Produce Quiz Winner: CYNTHIA ROLEN

Citrus Category Product Manager
Cvista
Valrico, FL

As citrus category product manager at Cvista in Valrico, FL, Cynthia Rolen works in produce, food science and flavor innovation, connecting citrus ingredients to products consumers use every day.
“We supply the flavor and fragrance industry with citrus oils and specialty citrus fractions,” explains Rolen. “These products eventually will be in anything from finished flavors, beverages, fine fragrance, and even industrial chemical uses.”

She says working with citrus means closely monitoring crop conditions, sourcing challenges and shifting market dynamics.

“Citrus can be finicky, as we can see through the depletion of the citrus crop in Florida over the last 30 years,” says Rolen. “We have to find new sources of raw material, but also find a way to standardize those products to our current customers.”

Rolen says those entering the industry should prepare for unpredictability.

“My advice for anyone getting into the produce or produce byproduct industry is to expect the unexpected at times,” she says. “We cannot control Mother Nature at times, which can make it tricky in our industry. But on the positive side, we are always conducting new research to develop new ways of helping our industry.”

One of the aspects she enjoys most about her career is the opportunity to expand her knowledge.

“My favorite thing about my career thus far is constantly learning something new,” she says.

Outside of work, Rolen enjoys going to theme parks and spending time at the Florida beaches with her family.

As a reader of Produce Business, Rolen says she enjoys reading the regional articles.

As this month’s winner, Rolen will receive a $200 Amazon gift card.