Ben B. Schwartz & Sons having busy spring season
Ben B. Schwartz & Sons having busy spring season
Ben B. Schwartz & Sons, a mainstay on the Michigan Produce Terminal in Detroit, has a lot of big things happening as spring arrives.
“We’re listening to our customers and giving them what they’re asking for,” said Bill Loupée, chief operating officer for Ben B. “This includes expanding repack, private label and mesh bagging, such as our new citrus packaging launched last year, and our new local program with Forgotten Harvest in Detroit, which has donated nearly half a million meals each of the last two years with our produce contributions.”
The company is also expanding its philanthropic efforts by working with Make Food Not Waste, which is a program reducing waste across Michigan, and is actively participating in the Sharing Excess initiative to partner with its produce terminal partners to advocate for funding that will support staff that identifies produce that can be used to support local programs.
Another exciting thing this time of year is the company’s annual trip up north for the CPMA show.
“We’re looking forward to meeting with different stakeholders, old and new, from across our network — carriers, customers and shippers — to discuss how we can solve their current pain points,” Loupée said. “We’re also excited to participate in our volunteer council.”
Loupée will be joined by Jordan Grainger, vice president of sales, who will be on-site to meet with current and prospective customers, while he focuses on Ben B’s grower and shipper relationships.
“There are two big trends we’re reacting to — increased demand for locally-grown and organic items, as well as greater demand for online and club retail channels,” Loupée said. “We’re responding by adjusting item volumes, as well as targeting growth channels for distribution.”
He noted Ben B is interested in more sustainable packaging options as companies are becoming more passionate about limiting plastic waste, and he’s excited to talk to Canadian packaging partners in this space.
“Tariffs are also on our mind, as well as gearing up for fall demand planning,” Loupée said. “CPMA gives us a great opportunity to meet with different companies and partners to have these important discussions in one place, at one time and bring new, actionable ideas back home.”
For Ben B, the show is also a place to provide value, just as much as it receives it.
“Networking is a two-way street, and it’s great to connect with industry partners to problem solve, discuss challenges ahead and bring our collective experience together to help each other grow,” Loupée said.
And while he’s there, he’s very much looking forward to exploring Montreal in his downtime.
“What a beautiful city,” Loupée said. “It’s not often you can feel like you’re in Europe, but it’s just a short flight from home.”
