this year. Specialising in trading potatoes, pumpkin, onions and melons, O’Toole Produce Principal, Paul O’Toole, said his business offered customers a wealth of knowledge and experience gathered across four generations of his family, including Paul’s wife Bernice and their sons, Tim and Matt.

“At our core, we are a family business with the goal of supporting each other through tough times – a support we try to extend to our clients and community at the Brisbane Markets. Suppliers and buyers will trade regularly if your reputation and service is reliable,” Mr O’Toole said.

O’Toole Produce was started by Mr O’Toole’s grandfather, Hugh, in 1922. Noting an opportunity to trade the oversupply of potatoes in Illowa, south-west Victoria, Hugh founded the merchant business H. O’Toole, relying on the promised supply from local farmers and the support of his five brothers.

“My grandfather was a very hard worker and was very dedicated to the industry and the growers he worked for,” Mr O’Toole said.

“Using his, at the time, privileged and essential asset – a wall mounted telephone – he would give growers trading news, such as weather in competing harvesting areas, or advice on planting quantities and harvesting times.

“I recall going on regular drives with him, and my brother, Peter, to local farms to compare their crops, learn about their equipment and facilities, or how the harvest was progressing.”

By the 1950s, Mr O’Toole’s father, Kevin, had taken over the business, with his wife managing accounts and his sons apprenticing themselves to not only the merchant trade business, but also the family farm, where they grew a range of agricultural crops, including onions, barley, wheat and, of course, potatoes.

“We were immersed at an early age, which reduced a lot of the daily stress. Being given the basis of trading skills through hearing stories, hearing my father on the phone day and night, and living the environment was, in fact, a grand apprenticeship,” Mr O’Toole said. Using this experience, Mr and Mrs O’Toole took over the farming business in 1981. They spent a few years as potato growers in Illowa, before making the decision to return to merchant trading, and eventually moving this business to Brisbane.

According to Mr O’Toole, he joined the Brisbane Markets when Landacq Limited, now Brisbane Markets Limited, was looking to purchase the site from the state government in August 2002.

“This move to industry ownership was one of the major draw cards for our move to the Brisbane Markets,” Mr O’Toole said.

“Being owned by an industry body meant that wholesalers operating out of the Brisbane Markets had more involvement in its operation. Trading through the central markets also opened up opportunities to network with new trading partners, a more central and orderly trading system, better facilities and quality assurance programs.”

Mr O’Toole said that the other drawcard for trading through the Brisbane Markets was the opportunity to join the member co-operative, Brismark.

“Brismark’s Credit Service makes trading easier. It is very well managed, having all transactions tracked and consolidated in one place. The Bad Debt Reserve is very important for reducing the risk of bad debts and ensuring normal cash flow.

“Brismark also supports us with other services such as recruitment, human resources, and training, and represents and supports us on matters of compliance.”

In the years since, O’Toole Produce has continued to innovate, now also facilitating the trade of nuts, beans, dried fruit, and cereals through the Brisbane Nut Market.

Seeking to further support the growers they work with, the O’Tooles have also expanded out of fresh produce, to the supply of plastic receptacles and pallets for bulk food harvest, storage and handling.

Today, O’Toole Produce and Plastics still values the community they have helped to foster at the Brisbane Markets, and are proud of the close relations with growers, traders, A better choice! retailers and buyers alike.

“It is an honour to be able to represent our growers and continue to market the high quality produce they have to offer,” Mrs O’Toole said.