Dr. Robert Kryger, adjunct professor of physics at Florida Polytechnic University, recently presented at the industry-leading International Citrus and Beverage Conference in Clearwater, Florida. Kryger is the author of the book, “The Florida Citrus Flavor Industry 1900-2000.”
Florida Polytechnic University had an important presence at a prestigious international conference specifically dedicated to the development and innovation of the citrus flavor and beverage industries.
Dr. Robert Kryger, an adjunct professor of physics and a citrus industry veteran, recently highlighted the state’s long history in citrus flavor technology at the annual International Citrus and Beverage Conference in Clearwater, Florida, where he was a speaker. He authored the book, “The Florida Citrus Flavor Industry 1900-2000.”
“Florida has become the center of juice production and citrus flavor production, and the conference’s importance has grown more and more. All the top juice companies and flavor companies attend,” he said.
Kryger has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Notre Dame and serves as a principal of Beckryger Capital Partners LLLP, a private equity partnership based in Lakeland, Florida. The company’s business ventures span real estate development, specialized food ingredients and medical packaging.
With extensive experience in the citrus industry dating back to 1995, Kryger sold his last citrus-focused company around 2015. It was then that he began reflecting on the rich history and evolution of the citrus industry.
“I knew there were lots of stories about how the industry started here in Florida, and I decided somebody had to put that down and document it,” he said. “The people involved at the start were already deceased and the people who came after are dying now; we’ve lost the first-person accounts, and I knew we’d lose the second-person accounts if we didn’t get that information documented.”
Kryger’s focus on Florida’s citrus flavor industry comes at a time when Florida Poly recently established a research partnership with IFF, a world leader in food, beverage and scent. The Fortune 500 company opened its Global Citrus Innovation Center on campus last spring. The scents and flavors IFF produces are found in many of the products consumers use every day.
“What’s interesting about IFF being at Florida Poly is they decided to bring together research on all types of products involving citrus flavors and fragrances,” he said.
Kryger has owned or held executive-level positions with multiple citrus flavor and technology-focused companies. He also is the son of Allen Kryger, a Lakeland, Florida, scientist and businessman who was an early pioneer in Florida’s natural citrus flavor industry.
The state’s citrus industry has evolved and experienced monumental changes over the last 120 years, and that continues today, Robert Kryger said. Citrus greening is a serious bacterial infection that kills trees and devastates orchards. It has destroyed much of the state’s citrus crop over the past 20 years, he said, which is why research and technological focus has been on combating the disease.
Despite this major challenge, the future looks bright, Kryger said.
“In a nutshell, the citrus flavor industry has been sourcing more raw materials from outside of Florida, reformulating products to use more non-citrus-based ingredients and otherwise adapting as best it can,” he said. “Even so, the state’s industry seems to continue slowly growing as evidenced by IFF’s commitment to Florida Poly and Florida.”
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