Agrumaria Reggina Case Study: Establishing a Senior Commercial Presence in North America
Overview
Agrumaria Reggina is a third-generation, family-owned Italian business specialising in the production and supply of citrus-based ingredients. Founded in 1971 and based in Calabria, southern Italy, the company processes citrus fruits including oranges, lemons, and grapefruits into high-quality essential oils, juices, concentrates, and other citrus-derived ingredients.
In recent years, the business has experienced strong international growth. Under the leadership of CEO Felice Chirico, Agrumaria Reggina has continued to develop ambitious plans to expand its global presence and strengthen its position across key international markets.
One important phase of this growth strategy was the establishment of a dedicated business unit in North America. The region already represented around 15–20% of Agrumaria Reggina’s global revenue, with an established customer base including leading global flavour and fragrance houses, as well as major beverage manufacturers.
To support this next stage of growth, Agrumaria Reggina needed to secure its first US-based employee: a senior commercial leader with deep citrus market knowledge, strong customer relationships, and the capability to lead the company’s North American expansion.
Specific Requirements for the Search
Agrumaria Reggina required a senior commercial professional who could operate credibly within the US flavour, fragrance, beverage, and citrus ingredient markets.
The ideal candidate needed:
- Proven B2B sales experience within flavours, ingredients, citrus, natural extracts, essential oils, botanicals, or related markets
- Strong knowledge of leading flavour and fragrance houses and/or multinational beverage manufacturers
- Established relationships across key strategic accounts in North America
- A track record of both account management and new business development
- The ability to represent a family-owned European business in a new international market
- Strong cultural fit with Agrumaria Reggina’s values, leadership style, and long-term growth vision
This was not simply a sales hire. It was a critical first appointment in the United States, requiring someone capable of building trust with major customers while also helping shape the company’s future North American structure.
Additional Challenge
As this was Agrumaria Reggina’s first employee in the US, there were several additional considerations beyond identifying and attracting the right candidate.
The business needed support in understanding how to position the role correctly in the North American market, particularly around salary, benefits, and candidate expectations.
Key areas included:
- Salary benchmarking across multiple US states
- Guidance on market expectations for senior commercial roles in the ingredients sector
- Support around healthcare, medical cover, 401k, and wider employee benefit expectations
- Advice on how to make the opportunity competitive against established US employers
- Support during discussions with the employer of record and benefit providers
Rather than making assumptions based on European compensation models, we helped Agrumaria Reggina make informed decisions based on real market feedback and candidate data gathered throughout the search process.
Our Approach
Stakeholder Alignment
We began by meeting directly with Agrumaria Reggina’s CEO to understand the company’s growth plans, the importance of the North American market, and the profile required for the first US-based hire.
This included a detailed discussion around the role’s commercial objectives, reporting structure, customer base, growth expectations, and cultural requirements.
Salary Benchmarking
As the initial salary budget required further validation against the US market, we agreed to build salary benchmarking into the search process.
Through targeted market engagement, we gathered relevant data from senior commercial professionals across multiple states. This allowed Agrumaria Reggina to assess the market properly and position the opportunity at a level capable of attracting the right calibre of candidate.
Market Mapping
We conducted a targeted mapping exercise across the North American citrus, flavour, fragrance, beverage, and natural ingredient markets.
This included identifying 78 relevant professionals from competitor organisations and adjacent ingredient businesses, with a particular focus on individuals who had experience selling into major flavour houses, beverage manufacturers, and strategic global accounts.
Targeted Outreach
From the wider market map, we actively approached just over 40 professionals who most closely matched the requirements of the brief.
Each approach was carefully positioned to reflect the opportunity: not just as a commercial role, but as a chance to help establish and lead the North American presence of a growing, family-owned European citrus ingredient business.
Candidate Screening
Candidates were assessed against both technical and cultural requirements, including:
- Citrus, flavour, fragrance, or ingredient market knowledge
- Experience selling into strategic accounts
- Strength of relationships with major F&F houses and beverage manufacturers
- Track record in account growth and business development
- Ability to work independently as the first US-based hire
- Fit with Agrumaria Reggina’s leadership team and long-term ambitions
Following a detailed screening process, we reduced the search to a final shortlist of six high-calibre professionals.
