Bell Flavors & Fragrances Invests in New Consumer Science Sensory Center at Global Headquarter in Northbrook, IL
Leading Flavors & Fragrances Company to Enhance Consumer Product Research for U.S. Customers
NORTHBROOK, Illinois – November 15, 2023 – Bell Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. (Bell) announces the expansion of their Global Consumer & Sensory Science organization by investing in a fully equipped, best in class Consumer Science Sensory Center at Bell’s global headquarter in Northbrook, IL.
This investment demonstrates Bell’s commitment to its global strategy and heightened focus on putting the consumer first. Consumers experience products via an interplay of their five key senses, allowing them to engage in products in unique ways. This Center will infuse consumer voice into the creation process to inspire memorable flavors and fragrances that fit brand, performance, and emotion.
With its roots at Bell’s Northbrook campus, the company’s Consumer & Sensory Science (CSS) professionals work hand-in-hand with its Flavor and Fragrance teams to foster deep collaboration and creativity. The Center enhances Consumer Sensory capabilities locally and is integral to Bell’s global CSS team, with locations in the U.S., Mexico, Germany, and Colombia.
The plans for the investment include a new, 6,500 square foot Consumer Science Sensory Center, set to open in Q4 2024. The Center will house Bell’s CSS team and include space for a focus group room with a viewing area, testing booths, kitchen, reception area, and workspaces. Following the grand opening, Bell’s customers will have the opportunity to tour the facility and discuss utilizing the Center’s capabilities.
Karen Graves, Bell’s Senior Director of Consumer and Sensory Sciences, states “Consumers are the final users of Bell’s flavors and fragrances and we are very excited to incorporate their voice throughout the development process.”
Stay tuned for more information about Bell’s Consumer Science Sensory Center opening later in 2024.
About Bell Flavors & Fragrances:
Bell Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. is a leading supplier of flavors, fragrances, botanical extracts and ingredient specialties to the food and beverage industry, as well as the household care and personal care industries, offering over 100 years of exceptional customer service and experience. Bell has 11 manufacturing plants worldwide including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Germany, India, Singapore, and China, with sales offices in more than 90 countries. Bell’s global presence allows flexibility in the world marketplace while constantly responding to emerging industry trends with solutions that bring added value and business opportunities to our customers. www.bellff.com
Bell Flavors & Fragrances – The Key Ingredient of Your Brand.™
New York Sour Trail Mix
Cocktail Gummy Worms
Spicy Mango Mezcal Tepache Mocktail
Mango IPA Popcorn
Chocolate Stout Oatmeal Bar
Mead Snack Mix
Kiwi Twist + Blackberry Lavender Adaptogen Gummies
Banana Salted Soft Caramels
Tropical Citrus Edible Slime Candy
“We are excited to revisit the ‘90s this year at IFT through Bell’s ‘Newstalgia’ Micro Trend. Our product showings interweave old trends that are still relevant with a modern touch, drawing inspiration from pop culture and refurbishing retro phenomena from our favorite ‘90s staples. Reinventing the ‘90s has been one of the most exciting trends Bell has put forth and we are thrilled to have everyone go back in time for a totally rad experience.” – Kelli Heinz, Vice President of Marketing and Industry Affairs 
“IFT FIRST confirmed our central Spark Trends predictions for 2023 and beyond. We see it as a true testament to the accuracy of the global Spark Trends platform and the immense value we provide every single year to Bell customers. Bell returns from IFT FIRST inspired and encouraged by the level of innovation and forward-looking research to support the future of the global food system, with our Spark Trends program leading the way.”
New Horizons: The Union of Imagination & Technology
Tree of Life: United by Cultural Roots
Megan Paul has been promoted to the role of Sensory Scientist at Bell’s headquarter in Northbrook, Illinois. In her new role, Megan will lead Sensory work for all Flavor Technology and Internal Formula Management Projects. She will also continue leading Flavor panels to support key flavor and product development efforts.
Noor Abo Alzahb has been promoted to the position of Sales Project Manager, based out of Bell’s Northbrook headquarter. In this role, Noor will be responsible for management and growth for a segment of customer accounts as well as processing incoming requests for potential customers by screening website and telephone inquiries. She will continue to improve the Bell Flavors & Fragrances customer experience through process improvements and working directly with the Flavor and Fragrance sales teams to streamline work flow. Another key responsibility consists of developing relevant reporting. Consequently, her efforts will continue to improve sales activity and win rates. Additionally, Noor will be engaged in Sales Team projects including support for large group meetings and improving the customer experience.
