From Basement Beginnings to Booming Business: Blueberry and Third Grows With Reliable Furniture Shipping from Unishippers

Summary

Blueberry and Third grew from a basement workshop into a booming children’s furniture business shipping hundreds of orders each month. With Unishippers, the company gained competitive UPS^® rates, integrated shipping technology and hands-on support to help control costs, navigate shipping challenges and deliver a reliable customer experience as the business scales.

Customer Profile

• Industry: Children’s play and educational furniture
• Shipping Solutions: UPS parcel shipping
• Annual Shipping Volume: ~ 4,400
• Customer Since: 2023

Download the Case Study

Nikki Benbenek is an accountant by trade. Her husband is a craftsman. Neither had a background in furniture, children’s brands, e-commerce or manufacturing when they started Blueberry and Third. What they did have was an idea inspired by their family. While Nikki was home with a newborn and toddler, her husband built a wooden climbing arch for their daughter’s first birthday. Nikki saw an opportunity: Why not make it for other families? Their basement and garage became a workshop. He designed the products. She took them to market.

Today, Virginia-based Blueberry and Third creates sustainable children’s furniture influenced by the Montessori approach they embraced with their own children. The products encourage independence by making a child’s surroundings more accessible, whether that means reaching the sink or choosing a book on their own. The brand has even attracted high-profile customers, including actress Mandy Moore.

The idea that started in their basement has grown into a much bigger operation. Today, an Ohio manufacturing partner handles production and fulfillment, with approximately 300–400 furniture shipments moving each month. That growth has made reliable furniture shipping more important than ever. And no matter who carries the package, Nikki knows customers ultimately hold Blueberry and Third accountable for the experience.

“Regardless of which carrier we ship with, if the product gets lost or damaged, that is still a reflection on us. That’s why shipping and logistics is so important for small businesses like ours.”
— Nikki Benbenek, Blueberry and Third Co-Founder + CEO

A Referral Leads to a Partnership

When Blueberry and Third launched in March 2023, shipping furniture was decidedly more hands-on. The business was still operating from the family’s home, where Nikki would take packages to The UPS Store or arrange to have UPS pick them up from the garage. At low volume, it worked.

But as Blueberry and Third began to grow, Nikki received a recommendation from another children’s toy company that was already working with Unishippers. The endorsement carried weight: it came from another business that understood many of the same challenges Blueberry and Third was facing.

In November 2023, just eight months after launching, Blueberry and Third began to ship furniture with Unishippers. The company’s order volume was still small, but Unishippers franchise owner Rachel Loughry saw its potential.

“We treat every customer like they’re a big company because at any time they can grow and need shipping solutions that scale with them. That is why so many SMBs work with Unishippers and why our brand has become synonymous with companies like Blueberry and Third.”
— Rachel Loughry, Unishippers franchise owner

As part of the nation’s largest non-retail authorized reseller of UPS[INT | /ups-parcel-small-package-shipping-services], Unishippers gave Blueberry and Third something it didn’t have on its own: competitive UPS rates, shipping technology, hands-on expertise and the resources to support a rapidly growing business.

Challenge 1: Shipping Furniture During the Most Important Time of Year

Shipper challenge

For Blueberry and Third, Christmas isn’t simply another seasonal spike. The company creates products for children, which makes getting orders to customers on time especially important during the holidays. As peak-season volume climbs, Blueberry and Third needs its shipping operation to perform when customer expectations — and the emotional stakes behind those deliveries — are at their highest.

Unishippers solution

Blueberry and Third works with Unishippers to keep its parcel shipments moving during its critical holiday season. With Unishippers behind its shipping operation, Nikki has the expertise and hands-on support to troubleshoot shipping challenges, select appropriate parcel solutions, mitigate risk and protect delivery performance throughout the holiday rush.

For Nikki, the value of that partnership comes down to two things: “reliability and Christmas.”

