ST. LOUIS — The hoarding began more than two weeks ago.
That's when panic buying cleared grocery shelves across the country, and slammed the three yeast production plants of St. Louis-based AB Mauri North America, which makes dry and fresh yeast under the Fleischmann’s Yeast brand.
School and office closures also have prompted folks to find ways to occupy their time, and for many that's been baking bread. Data from Nielsen showed that U.S. sales of yeast skyrocketed 647.3% and 456.7% in the last two weeks of March, respectively, compared to last year.
"Thirty percent of food is consumed outside the house in the U.S. In a matter of weeks, that shut down. It put a huge burden on supermarket's supply chains. People can't get what they want so they go down the home baking aisle," said Mark Prendergast, president of AB Mauri North America.
AB Mauri's customer orders are 50% higher than normal, and that need to knead has led the company to run its yeast plants in Memphis and its two plants in Canada — in Calgary, Alberta, and LaSalle, Quebec — at 110% capacity 24/7. The company is staggering shifts to adhere to social distancing, and the surge in demand is prompting the company, which employs more than 400 in the U.S. and Canada, to begin hiring more employees at its Quebec plant, Prendergast said.
"There's plenty of yeast and flour in the United States, but not in quantities they demanded," he said.
But why has bread baking in particular taken off?
"Time is a huge ingredient in bread baking. The standard loaf takes about four hours. We’re all stuck in our homes, and bread is most conducive to this environment," said Matthew Hibbard, a prolific home baker outside his day job as social community manager for Ameren Missouri.
Click here for the full story.
More from the Business Journal
- 'Hard decisions' coming at UMSL after state coronavirus cuts
- As job losses mount due to COVID-19, some corners of St. Louis' economy are eager to hire
- St. Louis telehealth startup raises $6M, targets expansion with virtual care needs rising
- How this Missouri university is helping on the front line of the COVID-19 crisis
- Amazon to ink deal for more space in St. Louis
