NEW BUSINESS: AUNT MABEL'S COMPANY PRESERVES FAMILY RECIPESAUNT MABEL'S COMPANY PRESERVES FAMILY RECIPES

Aunt Mabel's Jelly Company, founded in April, has added corporate gift baskets to its product list.

The company, which was launched at Fenton, Mo., by former Cape Girardean Letty Payne Thies, offers the baskets in a breakfast variety, containing sausages, crackers and cheese.

"I do some of the gift baskets myself,' said Thies.

Thies, a former employee of Citibank, started her jelly company "to preserve some classic family recipes."

Thies, a native Cape Girardean, began by making jams and jellies based upon 100-year-old recipes taught to her by her husband's 81-year-old Aunt Mabel.

"It wasn't easy to convert Aunt Mabel's recipes from the stovetop to mass production," said Thies. "It took us months to get the recipe right without having to add extra sugars and preservatives."

"Mabelberry" became the company's signature product.

"This is a jelly made from a combination of raspberries and blackberries," said Thies. "Raspberries were expensive, so Aunt Mabel would blend in blackberries that grew wild along the Mississippi River. The combination is delicious."

Since then, Aunt Mabel's Jelly has added Apple Cinnamon, Tutti Frutti and Vanilla Pear.

"I wanted to make products that the entire family would enjoy, particularly children, who are frequently left out in the gourmet market," she added. Thies is committed to looking for new niche markets, and plans to branch into additional targeted lines.

Joining Thies in the business is her husband, Scott Thies. The company has contracts with at least 25 difference companies.

Aunt Mabel's Jelly Company is based in Fenton, Missouri, with manufacturing provided by King's Foods in Belleville, Ill.