Trio Supply Company

What Trio Supply Company does

Trio Supply Company is a privately held, independent B2B distributor founded in 1985 by Mike Ludwig, Steve Isakson, and Don Larson, with Dan Bonk joining as a partner shortly thereafter. The company distributes institutional food service disposables, janitorial and sanitary products, and beauty/spa supplies to restaurants, schools, hospitals, government agencies, and office buildings across the Twin Cities metropolitan area of Minnesota. Operations are anchored by an 80,000 square foot warehouse holding over $3 million of inventory across more than 7,000 SKUs, supported by an owned fleet of 11 trucks enabling next-day delivery and emergency off-hours fulfillment.

The business model is sales-led and relationship-driven, with a flat management structure in which all four co-owners are empowered to make on-the-spot decisions and personally handle deliveries and customer service. The company reports a 99.5% fill rate and sources much of its growth from referrals. Technology consists of 'sophisticated' but conventional inventory tracking and customer reporting systems, supplemented by a self-service online catalog at catalog.triosupply.com that complements the human phone-based sales motion. Procurement leverage comes from supplier relationships with major foodservice and janitorial manufacturers (Dart, Pactiv, Sabert, Huhtamaki, Eco-Products, World Centric, SCA/Tork) and from membership in The United Group (TUG) buying cooperative. The company self-describes as a $30 million firm with a strong regional leadership position, growing from $1-2 million in annual sales at inception to its current scale over approximately four decades.

Name

Trio Supply Company

Legal name

Trio Supply Company

Website

https://triosupply.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Trio Supply Company is a privately held B2B distributor founded in 1985 that distributes institutional food service disposables, janitorial/sanitary products, and beauty/spa supplies to restaurants, schools, hospitals, government agencies, and offices across the Twin Cities metro from its 80,000 sq ft Fridley, Minnesota warehouse with an owned 11-truck fleet.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Institutional Food Service & Janitorial Distribution

NAICS

Other Grocery and Related Products Merchant Wholesalers (42449), Industrial Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (423840), Paper and Paper Product Merchant Wholesalers (4241)

SIC

Wholesale-Miscellaneous Nondurable Goods (5190), Wholesale-Professional & Commercial Equipment & Supplies (5040)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYAFAIALAG

Bar & Beverage Service Supplies Wholesale

Agriculture & Food Production/Food Distribution & Wholesale/Foodservice & Restaurant Supply Wholesale

Keywords

• Food service disposables
• Janitorial supplies
• Sanitary products
• Institutional distribution
• Commercial cleaning supplies

Headquarters

HQ city

Sour Lake

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Product Distribution: Distribution of institutional food service disposables, janitorial and sanitary products, and beauty/spa supplies. Transaction-based sales model with next-day delivery service.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Trio Supply Company is a regional B2B distributor of institutional food service disposables, janitorial and sanitary products, and beauty/spa supplies, offering over 7,000 SKUs from an 80,000 square foot warehouse for next-day delivery across the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The company combines a self-service online catalog, inside phone sales, and an own-fleet delivery operation with personal, hands-on service to restaurants, schools, hospitals, government agencies, and office buildings.

Product overview

Trio Supply Company is a distributor of food service disposables, janitorial, and sanitary products serving the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The company operates as a single unified distribution business offering over 7,000 products in categories including bags, boxes, can liners, cleaning products, containers, cups, cutlery, dinnerware, film, foil, gloves, napkins, paper rolls, placemats, straws, tapes, tissue products, towels, trays, and wipers. The core product line features institutional food service disposables with sub-products spanning foam and molded fiber plates, compostable products (Eco-Products Sugarcane, World Centric), plastic dinnerware (Genpak, Sabert), bakery supplies (Southern Champion), and janitorial chemicals and paper products. The company also offers beauty and spa supplies. Products are distributed through an online catalog system and include both eco-friendly alternatives and traditional disposable options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Institutional Food Service Disposables Distribution
• Janitorial and Sanitary Products Distribution
• Beauty and Spa Supplies Distribution
• Next-Day Delivery Service
• Online Catalog Ordering

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.5% fill rate - almost unheard of in the industry
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The United Group (TUG)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMember-owned organization of independent distributors and allied vendors of disposable products from the janitorial/sanitary, industrial packaging and foodservice markets. Provides access to wider variety of products from leading manufacturers and group buying power benefits.
• Anchor PackagingminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSupplier partner providing food service packaging products
• Dart Container CorporationminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSupplier partner for cups and food service containers
• PactivminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSupplier partner for food service packaging products
• SabertminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSupplier partner for plates, bowls, and food service dinnerware
• HuhtamakiminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSupplier partner for food service packaging
• Fabri-KalminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSupplier partner for cups and food service containers
• SCA (Tork)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSupplier partner for tissue products and paper towels

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Imperial Dade: One of the largest North American foodservice disposables and janitorial/sanitary distributors, with a comparable institutional customer base (restaurants, schools, healthcare, government). Imperial Dade has executed an aggressive roll-up strategy of regional distributors similar in profile to Trio Supply.
• BradyPLUS: National janitorial, sanitary, and foodservice supply distributor formed from the merger of Brady Industries and Sanitary Maintenance. Directly comparable product mix to Trio's jansan/disposables business with overlapping institutional customers.
• Vistar (Performance Food Group): Specialty foodservice distributor owned by Performance Food Group focused on disposables, supplies, and equipment to operators across the U.S. Highly comparable product mix and customer profile to Trio Supply.
• Edward Don & Company: Long-established foodservice equipment and supplies distributor serving restaurants, schools, healthcare, and government accounts with similar next-day delivery economics. Comparable customer verticals and product breadth.

Broad incumbents

• Bunzl USA: Multinational distribution platform that includes foodservice disposables, jansan supplies, and related institutional product lines as part of a much broader portfolio. Bunzl's North American segment overlaps materially with Trio's product categories and customer verticals.
• Sysco: Largest U.S. broadline foodservice distributor, primarily focused on food but expanding in disposables and jansan supplies as add-on categories. Sets the competitive benchmark for institutional foodservice supply across Trio's verticals.
• Gordon Food Service: Large broadline foodservice distributor with strong regional concentration in the Upper Midwest, including the Twin Cities. Provides foodservice disposables and related supplies alongside food, competing for the same institutional contracts.

Regional players

• Restaurant Depot: Cash-and-carry foodservice supply warehouse club serving the same institutional customer base (restaurants, caterers, nonprofits). Operates a different sales motion but competes for the same disposable/jansan dollar in overlapping geographies.

Emerging players

• WebstaurantStore: Leading e-commerce distributor of foodservice supplies, disposables, and janitorial products with a catalog overlapping substantially with Trio's 7,000+ SKU range. Represents the digital competitive threat to regional distributors.
• DayMark Safety Systems: Specialty foodservice disposables and food safety products company with partial overlap to Trio's product categories. Represents a focused competitor in specific foodservice supply niches.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/trio-supply

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Trio Supply Company