Ben B. Schwartz & Sons enjoying busy holiday season
Ben B. Schwartz & Sons enjoying busy holiday season
Ben B. Schwartz & Sons, a mainstay on the Michigan Produce Terminal, is gearing up for the holidays.
Since good food and family recipes are at the heart of holiday gatherings, Ben B. always experiences greater demand just before and during the holiday season beginning in late November.
“We’ve been in business for nearly 120 years and there are buying patterns that we know to prepare for, like the holidays,” said Bill Loupée, chief operating officer of Ben B. “However, we use back-end data gathered from our Ben B. Access operations platform to gather insights that help us future-proof our ordering so our inventory can satisfy demand. We know certain commodities will be more popular, so we buy proactively to make sure we have the right quality at the right price for those much-loved holiday items.”
During this time of year, the company typically sees an increase in potato and squash varieties, as well as green vegetables like broccoli and green beans, plus apples, pomegranates and cranberries are popular fruit items.
“People have different backgrounds and traditions, so we like to be well-stocked with any commodity our customers need,” Loupée said. “There are staples, like potatoes and cranberries, that typically dominate the season. However, there is also an appetite for more diverse products as people celebrate different traditions, discover new recipes online and become more health conscious. Specifically in the last few years we’ve seen an interest in pineapple varieties, such as pina colada and pink flesh, and chestnuts and citrus items are always popular this time of year.”
For the 2025 holiday season, the company is noticing a demand for value-add services increasing, which Loupée attributes to a variety of reasons.
“One of them is labor shortages,” he said. “Our customers may not have the staff in place to absorb this work, so bundling it with our offerings can help offset costly delays and budget strain.”
While other industries wind down this time of year, Ben B. works hard going into the holiday season to make sure it takes care of its customers.
“Planning always starts with smart customer service,” Loupée said. “We maintain an open line of communication with our customers throughout the year to understand their needs so we can adjust to any fluctuations. We use that information downstream to make sure our warehouse and carrier resources can support getting people what they need, where and when they need it.”
Since Detroit is a central location for Ben B., the company is able to deliver to several areas throughout the U.S. and Canada quickly and easily.
“We can service anyone within a 1,000-mile radius, which serves up to 250 million people or 65 percent of the combined U.S. and Canadian populations,” Loupée said. “When demand peaks, such as at holiday time, we may look at increasing our warehouse staff and optimizing our routes to streamline deliveries without jeopardizing the freshness of our products.”
As a family-run company, the theme of family is deeply-rooted in the company’s DNA and that shows in how it conducts business.
“The passion and dedication of our team is what allows us to deliver the high standard of service we’re known for, and while we like to celebrate our employees year-round, it’s important to acknowledge them during the holidays and all they do for Ben B.,” Loupée said. “At holiday time, we host a company dinner to celebrate the season and reflect on our accomplishments and take time to call-out the extraordinary moments and stand-out work from the past year.”
Ben B. has also tripled its throughput with Metro Food Rescue and continue to make philanthropic produce donations part of the company culture.
“It’s a great way for us to give back to the Detroit community,” Loupée said.
