Women in Flavor and Fragrance Commerce is a New Jersey-based professional organization serving women in all aspects of the business. The non-profit’s purpose is to “provide a professional association for the women engaged in flavor and fragrance commerce for the purpose of promoting interaction, information, education, support of its members and consequently for the benefit of the flavor and fragrance industry,” according to the WFFC site.
The membership comprises women working with raw materials companies, compounding companies, and with finished goods makers.
Last week the group’s committee in charge of scholarships announced one awardee in each of the fields: flavors and fragrance.
Flavors
This year’s flavors scholarship winner is Christina Chen, a food science major at Cornell University. Each of the past two years Chen has spent three months interning with Takasago International, in 2015 as a market research intern and in 2016 as a flavor application intern.
Chen is on course to complete her degree in 2018.
Fragrance
The WFFC fragrance scholarship is formally known as the Rita Flynn Memorial Fragrance Scholarship. “Rita Flynn was a pioneer for women in the flavor and fragrance industry with her role within the Purchasing group of Roure Betrand Dupont in the late 1970's,” according to the LinkedIn page of previous honoree Delia Marmara.
The 2017 Rita Flynn Memorial Fragrance Scholarship went to Anna Horowitz of Brown University. At Brown, Horowitz is on track to earn her Bachelor’s degree in 2019 in the science of perfumery. Since June of 2016, Horowitz has been an intern with IFF.
“Her goal is to achieve a Master’s degree from the ISIPCA (Institut Supérieur International du Parfum, de la Cosmétique et de L'aromatique Alimentaire) in Scent Design and Creation,” according to the WFFC press release about the 2017 scholarship winners.
35th anniversary
This year’s annual business meeting, which aside from the scholarship honorees was open to voting members only, in Kenilworth, New Jersey, marked the WFFC’s 35th year. The organization’s invitation to the meeting set a hopeful tone: “January is a special month when people reflect, create resolutions and plan for a successful year ahead. As we reflect back on the progress we have made in the last 35 years, we continue to realize that WFFC’s future in vibrant and young.”