For 110 of Mead Johnson Nutrition’s 120 years in existence, it has cast a massive presence on Evansville’s West Side. The local site employs nearly 800 people, all of whom are dedicated to giving children across the globe the best possible start in life.
Borrowing a bit of sports terminology, Sarah Maria says MJN’s Evansville facility possesses a “deep bench” of talent. She’s proud to be a key part of it, as senior manager for Early Innovation Analytical Research and Science Translation. For much of Maria’s 16 years with the company, she has researched human milk, including samples from mothers in China, Mexico, and the U.S. Results of MJN’s Global Exploration of Human Milk Study are used in the development of nutrition products the company strives daily to perfect.
“We have about 30,000 vials of this milk from around the world, and it’s given us this incredible insight into the complexity and diversity of milk,” Maria says. “We increased a level of a nutrient that we know is really important to start building connections in the brain. We were able to do this research about how much is in milk, and then we were able to integrate that into our formula.”
Maria describes her work as “beautifully complex,” and it’s an example of what MJN does in Evansville. In a competitive marketplace, the company for decades has stayed at the forefront of pediatric nutrition.
Mead Johnson’s story dates to 1905, and it involves a father. Edward Mead Johnson Sr. founded the company in Jersey City, New Jersey, because his son suffered serious feeding problems, and he wanted to create products to help people live healthier lives. He was also a co-founder of Johnson & Johnson with his brothers Robert and James.
MJN’s Evansville start was in 1915; for the sake of perspective, Bosse Field hosted its first baseball game that year. At the time, Europe was in the throes of World War I, and MJN’s supplies of potato starch — a key ingredient in the company’s first infant feeding product, Dextri-Maltose — were cut off from Germany. Relocating the firm to Evansville moved operations closer to a source of corn, which was used to replace potato starch.
The company has since been an innovator in infant nutrition, with its Evansville facility being a vital part: Its global headquarters for Research and Development is based here.
It was Mead Johnson that, in 2002, introduced DHA to infant formulas in the United States. The Omega 3 fatty acid is critical to brain and eye development and now is a widely recognized standard of care in infant nutrition. But it’s not just about product development: MJN also is a leader in volume. The company produces more than 170 different product formats, including Enfamil powder formula and Nutramigen liquid formula found on store shelves across the U.S.
In 2023, the site churned nearly a half-billion bottle servings. The year prior, MJN stepped up to support U.S. families experiencing an unprecedented infant formula shortage after another manufacturer shut down its factory following a product recall. MJN officials cite extraordinary measures such as around-the-clock operations and increasing speed to market by 40 percent, all the while remaining committed to the highest infant nutrition quality and safety standards.
By May 2022, MJN was supplying 30 percent more formula to market than during the same time in 2021 and providing essential nutrition to more than 50 percent of all formula-fed infants in America. Company officials say the swift response from Evansville’s team played a significant role in closing the national supply gap, ensuring that families across the U.S. once again had reliable access.
“We learned from the 2022 infant formula shortage that supply is also vital,” says Justin Griner, MJN’s North America legal director and Evansville site lead. “When there are advancements in technology that allow us to make products safer or to make them more efficiently, we invest there.”
In all, Mead Johnson Nutrition has 25 departments on its 44-acre campus at Lloyd Expressway, St. Joseph Avenue, Ohio Street, and Ray Becker Parkway. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company allowed more work-from-home hours; some employees now have hybrid schedules. Evansville-based Mead Johnson workers collaborate with colleagues at their sister manufacturing facility in Zeeland, Michigan, as well as other teammates across the globe.
The company has since been an innovator in infant nutrition, with its Evansville facility being a vital part: Its global headquarters for Research and Development is based here.
Mead Johnson boasts ample experience across its workforce and often promotes from within. About 20 percent of Evansville team members have been with the company for at least 15 years. However, “that’s not to say that we don’t have a young workforce as well,” says Amanda Kruse Corlett, senior medical marketing manager. “Forty percent of our employees are under 40. So, it’s a good mix.”
Kruse Corlett, a Michigan native, came to Mead Johnson in 2020 after living in Indianapolis for the better part of a decade, drawn to MJN because of its culture. “It’s a local company, but it is on a global scale so you have different opportunities as your career progresses or as your interests change,” she says. “You definitely have room to grow professionally without having to find a new company.”
MJN takes pride in being a community partner, and given its mission, one outreach involves connecting youths with science. GEMS (Girls in Engineering, Math, and Science) has been a company-led program for 15 years; it brings hands-on activities to area fifth-grade classrooms.
The company’s philanthropy includes participation in the United Way of Southwestern Indiana’s annual Day of Caring, as well as boosting Little Lambs of Evansville, which provides supplies and other forms of assistance to young children and families.
“We support them through giving trees annually, but also with direct monetary donations to help support their diaper drive,” Griner says. “Anybody that we can partner with that is also mission aligned is extremely important to us.”
Significant changes have come Mead Johnson’s way in recent times. MJN was part of Bristol-Myers Squibb from 1967 to 2009. It functioned as an independent company until 2017, when it was acquired by Reckitt Benckiser Group for $16.6 billion.
Even more change is on the horizon: Executives with Reckitt (as the company is now branded) have publicly stated their intent to divest Mead Johnson because nutrition is now considered a “non-core” part of Reckitt’s business. The Wall Street Journal reported in its July 19-20 edition that Reckitt is “looking at options for its baby-formula making Mead Johnson Nutrition, which is facing legal issues in the U.S. that have weighed on the group’s stock price.” (Reckitt, ticker RKT, is primarily listed and traded on the London Stock Exchange.)
But Griner, who has been with the company since 2012, says Mead Johnson’s Evansville operations continue as normal: The company has had celebrations marking its 120th anniversary and remains as committed as ever to its worldwide mission.
“We’re a purpose-driven company,” Griner says. “Every company has their mission statements. Everybody talks about it, but here, we really live it. … It really is a destination place. And I think it’s because when you’re here, you feel moved by the purpose and the people you work with. You just develop a tremendous amount of respect for their skills, knowledge, expertise, and passion for what we do. And you kind of feed into that.”
“Regardless of the ownership structure,” Griner adds, “we stay focused on creating high quality infant nutrition that families can depend on.”
