A Father’s legacy
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When Belinda Wilson saw how pale her father Alan Wilson looked in 2014, she and her partner Scott Bradbrook quickly packed up their Sydney life to move north to Forster. “Dad had been diagnosed with cancer and I could see that he wasn’t great,” she recalls. “I thought I’d help take him to appointments and maybe help mum and dad wrap up their business so they could retire.”
Belinda Wilson and Scott Bradbrook, continue the proud legacy of AJ Wilson Wholesale Food Distributors, building on the vision of founder Alan Wilson.
But after accompanying her dad to work, Belinda quickly saw how useful she and Scott could be. “We jumped right in,” she recalls. “Scott’s background is in sales, so he hit the road and I started implementing an online ordering system and helping in the warehouse.”
Six months later, Alan sadly passed away and as they slowly processed their grief, Belinda and Scott decided to continue his work. “It was a good business and we started thinking, ‘How do we build it to be better?’” she recalls. “Dad had said, ‘Remember, we didn’t come here with a book of how to do it – you make it up as you go along’, which was reassuring to hear.”
The road to foodservice
A life in Forster was hardly part of Alan and Margaret Wilson’s grand life plan. It was the 1980s and they’d just returned from six years with their young family in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, where Alan had worked a stint in food service. “We moved back to Melbourne and went for a drive up the coast – my parents were either going to buy Forster Frozen Foods or a newsagency at Macksville,” Belinda says. “Dad chose to stick with foodservice so we moved north.”
Belinda Wilson and Scott Bradbrook with the dedicated AJ Wilson team — the people behind Forster’s trusted foodservice distributor.
He soon re-named the business AJ Wilson Wholesale Food Distributors [short for Alan John Wilson] and began building a life – and a reputation – in the regional area. “My brother and I worked in the business on Saturdays, packing ice into bags and pulling the perforated dotted edges off printouts from the old printers,” Belinda laughs. “I think it scarred us because neither of us had an interest in entering the family business!”
In fact, after leaving school Belinda moved to Sydney for 20 years to work in travel and project management and had no vision of returning to Forster until 2014. “I knew it would be a great place to raise my kids and Dad’s words were echoing in my ears: ‘It’s a great business and really rewarding working for yourself’,” she says. “He was right and I like that I still get to see Dad’s name around town, on the front of the business and on a sign at the local footy club.”
A commitment to customers
AJ Wilson thrives in Forster’s competitive foodservice market by delivering exceptional service, embracing innovation, and supporting the local community.
It’s no secret that food service in tourist hotspot Forster is a saturated market, but Belinda says AJ Wilson’s reputation for going above and beyond is what’s helped them stay strong. “We are in a small town that relies purely on tourism and we understand how important it is that we have whatever our customers have ordered in stock and that we actually deliver it,” she says. “Our service is fantastic, we do things better than everyone else.”
A lot of Belinda and Scott’s ideas for the business have been a result of Countrywide networking. “We’ve met a lot of different members over the time and you bounce around ideas,” she says. “You have to evolve as a business and if anybody has got ideas on how we can get better at something, we’re open to them.”
But as much as Forster has grown and technology has changed in the family’s 37 years in business, Belinda says the work remains just as rewarding. “We’re able to make a difference, hiring local people who need to support their own family, donating to the local sports clubs or helping our customers in their family businesses,” she says. “I like working in food service because it’s an important part of human connection. Food trends will come and go but people will always want to meet up for a coffee or a dinner, and we’re proud to be able to play a role in bringing people joy.”
Managing Director, A.J. Wilson Wholesale Food Distributors