Emily Cruz

Emily Cruz joined Palmer Holland in 2022 as an Ingredient Consultant for the Health & Nutrition Team. She currently resides in Seattle, Washington, and is responsible for a territory consisting of Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. Prior to joining Palmer Holland, Emily held various positions, including Director of Sales & Marketing and Director of Innovation at CuliNex, a food product development consultancy focused on clean-label food.
 
Having worked in food service operations ranging from casual and fine dining restaurants to high volume catering, as well as extensive commercial food manufacturing experience, she is well-versed in creating sweet and savory applications with the consumer’s and operator’s needs in mind. With deep technical expertise and functional ingredient knowledge, she looks for whitespace opportunities for brands to add real value to the marketplace by delighting customers.
 
Emily holds an associate degree in culinary arts and a Bachelor of Science in Culinary Nutrition from Johnson & Wales University in Denver, CO. She started the New Professionals group and is a past President of the Puget Sound Institute of Food Technologists. Emily serves on the membership committee of the Research Chefs Association, where she enjoys mentoring the next generation of professionals and endeavors to create a sustainable food system. At home, she enjoys the daily challenge of cooking and caring for her husband, daughter, and dog.