Interview & Offer Management
Agrumaria Reggina interviewed all six shortlisted candidates, with strong feedback across the group.
Following initial interviews, the process was narrowed quickly to a smaller group of frontrunners before a final decision was made.
We managed the full interview, feedback, offer, and negotiation process, aligning expectations between the candidate, internal stakeholders, and external employment partners. This included support around compensation, benefits, medical plans, and practical onboarding considerations.
Results
The search successfully resulted in the appointment of Joel Longbons as General Manager North America for Agrumaria Reggina.
Joel brought extensive experience from a senior business unit leadership role, with a strong background supplying citrus ingredients into the flavour and fragrance market.
His appointment gave Agrumaria Reggina an experienced, credible, and well-networked commercial leader to support the continued development of its North American business.
The outcome provided Agrumaria Reggina with:
- Its first dedicated US-based employee
- Senior commercial leadership in North America
- Strong relationships across key strategic customer groups
- Citrus and ingredient market expertise
- A foundation for future growth in the region
Candidate Testimonial
Joel Longbons – General Manager North America
“Jamie is a genuine character. I sincerely appreciated working together. He is timely and transparent. I will be reaching out to request his help in the future.”
Key Takeaways
This project demonstrates the importance of combining specialist market knowledge with practical international hiring support.
Agrumaria Reggina did not simply need a recruiter to identify candidates. They needed a partner who could help them understand the US market, benchmark compensation, navigate candidate expectations, and secure a senior commercial leader capable of representing the business in a strategically important region.
Key factors behind the successful outcome included:
- Deep knowledge of the citrus, flavour, fragrance, and ingredient markets
- Targeted mapping of senior commercial professionals across North America
- Real-time salary and benefits benchmarking
- Structured screening focused on both technical expertise and cultural fit
- Full support through interviews, offer management, benefits discussions, and onboarding considerations
As a result, Agrumaria Reggina successfully established its senior commercial presence in North America and strengthened its ability to grow with major customers across the region.
About Paragon Talent
Paragon Talent is a specialist recruitment consultancy connecting ingredient-led businesses with senior leadership, commercial, technical, and operational talent.
We operate across specialist markets including:
- Flavours & Fragrance
- Food & Beverage Ingredients
- Citrus, Natural Extracts & Botanicals
- Nutraceuticals & Health Ingredients
- Pharmaceutical Ingredients
Our deep sector expertise, global network, and hands-on recruitment approach enable us to support businesses with complex, specialist, and international hiring projects.
Whether a company is strengthening an existing team, entering a new market, or making a critical first hire in a new region, we help identify, attract, and secure the people needed to support long-term growth.
About the Author
Jamie Pickup is the Founder and Director of Paragon Talent, specialising in senior-level recruitment across the ingredients, flavour, fragrance, food, beverage, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical sectors.
With almost 15 years of experience in executive search, Jamie has built a strong track record of helping international manufacturing and ingredient businesses recruit high-performing commercial leaders, technical specialists, and operational executives across Europe, North America, and other global markets.
FAQs
Q. Can Paragon Talent support companies making their first hire in a new country?
Yes. We regularly support international businesses entering new markets, helping them understand candidate expectations, compensation levels, benefits, and local hiring considerations.
Q. How does Paragon Talent benchmark salary for specialist roles?
We use a combination of market data, candidate conversations, sector knowledge, and live feedback gathered during the search process to help clients position roles competitively.
Q. Does Paragon Talent work across the citrus and flavour ingredient markets?
Yes. We support businesses across citrus ingredients, essential oils, natural extracts, flavours, fragrance, botanicals, and wider ingredient-led markets.
Q. Can Paragon Talent recruit senior commercial leaders in North America?
Yes. We regularly support senior commercial and leadership searches across North America, Europe, and other international markets.
Q. What made this search complex?
The role was Agrumaria Reggina’s first US-based hire, meaning the search required not only candidate identification but also support around salary benchmarking, benefits expectations, employment structure, and cultural fit.