Ben B. Schwartz & Sons looking to expand in Southeast
Ben B. Schwartz & Sons looking to expand in Southeast
Ben B. Schwartz & Sons is a trusted operator on the Michigan Produce Terminal in Detroit, and works with local and national chain stores, as well as servicing foodservice providers. The company has been expanding further into the Southeastern U.S. in the past few years, so it’s excited about attending SEPC’s upcoming Southern Innovations show.
“This show gives us an opportunity to connect with existing customers to learn more about their pain points and discuss how we can resolve them, as well as meet new potential clients and educate them on our offerings to find ways to work together,” said Bill Loupée, chief operating officer for Ben. B. “The Southeastern U.S. is a key growth area for us. We are looking forward to having productive conversations with current and prospective customers about their needs and concerns, so we can best tailor our offerings.”
Loupée will be joined at the show by Jordan Grainger, the company’s vice president of sales and business development, and both will be meeting with people to discuss what Ben B. has to offer.
“We consider ourselves as a partner to our customers and offer a full suite of services to support them,” Loupée said. “We build inventory based on demand and can source anything our customers need quickly and at competitive prices thanks to our pool of over 300 growers. We also offer labelling, repacking, bagging and pre-cutting services to make sure we’re delivering product in the final form our customers need, in addition to using our custom Ben B. Access ERP platform to expedite ordering and delivering.”
At the show, Loupée hopes to learn more about the issues customers face in the Southeastern U.S., as well as what kind of demand they’re seeing for certain commodities and what services are important to them when working with a distributor.
“This show is a great opportunity to get face-to-face with other industry professionals and have frank conversations about how the industry is evolving in the Southeast U.S. and across the country,” he said. “We hope we contribute as much as we gain from the show. We’re there to listen, but also to share, so a successful show for us is when we can walk away from an event feeling like we were able to provide some valuable industry insights, in addition to learning more directly from customers about how we can level up our business.”
While there are similar trends and challenges across the fresh produce industry as a whole, Loupée noted it’s always interesting to learn about what those are specific to different regions throughout the nation.
“Having a conference focused on the Southeast area of the U.S. allows us to have conversations about the needs and concerns specific to the area, as they may differ from what we’re experiencing in the Midwest,” he said. “This is an area we’ve been progressively expanding to in recent years, so it’s important for us to learn the best way we can support customers in this area.”
Throughout 2025, Ben B. has been focused on growth at every level, increasing its distribution radius, growing its services and improving its capabilities and brand awareness.
“This includes expanding our team and offerings, while also investing in new operational and marketing initiatives that help us work better in addition to making us visible to more customers,” Loupée said. “We’re always focused on delivering on the high standard we’ve set for ourselves and that our customers have come to expect. We do that with new tools that offer greater transparency and support, as well as providing new value-add services. We’re excited to grow the Ben B. brand in current and future markets and are looking forward to serving new customers and territories this year and beyond.”
