 After earning his Ph.D. from MIT, Bates went to work at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio where he developed formulas for cake mixes of angel food and devil's food cakes as part of the Duncan Hines brand during the 1960s.In 1972, Bates moved to Hammond, Indiana where he worked for American Maize Company (now Cargill).While there, Bates developed high fructose corn syrup sweetener for Coca-Cola in their soft drinks.