David Banks has been promoted to the position of Senior Marketing Director in Bell’s Northbrook headquarter. His role on the Marketing team is pivotal to creating and executing new concepts, business models and channels to drive Bell’s position as an innovation leader in the flavors and fragrances industries. In this role, he will plan marketing and branding objectives, analyze market trends and recommend marketing and business development strategies, overseeing advertising, press releases, email and social media campaigns and strategies.
Renee King joins the Marketing team as a new Director of Marketing focused on the fragrance and botanicals divisions. Renee will create and execute new concepts, business models, and channels to position Bell as an innovator and leader in the flavor and fragrances industries. She will help build the Bell brand in the marketplace, activate new marketing campaigns, expand our marketing reach, enhance product development, and drive strategy around the fragrance and botanical divisions.
Sarah Campbell is Bell’s new Marketing Specialist with a focus on designing, creating, and delivering marketing programs to support expansion and growth of Bell’s services and products. Her role will be an integral part of the development and execution of marketing plans to reach targets, from brand awareness to product promotion. Sarah will work with the R&D and Application labs to prepare customer presentations.
Dirk Vogel joins Bell as the new Senior Marketing Specialist where he will manage the development and execution of projects that support Bell’s key technologies, categories, customers and internal initiatives. Dirk will work cross-functionally to develop, produce and communicate promotional and collateral materials to support sales and proactive marketing programs, while leading customer presentations to clearly communicate Bell’s flavor and fragrance division capabilities.
Lindsay Parks is Bell’s new Marketing Communications and Social Media Specialist. Lindsay will be the main point of contact for all marketing communications and social media activity, and will help manage the development and execution of Bell’s internal and external communications strategies to drive business development efforts at key customers. She will work cross-functionally to develop, produce and communicate promotional and collateral materials to support sales and proactive marketing programs.
Anna Lada joins Bell’s marketing team as a Senior Marketing Specialist. In this role, Anna will utilize secondary data and primary research to develop a deep understanding of the target consumer and leverages these insights to influence Bell’s overall marketing strategy and develop innovative products for our customers. She will help develop and implement strategies to maintain, manage, and grow internal marketing platforms and support external customers in growing their business through innovation and new product development efforts.
Antonia Federsel joins the global Marketing team and Bell family as the new Marketing Specialist in the flavor segment at Bell EMEA. In her new role at the Leipzig facility in Germany, Antonia will drive Sweet & Dairy projects and take care of cross-divisional flavor promotions such as RedSugar and the expansion of the company’s PlantFuture Platform, among others.
Leon Kuttler joins the global Marketing team and Bell family as the new Marketing Specialist in the flavor segment. Based at Bell EMEA, his role as the company’s Marketing Specialist Savory includes working with R&D and the sales team to drive the Savory business forward. Leon will use his expertise and strategic understanding, as well as his creativity, to actively shape the future of the Savory Business Unit in the EMEA region.
Jesscia Kalmring joins the global Marketing team and Bell family as the new Marketing Specialist in the fragrance segment.
Antje Wittich has been with Bell since – 2006 and took over as Head of Marketing in the EMEA region in February 2022.With her knowledge and experience in team leadership, she will drive Bell’s strategic, market-oriented development in the EMEA region together with her marketing team and push the further development of corporate communications in Europe, Middle East & Africa and Vietnam.
Lorenza Perez joins the global Marketing team as a Marketing Coordinator based in Mexico. In this role, she will be responsible for the implementing commercial strategies for the Mexico region, developing presentations, analyzing trends and research, and measuring the results of innovation initiatives, among other activities.
Thom Heinz has been promoted to the position of Vice President, Vendor Management and Strategic Sourcing. In this new role, Thom will lead Global Vendor Management and Strategic Sourcing initiatives. He will proactively analyze emerging market and industry trends impacting raw material and sourcing strategies. This forward-looking approach will keep Bell F&F ahead of developing market and supply chain issues amid current changes. Thom will collaborate with Business Development and R&D to identify new approved sources of materials using innovative technologies.
Casey Schallert is the new Sr. Corporate Chef at Bell F&F, reporting directly to Chris Warsow, Sr. Director, Flavor Applications/Corporate Executive Chef. Since joining Bell 3.5 years ago, Casey has served in multiple roles with increasing responsibilities on the Culinary Applications Team. Most recently, Casey worked in the role of Corporate Chef during which she demonstrated strong commitment to cross-functional teamwork and technical expertise in flavors.
