“They’ve been a great addition to our team, and have contributed to the collaborative spirit here at Ben B.,” Loupée said. “We were founded as a family business, and relationships are still at the heart of everything we do. We cultivate an environment where success is a team sport, and we all work together to make sure we’re working seamlessly at every layer of our business.”
The company has also launched a proprietary ERP platform Ben B. Access that helps it expedite orders and deliver with greater precision.
“And we put a renewed focus on our charitable efforts through the Sharing Excess program here in Detroit, which provides meals to the local community,” Loupée said. “Since starting that engagement in April, we have donated nearly 250,000 pounds of food.”
Additionally, Loupée recently joined the IFPA’s U.S. Policy Committee and is looking forward to working with his peers for greater mindshare across the industry at such a critical time.
“As a company, we’re excited about our continued growth in 2025 here in Detroit and beyond, as well as supporting our local and professional communities,” he said.
Ben B. leadership is proud to be a family-run business that started in Detroit in 1906 with a simple fruit stand.
“Detroit gives us an ideal homebase for our operations,” Loupée said. “The independent retailer community is strong here, and we love working with customers where we can see true, local impact. Detroit is also very well-located for us to receive produce whether it originates from or is being transported to the United States or Canada, while also having easy access to infrastructure like expressways, shipping ports and an international airport.”
Ben B. serves a wide range of customers, from independent to national retailers, foodservice operators and small- to mid-market wholesalers.
“Customer service is at the heart of everything we do and was one of the driving forces for us to create our Ben B. Access ERP platform, so we could alleviate pain points and increase efficiency while being flexible to how each customer prefers to submit and process their orders,” Loupée said. “We don’t think of ourselves as a vendor, but a true partner to our customers and try to provide value-add wherever we can, whether that’s industry and data insight about produce demand, greater transparency around delivery times and more.”
The company is always thinking about growth opportunities and is currently focusing on expanding its distribution radius and working with more customers from Toronto on down to Atlanta.
“We also are offering value-add services to our customers, such as new packaging solutions like our new citrus bags, repacking and downcasing options, and leaning into charitable donations to support the community here in Detroit,” Loupée said.
“Expect more big things from us as we continue to build out our Ben B. Access features and increase our charitable work here in Detroit. We don’t want to be known just as a leading wholesale distributor of fresh produce but known just as much for sharing our knowledge and resources to benefit the industry and our local communities at-large.”
