A group of 16 colleagues from our EMEA Nutrition and UK Milling teams recently participated in a bean product workshop at the UK Milling Technical Centre in Avonmouth. While there, attendees learned the finer points of pulse inclusion in bakery applications — and, in the process, learned more about each other’s capabilities, too.
“This was a great opportunity to use the experience and knowledge of both teams to demonstrate products that can successfully incorporate beans while ensuring that the teams understood the unique selling points of each one used,” said Anna Perz, wheat and gristing manager, UK Milling.
- Background: Preparations for the two-day workshop started well before the group of PD&A, commercial and sales colleagues gathered in Avonmouth. Leading up to the event, Aleksandra Staruzyk, Keith Wooller and the Milling Technical Customer Support team conducted several trials using pulses in bread applications, while the Nutrition team in Heidelberg, Germany, ran similar trials using pulses in sweet bakery applications.
- On the menu/agenda: During the workshop, colleagues from both businesses gained hands-on experience incorporating bean powders and grits into bakery products such as bread, rolls, naan bread, tortillas, brownies and cookies.
- Why it matters: Through these trials, our Nutrition and UK Milling teams learned how incorporating pulses into various products impacts their taste and nutrition profiles.
So, what did they find — what’s next?
Nutrition and UK Milling colleagues are currently reviewing all of the information that was exchanged during the workshop, and are using it to prepare training and sales tools that will be shared with other ADM teams across the company and around the world. The groups also agreed to move forward with plans to market ADM’s VegeFull™ bean ingredients to UK bakery customers. Ashley Fuller, business manager, UK Milling, and Tim Levicki, area sales manager, Food, for our Nutrition business unit in the UK & Ireland, are now jointly tasked with identifying customer opportunities for these products.
“This is the perfect range to shake up a traditional bread market, with whom UK Milling has very strong connections,” said Levicki. “Milling and Nutrition have a few customers in common, but there is a massive untapped market to target. With our combined technical knowhow, facilities and commercial presence, it augurs well for sustainable success in a competitive landscape.”
