Crofts-Hotston Appointed as New General Manager for Frutarom Flavors Europe

Former IFF Flavors EAME lead Karen Crofts-Hotston will take over as head of Frutarom’s European flavors business from October.

Sep 30 2011 --- Global flavor and fine ingredients supplier Frutarom announces the appointment of Karen Crofts-Hotston as new General Manager Flavors Europe. She will have responsibility for Flavor Sales, Technology and R&D, as well as site management, and will report directly to Frans Struiwig, General Manager Frutarom Foods Europe.

Karen Crofts-Hotston (48) has more than 30 years’ experience in the flavors and fragrances industry, having started her career at Bush Boake Allen and then with IFF. She has experience in all elements of the business from Marketing, Technical, Sales, Creative Management and Business Development at both Regional and Global level.

Frutarom has pursued an intense growth strategy in recent times, as demonstrated by its acquisitions of the flavor specialists EAFI, Aromco, Flavor Systems International as well as other companies earlier this year. Assimilating these versatile companies and turning their particular areas of interest into new opportunities for people and markets has opened up new challenges for Frutarom. This is where Karen Crofts-Hotston sees one of her key roles. “My aim will be to take Frutarom to the next stage of its successful development and ensure sustainable and organic, yet profitable growth by meeting the demands of today’s markets, consumers and manufacturers,” she says. “In today’s challenging markets, we need to understand our customers like never before and everything we do must be of benefit to them.”

Frans Struiwig, General Manager Frutarom Foods Europe, says: “We are delighted that Karen is joining Frutarom. She is a fine example of leadership in action, with proven business development skills at the highest level. People like Karen give a real face to a company and send out the right signals about its culture.”

Karen Crofts-Hotston will be based in Wellingborough, UK, and will start her new role on October 3rd.