Gum Guru Guest Blogger:
Mary Lou Cunningham, R&D Innovations Manager

One of my jobs at TIC Gums is to lead the group known as the Arabic Research Team, or ART for short. You might think this is an odd name for a group of mostly technical people who study gum arabic. But maybe not.

Just take a look at this picture:

We have been busy updating our web site! We have tried to make it even easier for you to find what you are looking for whether looking by product or application. Find your gum solution, select the type of application, even sort by organic certified, kosher, or all-natural, and then select a product to learn more about. Once you have found a product you are interested in, order a sample online.

Know what type of gum you are interested in? Go to our Products page, find the product family, select the appropriate product, then order a sample for your evaluation.

We have moved my blog and all of our news front and center so you can see what we have been up to lately. We have also added our Guru TV that features videos giving you an eagle eye view of our facility and how to hydrate gums in a variety of processes. Make sure you keep in touch with me through my blog, sign up for my RSS feed. If you like one of our articles, or posts, or videos make sure you assign stars to it so I know what you like!

Gum Guru Guest Blogger: Grace Wang, M.S., Food Scientist

I think that my dog eats better than me, at least nutritionally speaking. Her food contains all the vitamins and minerals she needs, but also has added DHA and prebiotics! My grilled cheese sandwich pales in comparison. 

We’ve all heard about pre- and probiotics. Prebiotics stimulate beneficial bacteria (probiotics) to grow in the gut, thus improving one’s overall digestive health.  Positive benefits have also been seen with IBS/IBD, eczema, UTIs, etc.  So, what is considered a prebiotic? Gums that are high in soluble fiber, such as inulin, gum arabic, and guar gum. They can be added to everyday foods without significantly affecting texture or flavor. Maybe the next time I make dinner, I’ll sprinkle some guar gum into the dish. That way, my meal will come closer to being just as nutritious as my dog’s food, without actually having to eat her food.

Let me begin by thanking our customers for making our 100th year more successful than any of our previous 99.

Our motto for last year’s celebration was “100 Years Strong” and we proved that despite the challenging economy. At a product level, most of our growth can be attributed to a series of new customized solutions and technology launches. But product alone
is not enough to be successful; it is our culture that carries us into our second century in business.

The two characteristics that best define TIC Gums are accessibility to our customers and responsiveness to their needs. My favorite story that embodies these characteristics is one of the early days of our technical hotline. Back then our technical hotline rang in R&D and scientists would take turns picking up the phone to help customers. Since our scientists were also busy on the bench, we needed to make sure customers didn’t come second to test tubes. Our solution was to install an alarm that went off throughout our headquarters if the technical hotline rang three times without being answered.

Now, this wasn’t just any alarm.

It sounded like the building was on fire and, in fact, several visitors began evacuating upon hearing it for the first time. When the technical hotline “fire alarm” went off, everyone in the building scrambled. From our president on down, everyone rushed to answer that line before the fourth ring. Early in my career, I had countless 1:1 meetings with colleagues interrupted because the person I was meeting with wanted to make sure there wasn’t a fifth ring. I remember thinking how inefficient it was…but later I understood the importance.

Today, our desire to provide support in a timely manner has meant that the hotline is now answered by our Gum Gurus®, a dedicated team of food scientists who man our phones and answer live chats on our website. This group is separate from the team of Gum Gurus who are at the bench working on new gum innovations and customer applications.

So while commercializing breakthrough technology in texture and stabilization is our vision for our 101st year and beyond, we believe it is the culture we bring with us from the past that truly sets us apart.