AAK USA Inc., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high value-adding specialty vegetable fats and oils, recently hosted a Bakery Academy at its Edison, New Jersey Customer Innovation Center. Known around the world for its co-development process and partnerships formed to support valued customers, AAK regularly hosts these hands-on AAK Academy™ learning events. The Bakery Academy is the first such event held in the USA for food ingredient customers and is part of a series AAK will host throughout 2018.

“We were pleased to host our first Bakery Academy at our Edison Customer Innovation Center,” said Dr. James Jones, Vice President Customer Innovation, AAK USA Inc. “These Academies provide an exciting opportunity for focused engagement between AAK and our valued customer partners. Our Customer Innovation team shares a wealth of technical knowledge regarding fats and oils in food systems, and then relates the science to consumer new food product development, quality and innovation.”

He concludes, “The day typically consists of several learning modules, with a hands-on learning component in our labs, enabling customers to gain deeper insight into the value-adding capabilities we provide as we work together to develop the forward-thinking innovation necessary to create products that consumers will love.”

An AAK Academy typically consists of a series of short courses covering AAK’s capabilities, the Co-Development process, fats & oils solutions, consumer food product and industry applications experience, and industry dynamics impacting product development. The recent Bakery Academy courses also included:

•                Physical and Chemical Aspects of Fats and Oils – Basic fat chemistry, sourcing oils and sustainability, the refining process, QA capabilities and recommendations for handling oils

•                Spotlight on Cakes and Icings – Function of fat in various types of cakes, icings, dry mixes, and related products and how to select the right fat for the right application

•                The Use of Emulsifiers in Fats and Oils – Highlighting emulsifiers in cake applications

•                Lab Application Work – Hands-on component working with AAK’s shortenings, along with emulsifiers, in cakes

•                The Uses of Flaked Fats in Bakery Products – Production, benefits and application guidance

•                AAK’s Bakery Product Portfolio – Overview of AAK’s primary product lines for bakery applications

AAK continues to expand its US footprint by investing in facilities and capabilities dedicated to supporting customer partners in each region. Additional Academies are planned in 2018 including a September Confectionery Academy in Edison, N.J., as well an October Bakery Academy in Louisville, Ky.

“We also welcome our customers to request a dedicated Innovation Day with AAK,” added Jones. “These one-on-one lab sessions take on a specific customer challenge at any one of Customer Innovation Centers across the country and enable rapid concept development, ‘protocepting’ and product development. By working together for a day or two in our labs, we are able to accomplish more product development work than would typically be completed in a month or more working independently.”

Find out more about the next AAK Academy, or learn more information about AAK, by visiting www.betterwithAAK.com and www.aak.com.

About AAK

AAK is a leading provider of value-adding vegetable oils & fats. Our wide range of raw materials, broad process capabilities, and expertise in oils & fats within food applications enable us to develop innovative and value-adding solutions across many industries – Chocolate & Confectionery, Bakery, Dairy, Special Nutrition, Food Service, Personal Care, and more. AAK’s proven expertise is based on more than 140 years of experience within oils & fats. Our unique Co-Development approach brings our customers’ skills and know-how together with our own capabilities and mindset for lasting results.

Listed on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm and with our headquarters in Malmö, Sweden, AAK has 20 production facilities and customization plants, sales offices in more than 25 countries and more than 3,000 employees.