IFF Officially Opens Doors to Cutting-Edge Citrus Innovation Center on Florida Poly Campus
The International Flavor and Fragrance (IFF) Citrus Innovation Center at Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland has officially opened. It offers researchers, professors and students a place to experiment with new flavors and scents while bolstering the citrus industry.
In September 2021, the Florida Board of Governors opened the doors for Florida Polytechnic University, Florida’s only university devoted to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to create a public-private partnership to develop a research facility on the university campus. IFF has officially unveiled their cutting-edge Innovation Center, a key tenant in the University’s growing research ecosystem.
At its April 2025 opening, the 30,000-square-foot Citrus Innovation Center displayed its progressive vision. It showcased areas focusing on customer experience, innovation, advancements and more.
Karel Coosemans, Vice President of Innovation/Citrus, said the center empowers creativity and excellence.
“Equipped with cutting-edge equipment and facilities, the Citrus Innovation Center offers an integrated suite of services to partners. It enables them to explore, design, engineer, prototype, test, refine and scale their citrus-focused ideas,” Coosemans said. “As the only citrus-focused facility in the world offering a truly immersive experience, it also features a fully equipped citrus garden. This creates a unique environment for partners and collaborators to gather and explore citrus-based innovations.”
IFF and Florida Poly Partnership
IFF operates in more than 65 countries with about 27,000 customers. But it knew early on it wanted to be based in Central Florida.
“From the start of the project, it was IFF’s intent to base the Citrus Center in Central Florida. During our early contacts with the Central Florida Development Council, we learned about Florida Poly’s intent to support a research park around their STEM campus. When Florida Poly opened up a project to partner with them on campus, we recognized this as a unique opportunity for IFF,” Coosemans said.
The partnership serves as a great opportunity for both IFF and the university. It will give students real-world learning experiences that develop their skills and provide industry insights.
“Florida Poly and IFF engaged in an affiliation agreement where we will continuously be looking at partnering in research, academics and student development,” Coosemans said. “This will result in joined research, internships and capstone projects, and career opportunities.”
The new center was designed and built by the Ryan Companies of Tampa in the Central Florida Innovation District, a research park next to Florida Poly.
“With the citrus production decimated in Florida over the last years, Polk County, in the heart of Florida’s citrus belt, still plays a significant role in Florida’s citrus industry as one of the largest citrus-producing counties in Florida,” said Gio Ijpkemeule, Manager of R&D Crop Science/Citrus. “Polk County is also the place where many of the players of the global citrus ecosystem are active and where several flavor and fragrance companies, equipment manufacturers, and fruit and juice companies have their global citrus headquarters.”
Citrus Research
The Center’s research-and-development experts are creating advancements in citrus research, production and sustainability, Ijpkemeule said.
In 2005, Huanglongbing (HLB), a devastating bacterial disease also known as citrus greening, was found in Florida. Spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, it causes citrus trees to decline and produce fruit that’s bitter or misshapen. Since 2003, citrus greening and devastating hurricanes have reduced citrus-producing acreage from 82,577 to 58,516.
The IFF will not try to solve or prevent diseases like citrus greening, but it won’t ignore that segment either.
“While the Citrus Innovation Center will not work directly on solving citrus phytosanitary issues, such as citrus greening disease, our Research and Innovation programs like RE-MASTER CITRUS provide creative flavor and fragrance tools to enhance freshness, deliver authentic, region-specific citrus taste, and by making sure every drop of precious citrus oil nature provides us is not lost,” Ijpkemeule said. “IFF helps maintain the appeal of citrus products in the market until the global scientific community is able to find a cure for citrus greening.”
Flavors and Fragrance
The Taste and Scent teams create “citrus flavors designed for maximum taste and industry impact. Our Scent Citrus team formulates inventive, sophisticated fragrance and cosmetic experiences,” according to the Center. “Together, we’re bringing uplifting, inspiring naturalness and brightness to flavors and scents.”
Parts of citrus fruits like the peels have been used for scents and flavors for hundreds of years.
“Their bright and zesty tastes have been appreciated since ancient civilizations. The practice of extracting their essences for cooking and fragrance gained popularity during the Middle Ages,” Coosemans said.
The citrus flavor industry started about 130 years ago, and Florida played a major role.
“The history of the Florida citrus flavor industry is very well described by Robert Kryger, a Florida Poly professor, in his book ‘The Florida Citrus Flavor Industry 1900 – 2000,” Coosemans said.
Customer Experience
In its opening announcement, the Center described working with customers in a new and invigorating way. “We’re redefining the customer experience through seamless collaboration and innovation by prioritizing intuitive interactions, personalized support and efficient teamwork. With a commitment to open communication and cutting-edge solutions, we foster a culture of collaboration that drives success for both customers and businesses alike,” they said.
At the opening, the Center provided visitors with experiences that heightened their understanding of how the organization crafts flavors and scents.
“For the grand opening event we set up four immersive experiences to guide our visitors on how our citrus innovation pipeline is fueled by four global consumer trends identified by IFF’s own panoptic trend-watching program. Planet first, Cultural Anchors, Experience Amplified and Wellness Retreat,” Coosemans said.
IFF serves companies around the world. It “caters citrus products to the global FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) companies, as well as many local companies active in food and beverages, fine fragrances, home and personal care,” he said. “IFF’s innovations touch the daily lives of billions of consumers around the globe.”