“If an uncle or dad doesn’t get socks for Christmas, that’s OK. But if a child doesn’t get their main gift for Christmas, that can actually be really sad.”
— Nikki Benbenek, Blueberry and Third Co-Founder + CEO

By the Numbers

97.3%
Average on-time delivery rate since working with Unishippers.

Challenge 2: Protecting the Customer Experience After an Order Ships

Shipper challenge

Blueberry and Third can control how its products are made and prepared for shipment. But once a package enters the carrier network, not everything is within the company’s control.

Customers don’t necessarily see that distinction. A problem in transit can quickly become a customer service issue, leaving Nikki and her team responsible for finding answers. As a busy furniture shipper, Nikki couldn’t afford to have logistics issues consume time she needed to run and grow the company.

Unishippers solution

With Unishippers, Nikki can reach out directly to Rachel (her Unishippers franchise contact) and the customer service team for help locating packages or resolving other shipping issues. Blueberry and Third has relied on that support many times, giving Nikki and her team an experienced shipping resource when a delivery doesn’t go according to plan.

That support allows Nikki to focus on the part of the experience Blueberry and Third can control: building children’s furniture and finding new customers.

“If I didn’t have the Unishippers team, I’d spend a great deal of time contacting carriers, and that’s really not what you want to be doing as a business owner.”
— Nikki Benbenek, Blueberry and Third Co-Founder + CEO

By the Numbers

1
Number of shipping claims submitted since partnering with Unishippers.

Challenge 3: Gaining Visibility and Control Over Shipping Costs

Shipper challenge

When Blueberry and Third launched, Nikki was shipping furniture from The UPS Store using UPS retail rates. As shipment volume grew, that retail approach became less practical for the expanding business. As an accountant by trade, Nikki keeps a close eye on the numbers. She needed better visibility into available shipping services and competitive rates that could help control costs as order volume increased.

Unishippers solution

Unishippers gives Blueberry and Third access to UPS volume discounts that would be difficult for a growing business to secure on its own. Through an API integration connecting their Shopify account with the myUnishippers transportation management system (TMS), those rates and available services are built directly into the company’s shipping workflow.

When orders come in, Blueberry and Third can compare options and select the service that best fits each shipment’s needs. Instead of paying retail rates with limited visibility into its options, the company can make informed shipping decisions that help reduce transportation spend while still meeting customer delivery requirements.

“It was extremely valuable for Blueberry and Third to have that integration. Now, we see all the rates and services. That makes shipping — and saving — much easier.”
— Nikki Benbenek, Blueberry and Third Co-Founder + CEO

By the Numbers

4,445
Total shipments sent since becoming a Unishippers customer.
Numbers are as of September 2026.

Key Results

• Scaled shipping to hundreds of furniture orders each month
• Maintained a 97.3% average on-time delivery rate
• Submitted just one shipping claim since partnering with Unishippers
• Gained visibility into competitive UPS rates and services
• Streamlined shipping through an integrated Shopify workflow

Building Furniture and a Future With Unishippers

Blueberry and Third is just getting started. According to Nikki, the company grew to 12 times its previous size in 2025 and has grown another 350% so far in 2026. Her ambition is to at least double the business each year, and she knows reaching that goal will require partners with the capacity to grow alongside it.

Unishippers has been one of those partners since Blueberry and Third was just eight months old. What began with packages leaving the family garage has grown into hundreds of shipments each month. Along the way, Unishippers has provided shipping technology and competitive rates backed by hands-on support.
For Nikki, that history has built confidence in the partnership.

“I know Unishippers has the expertise, shipping solutions and support we need to grow. There’s a natural trust there because I know they have the bandwidth to execute what we need. It just feels like the right partnership.”
— Nikki Benbenek, Blueberry and Third Co-Founder + CEO

Blueberry and Third has come a long way from the basement workshop where Nikki and her husband first turned an idea inspired by their family into a business. Today, the operation looks very different, but Nikki’s ambitions are only getting bigger.

The basement may be behind them, but they’re still building — with Unishippers helping make sure the shipping operation is ready for what comes next.

Frequently Asked Questions