Alumni Profile: Mandy Taylor

PRODUCT AND PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT HAS SWEET REWARD

Alumni Profile: Mandy Taylor By Alice Manning Touchette

In her late 20s, alumna Mandy Taylor was decked out in safety gear overseeing a cookie development trial at one of her first employers after graduating with her Master of Science in Food Science from NC State. Working to optimize the food product and cost savings, she invited her father to the midnight factory trial so he could get a taste of what her work was like.

“He was standing right next to me and wearing the same outfit, but people not knowing me well yet kept deferring to him for questions,” she recalls with a laugh. “I was like, ‘He knows nothing about these cookies, he’s not going to be helpful to you at all. Look at me!”

Taylor—who has since carved out a successful career in food science and is currently the research and development early talent manager for Mars Wrigley—is certainly no stranger to the quirks of being a woman in science, and has made it her mission to help other budding food scientists find their way.

The first in her family to attend college and graduate school, Taylor was inspired to pursue science by a high school chemistry teacher, a woman scientist.

“She would host study sessions at her house, and she worked hard to help other women along in that STEM space, which I thought did not come naturally to me,” Taylor recalls.

The work paid off. After receiving her B.S. in food science at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, Taylor learned “an experiment you can eat is better than one that you can’t,” and became interested in food product development. She crossed the country for her graduate work at NC State, where she began working with Professor Allen Foegeding, now William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor Emeritus. “I was working in his lab on a project for caramel, so going there, diving in, getting my hands literally dirty [and] sticky was a great way to explore product development,” Taylor says. “In that lab was where I found my home. Paige Luck, who managed the lab at the time for Dr. Foegeding, really mentored and fostered my curiosity around experiment design. She really was a role model. And, I met two of my very best friends that are still my very best friends today. They became and remain my chosen family.”

Following her graduate degree, she worked for a diverse group of companies—Schwan’s Bakery, Sara Lee and Mars Wrigley Confectionary—to bridge the gap between research and development and the factory, and she worked to commercialize a lot of products, including new flavors of FIVE branded gum for the European market.

“I got to run a lot of trials, always at the very weirdest time of the night. It was an opportunity for me to see things come to life,” Taylor explains. Soon she found a calling beyond product development.

“It became evident that the people-piece was where I got my energy, and I really wanted to be a subject matter expert to help mentor young talent in the food science field,” says Taylor.

She now manages new talent coming into Mars Wrigley and helps pair them with associates and mentors.

“My job is really making sure that people that want to learn and grow can do so,” Taylor says. “Once you start doing something you love and you have that support from others in the field, it’s a completely different and amazing experience.”

Taylor credits NC State with giving her the confidence and support she needed to forge her career.

“NC State played such a huge role in who I have become,” says Taylor. “I want to give a huge shout-out to Paige Luck for mentoring me, and to my fellow food scientist Jessica Somerton. It's been amazing to know others who have food science careers and work alongside them.”