08 Jul Member Spotlight – AB MAURI

AB Mauri – Nicole Rees, Product Director
E-Mail: nicole.rees@abmauri.com
Members since 2013

Nicole Rees is a product director at AB Mauri, focused on the company’s enzyme-based portfolio of nearly 200 bakery ingredient solutions. She started her career in innovation because she loved the challenge of creating products that solve problems. She loves being a product director because she can manage every aspect of the business for a product category, from strategy to development, development into the marketplace and beyond!

Kelly Allen, Membership Manager for BEMA, had an opportunity to ask Ms. Rees a few questions about herself and the organization.

Q: What is AB Mauri most known for?

A: AB Mauri is known globally as a yeast and baking ingredient company. Here in the United States & Canada, consumers recognize our Fleischmann’s Yeast brand, which is now more than 150 years old.

Q: Would you like to share something new or innovative that your company has done recently?

A: Even during a pandemic like COVID-19, innovation doesn’t take a break. Our St. Louis-based innovation team and technical bakers across the country have been hard at work developing new solutions in various areas, including leaving, structure & quality, softening and more for bread, tortillas and even sweet goods. We’re excited about how this new lineup is coming together.

Q: What drew your company to join BEMA? What resources have you found most valuable?

A: BEMA is a great, inclusive organization. I mentioned earlier about how the baking world is one big family, and BEMA is a good snapshot of that. We’re all in this together trying to become the most educated bakers providing high quality baked goods to customers and consumers alike.

Q: What do you love most about the baking industry?

A: People tend to stay in baking, and whether they’re your colleague or competitor, it ends up feeling like an extended family. There’s a lot of passion behind baking, and determination, too. You don’t get into this business if you’re afraid of failing, as being a good baker is no easy task.

Q: What is the one thing you have missed the most during the quarantine?

A: It’s hard to not be able to share meals with friends and family, as food is truly the center of life. I miss even just having a cup of coffee with friends or eating lunch in our office cafe with colleagues.

Q: Is there anything that you think will remain the “new normal” as a result of the Coronavirus?

A: For all companies able to remain productive during quarantine, I think we will be much more reflective before booking travel and holding face-to-face meetings. I think we’ve have learned to make web meetings better and how to be effective working from home, and those are good things.

Q: Please share any personal interests or volunteer activities that you enjoy.

A: Once upon a time, my career in art and food was just a hobby. So, I became one of those people who really turned a hobby into a vocation. Today cooking, baking and writing about food remain my other passions. I’m currently the chair of the Milling and Baking Division of the Cereals and Grains Association (formerly the American Association of Cereal Chemists, International), and I’ve served on that board for more than 12 years. Due to COVID-19, we had to cancel this year’s spring technical conference, but I look forward putting on a gathering in Kansas City next spring.

About AB Mauri:
PASSIONATE ABOUT BAKING

AB Mauri is a baking technology company that is passionate about baking and driven to assist customers achieve superior quality. Industrial and artisan bakers looking for a total resource – whether it be for breads, buns, rolls, doughnuts, pizza crust, pastries, cookies, biscuits, crackers and more – can rely on us.

Visit https://www.abmauri.com or contact Nicole Rees at nicole.rees@abmauri.com for more information!