
Ben B. Schwartz & Sons expanding produce offerings
Ben B. Schwartz & Sons, which operates on the Michigan Produce Terminal in Detroit, will be expanding its product offerings to customers.
“We will be launching a bagging line with the capabilities of bagging citrus, onions and potatoes to begin,” said Jordan Grainger, vice president of sales. “We are excited about increasing our product offerings to our customers with our bagging operation. This will complement our current service offerings to our customers.”
In that regard, Ben B. will be offering both private and generic label options. The bagging line is scheduled to be in production and will be able to ship orders by the start of Q2 2024.
The company, which serves local and national chain stores, as well as foodservice providers, has been operating for more than 100 years, and has a distribution network that reaches most of the United States and into Canada.
“We have a diverse group of customers including many of the Detroit independent grocery stores who shop the market,” Grainger said. “These independent grocery stores help push our company to provide top notch quality along with new innovative products and services to all our customers.”
With the end of the year here, 2023 has been strong for Ben B. Schwartz.
“We are ending another consecutive year of year-over-year growth,” Grainger said. “In 2023, we increased our product offerings to our customers and are looking forward to more offerings coming out of Ben B. in 2024.”
Coming out of Thanksgiving is always an important time for the company.
“Holiday times always drive an increase in consumption for produce,” Grainger said. “Holidays also allow us, as a company, to appreciate and reflect on 2023 and look forward to continuing our success in 2024.”
This time of year, potatoes are historically a big mover for the winter holidays, and that has kept true in 2023. Grainger noted that many seasonal items come into play during this time as well, such as cranberries and pomegranates, which see boosts in sales during the month.
Having strong partnerships with its retail partners is a big component of Ben B.’s success, and that is especially important during the holiday season.
“We support ads to our retail partners on items that will increase foot traffic in the store,” Grainger said. “Produce is a driver for retail customers. Providing great quality at fair prices is a key to success during the holiday times and making sure you have captured the customers’ attention. Increasing the opportunity for a customer to make an impulse buy while shopping for holiday staples is a great way to increase sales during the holiday seasons. Planograms and item floor placement are very important to get the most out of the holiday rushes.”
The one big negative of 2023 was labor challenges, and the company continues to look for ways to solve what is always a difficult problem.
“We are always discussing the best options to help reduce turnover and recruit the right talent for our company,” Grainger said.