Sabrina Entwistle has been promoted to the role of Associate Director, Quality Systems. With the new position, Sabrina’s leadership role grows to include all the Quality, Continuous Improvement, and EH&S activities at the Middletown, New York, facility. A main responsibility of this key leadership position is to continue fostering our culture of continuous improvement at Middletown while embracing change management across all quality-related departments.
Ken Beecher now serves in the role of Associate Director, Manufacturing. In this new position, Ken’s leadership is expanding to include all the production activities at the Middletown, NY facility. His main focus lies with exceeding customer satisfaction goals while assuring compliance with employee safety, product quality, food safety and defense, regulatory, as well as employee conduct policies and procedures.
Mike Smith has been promoted to the position of SeniorDirector, Manufacturing-Fragrance at Middletown, NY. Mike will assume additional leadership responsibilities to develop and implement strategies, policies and procedures ensuring that the Middletown facility continues its success in operating effectively and efficiently. He will continue as the Middletown facility leader providing direction and guidance to the on-site team on a day-to-day basis. Mike will oversee continuous improvements at the Middletown facility while guiding change management.
Jake Pupillo has assumed the position of Director, Manufacturing – Flavors at the Northbrook, Illinois, facility. In this role, Jake will assume additional leadership responsibilities to develop and implement strategies, policies and procedures ensuring that the Northbrook manufacturing team embraces change management and operational efficiencies. Jake will continue his responsibilities as the Northbrook manufacturing leader providing direction and guidance to the Liquids, Spray Dry, Extractions, Dry Blending, and Reaction teams on a daily basis.
Zig Polak has been promoted to Senior Manager of Material, Planning, and Logistics – Flavors at Northbrook, IL. Zig will assume additional leadership responsibilities to develop and implement strategies, policies and procedures ensuring that the Northbrook warehouse, shipping and receiving teams operate effectively and efficiently through change management. On a day-to-day basis, Zig will continue his responsibilities as the Northbrook material, planning, and logistics leader providing direction and guidance to the warehouse, shipping, and logistics teams.
Mike Barron has received a promotion to the position of Senior Director, Information Technology. In this key role, Mike will lead the Bell Flavors & Fragrances in-house IT Technical Team in all activities, including programming, network configuration and support, as well as software evaluation, data security and integrity. His team also maintains the company’s IT help desk, and helps employees set up and maintain corporate devices such as computers, laptops and cell phones.
Allan Kaplan is the new Vice President, Finance, and will lead the Accounting Team in all activities, including financial statements, accounts receivable/payable, cash management, cost accounting, fixed assets, corporate accounting, and planning & budgeting. He will lead financial analyses of our overall global business and direct the Accounting Team in annual audit and tax preparation, insuring proper internal controls globally while evaluating pricing levels based on commodity cost movements. Allan will support the Capital Budget and spend process, secure appropriate business insurance, and oversee all other areas within the corporate financial structure.
Theresa Link has been promoted to the newly created position of Director of Cost Accounting. Theresa will lead the financial implementation of our new fully-costed product system. Theresa will also work closely with the Operations Team to evaluate specific direct labor and overhead costs assignable to each type of product produced. The team will also conduct time and motion studies as appropriate, and establish cost drivers for each product category (machine time, number of production processes, etc.) as the basis of certain cost allocations. She will also use this information to calculate appropriate Labor and Overhead rates to assign to each process.
Brian Enriquez is the new Senior Manager, Financial Reporting and Pricing at Bell Flavors & Fragrances based in Northbrook. In this role, Brian will continue to lead the pricing process on new products and formulation changes while working closely with R&D. Once the new Cost Accounting System is in place, his focus will switch from multiples of raw material cost to calculating appropriate margins on fully-absorbed product costs, including direct Labor and Overhead.
Madeleine van Overbeek has been promoted to the position of Senior Financial Analyst at the Northbrook facility. In this role, Madeleine will continue to provide analyses of the business in a variety of financial areas. Since joining Bell in 2019, Madeleine has not only performed valuable financial analyses and financial statement work, but also willingly assisted other areas of Finance when support was required.
Craig Dunlap joins the Flavor Sales Team as a Global Key Account Manager. In this role, he will manage Bell accounts in the Eastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.
Jared Hamill joins the Bell family and Flavor Sales Team as a Global Key Account Executive. Jared’s responsibilities will include managing Bell accounts primarily in the Eastern region of the United States.
Lydia Wang joins Bell’s Sensory team as a Sensory Scientist. In this role, Lydia will lead multiple initiatives, including sensory research for Bell’s fragrance projects, sensory descriptors for Bell’s product library and enhancing Bell’s descriptive panel program.
