Citromax Flavors

What Citromax Flavors does

Citromax Flavors is a privately held, family-owned B2B flavor manufacturer founded in 1960 and headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey. The company produces and distributes traditional and organic flavors and essential oils, serving food and beverage manufacturers globally. Its portfolio spans a CLEARMAX™ collection of decolorized citrus products (Lemon Oil 5X, Terpeneless, Sesquiterpeneless, and various fractions), plus dedicated flavor lines for beverages, bakery, dairy, savory, and confectionery applications, alongside essential lemon oils and organic flavor categories.

Citromax operates a fully vertically integrated model anchored by CITROMAX S.A.C.I. in Tucuman/Monteros, Argentina, which controls more than 12,000 acres of company-owned lemon groves, processes over 180,000 tons of fruit annually, and holds the position of third-largest lemon processor globally and first organic lemon producer worldwide. Upstream raw material control flows into U.S. flavor development laboratories at the Carlstadt facility, where advanced distillation and analytical capabilities operate at parts-per-billion precision. The company holds SQF Level 2, QAI Organic, Non-GMO Project, and WBE certifications, and distributes through wholly-owned entities in the U.S., Argentina, Brazil, and China, supplemented by a global network of agents and distributors.

Revenue is generated primarily through B2B custom flavor development and manufacturing under a quote-based pricing model, with a direct enterprise sales motion targeting major beverage brands and emerging food/beverage manufacturers. The go-to-market includes a "Request a Sample" lead generation CTA and complementary sample kit program, alongside organic social channels (Instagram, LinkedIn) and email marketing. The company serves customers across five primary application verticals — beverage, bakery, dairy, savory, and confectionery — with beverage as the lead segment. The family is led by President/CEO Vivian Glueck, who succeeded founder Jacob Glueck, supported by an executive team spanning finance, flavor science, procurement, and operations.

Name

Citromax Flavors

Legal name

Citromax Flavors

Website

https://citromaxflavors.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Citromax Flavors is a family-owned B2B manufacturer of citrus flavors, essential oils, and organic flavors, serving food and beverage brands globally via vertically integrated production from company-owned lemon orchards in Argentina to its Carlstadt, NJ compounding facility.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Flavor Manufacturing

NAICS

Flavoring Syrup and Concentrate Manufacturing (311930), Flavoring Syrup and Concentrate Manufacturing (31193), Spice and Extract Manufacturing (311942)

SIC

Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

Flavor Houses & Compound Flavor Manufacturing (AFAJADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Flavorings & Extracts (Natural & Artificial) (CRADAOAA), Flavor Bases & Emulsions (Citrus oils, beverage emulsions, clouding agents) (AFAFAGAE), International Specialty Ingredients & Import Markets (CRAHAFAL)

Keywords

• Citrus flavor manufacturing
• Beverage flavor development
• Essential oil production
• Organic flavor ingredients
• Custom flavor solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Carlstadt

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Flavor Development & Manufacturing: B2B custom flavor development and manufacturing for food and beverage manufacturers. Revenue generated through direct sales of custom citrus flavors, organic flavors, beverage flavors, essential lemon oil, and related products to industrial customers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Citromax Flavors is a B2B custom flavor development and manufacturing company serving food and beverage manufacturers. The company operates with vertical integration from citrus orchards in Argentina through to finished flavor products, producing citrus-based flavors, essential oils, and the proprietary CLEARMAX™ decolorized citrus product collection for applications spanning bakery, beverage, dairy, savory, confectionery, and organic-certified product lines.

Product overview

Citromax Flavors is a full-service custom flavor supplier offering a vertically integrated portfolio spanning from proprietary citrus orchards in Argentina to state-of-the-art flavor development laboratories in Carlstadt, New Jersey. The core product portfolio includes the CLEARMAX™ Collection of decolorized citrus products (lemon, orange, grapefruit oils in various concentrations), complemented by specialized flavor lines for beverages, bakery, dairy, savory, and confectionery applications. The company also produces organic flavors, essential lemon oils, and operates Citromax Essencias Ltda. in Brazil for savory and tropical flavors. All products are available in natural and organic formulations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CLEARMAX™: A collection of decolorized citrus products including Lemon Oil, Lemon Oil 5X, Lemon Terpeneless Oil, Lemon Sesquiterpeneless Oil, Lemon Carbonyl Fraction, Lemon Acetate Fraction, Lemon Sesquiterpene Fraction, Orange Oil 5X, and Grapefruit Oil 5X.

Products and services

• CLEARMAX™ Collection

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Kerry Group:

Direct peers

• Robertet: Family-controlled French flavor and fragrance group with deep expertise in natural citrus and essential oils. Highly comparable to Citromax on private family ownership, natural/organic positioning, and citrus specialization.
• Mane: Family-owned French flavor and fragrance house with comparable private, mid-large scale and a strong focus on custom flavor creation for beverage and food customers. The closest structural analog to Citromax in terms of private ownership and B2B custom flavor model.
• Treatt: UK-listed B2B supplier of citrus and tropical flavor ingredients, with comparable mid-scale profile and a strong focus on citrus oils, extracts, and beverage applications. Direct product overlap with Citromax's citrus and beverage flavor business.
• T. Hasegawa: Japanese flavor house specializing in savory, beverage, and confectionery flavors for major CPG customers. Similar mid-large scale and custom development focus, with comparable customer overlap in beverage and confectionery.

Broad incumbents

• Givaudan: World's largest flavor and fragrance house with a broad citrus, beverage, and savory flavor portfolio serving global CPG brands. Compares to Citromax on product category (custom flavors) and customer base (major beverage and food manufacturers), but operates at far greater scale across all flavor categories.
• McCormick & Company: Major flavor manufacturer with a branded and B2B flavor portfolio spanning beverage, savory, and bakery applications. Overlaps with Citromax on custom flavor development for food and beverage manufacturers, but at significantly larger scale and broader category breadth.
• Symrise: Major flavor and fragrance player with significant citrus and beverage flavor exposure via its Diana food division. Competes with Citromax in custom beverage and savory flavors for global brand owners.
• International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF): Global F&F major with deep citrus capabilities (including the former Frutarom) and large custom flavor development operations. Direct overlap with Citromax in beverage and confectionery flavors for major CPG customers.
• Firmenich: Swiss private flavor and fragrance house with a long heritage in citrus and beverage flavors, including proprietary citrus extraction technology. Closely comparable to Citromax on citrus-focused flavor development for major beverage brands.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/citromax-saci
• Instagraminstagram.com/citromaxflavors

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Citromax Flavors