Labcoats and Lullabies, Episode 2, Part 1: Building Careers and Families in the Nutraceutical Industry

Labcoats and Lullabies is a special video interview series under the Nourish and Navigate banner dedicated to working moms in science. Hosted by Kriti Chaudhary, associate director of partnerships and strategy for Vedic Lifesciences, the series tells authentic stories of women who balance the rigor of sciences with the realities of motherhood.

In the first part of this episode, Kriti Chaudhary is joined by Julia Weibe, PhD, Director, Scientific Affairs & Marketing, MartinBauer Nutraceuticals and Anina Krey, Global Director, Nutraceutical Unit, MartinBauer Nutraceuticals. In part 1 of this episode they discuss how women in the nutraceutical industry balance demanding careers and family life with strong professional support systems.

Partial transcript:

Kriti Chaudhary: So, have you experienced working mom guilt? And maybe if you can give any example.

Anina Krey: Of course, of course, you always feel guilty. You feel guilty when you finish work at four o'clock and there is still two hundred and fifty unread emails in your post box, and you feel guilty if you're not finishing at four for the family, so, that you don't spend enough time with your kids. I'm traveling a lot in my job, really a lot with the launch of the new division, it was a, it was a hell of work. It was a lot of meeting customers, seeing the industry, talking to people and unifying the team, getting them together. We have three sites we are mainly supplying from. And so you have to see the sights. You have to be there. None of these sights is close to my home. Okay.

Chaudhary: How far are they from your home?

Krey: The closest one is six hundred kilometers away. And then the farthest one is in the US. So it was...

Chaudhary: Do you have to travel to the US as well?

Krey: Of course. Wow. So in the first six months I traveled already three times to the US. Wow. And, it's, and you feel guilty. You feel guilty that you can't see your kids. My daughter just learned running a bicycle. And I wasn't there. It's like, of course you feel guilty. You see the video and you say, okay, I miss. And that's the moment where I have fear of missing out. I'm usually not that type of person, but with the kids, I have that.