American grocery stores have been offering alternative protein products for decades. Today, the number of SKUs and suppliers is at an all-time high: the alternative protein market is projected to reach $17.9 billion by 2025 (Mintel). Looking ahead, every tenth portion of meat, eggs, dairy, and seafood eaten around the globe will be made from alternative proteins by 2035 (BCG).
Consumers are more conscious than ever about vegan, cruelty-free alternatives to meat. From an industry perspective, this demand has driven tremendous research and development efforts in the creation of plant-, microorganism-, and animal-cell-based alternatives.
MACRO TREND #1 – NEW HORIZONS: THE UNION OF IMAGINATION & TECHNOLOGY
MACRO TREND #2 – NATURE R*EVOLUTION: THE NEW DAWN OF ‘GREEN’ INNOVATION
MACRO TREND #3 – A BETTER ME: A HEALTH-FORWARD LOOK AT THE BEST YOU
MACRO TREND #4 – 360º REWARDS: TANTALIZING CURIOSITIES AND PERMISSIBLE INDULGENCES
MACRO TREND #5 – TREE OF LIFE: UNITED BY CULTURAL ROOTS
Lipka boasts nearly three decades of experience in the flavor industry with a focus on developing and duplicating elegantly layered flavors for a variety of markets, including confectionary, chewing gum, and beverages. A trained sensory panelist, Lipka is an active member of the Society of Flavor Chemists (SFC), Chemical Sources Association (CSA), Women in Flavor & Fragrance Commerce (WFFC) and FEMA.
Sudachi Snack Mix 
Citrus Slice Gummy Medley: Buddha’s Hand, Calamansi and Blood Orange 
Pink Limoncello Champagne Spritz Mocktail
Ruby Red Grapefruit IPA Popcorn
Kumquat Madeleine
Hibiscus Apple Cider Vinegar Gummy
Vegan Al Pastor Bite
Oat Milk Horchata Iced Coffee + Vegan Whipped Topping
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Bell is excited to announce the promotion of Emine Pargov to the position of Quality Control Manager. Emine has served in multiple roles of increasing responsibilities within the Quality Department since joining the company seven years ago.
Bell is pleased to announce the promotion of Nicolas Poulin to the position of Production Manager. Nick has served in multiple roles within the Fragrance and Research & Development departments since joining Bell five years ago. Most recently, Nick has served in the role of Analytical Chemist Fragrance Lab Manager and began his career with Bell as a Fragrance Laboratory Technician.
Bell is excited to announce the promotion of Dana Chen to Principal Creative and Commercialization Flavorist. In this role, Dana will focus on commercialization, industrialization/integration, creative technical innovation, and training of junior Flavorists. She will execute projects for Bell’s research and development team, operations, regulatory, and be a key player in communication between R&D, Sales, Operations, Purchasing & Quality.
Bell F&F is pleased to welcome Kathleen Hoppie to its location in Northbrook, Illinois, as the new Senior Quality Systems Manager. She will be responsible for the development, implementation and auditing of Quality Systems (QS) and Prerequisite Programs related to SQF certification and customer audits. Kathleen provides great depth of knowledge on internal and external auditing, supplier management, and GFSI requirements.
Dr. Thomas Mangos joins the Northbrook Regulatory Team as Director of Regulatory Affairs – Flavors. His initial focus will be on the USDA/New Technology Regulatory product lines while also supporting some of the company’s other Regulatory programs such as Kosher, Halal, as well as Vendor Approval and Control.
Katie Knapp strengthens the Sweet Applications Team in Northbrook with a primary focus on bakery and pastry clients in addition to supporting the broader team on confections and dairy desserts. Katie is a Certified Research Chef through the Research Chefs Association with a degree in Baking and Pastry from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York.
Bell F&F has secured Chris Curran for the newly-created position of Director of Human Resources, U.S. Working from the HR Department in Northbrook, Chris reports directly to Maureen West, Sr. Director, Global Human Resources to oversee HR policy and procedures for Bell F&F’s U.S. Operations. He will ensure strategic alignment of human resources policies and programs including talent acquisition, performance management, employee training and development, compensation, change management, benefits and employee relations.
Dr. Rama Rengarajan, PhD has joined Bell as the new Director of Analytical Sciences. He will be responsible for developing, implementing and executing strategic analytical plans for Bell. He will provide Bell’s collaborative teams, both local and internationally, with insights and extensive team buildingcapabilities, drawing on his understanding of Food Science / Physical Chemistry. Rama will lead, co-create and execute new analytical processes, methodologies and upgrade the department as needed for flavor and fragrances analytical needs.
