EY US celebrates ambitious entrepreneurs shaping the future of business
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, [June 23, 2026] — Jeff Reynolds, the CEO of Sensapure Flavors, was named an EY US Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2026 Mountain West Award winner. Jeff was selected among nearly 1,000 program participants that included 592 finalists across 17 regions competing for the title.
"If we keep persevering, we can acheive amazing things." — Jeff Reynolds
Now in its 41st year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program honors business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. It celebrates original founders who bootstrapped their business from inception or raised outside capital to grow their company, transformational CEOs who infused innovation into an existing organization to catapult its trajectory and multigenerational family business leaders who reimagined a legacy business model to strengthen it for the future.
Regional winners were chosen by an independent panel of past winners, top CEOs and business leaders. Judges assessed candidates on long-term value creation, entrepreneurial spirit, purpose-driven commitment, and significant growth and impact.
As a Mountain West award winner, Jeff will now be considered by the national judges for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 National Awards, which will be presented in November at the annual Strategic Growth Forum®, where high-growth CEOs, Fortune 1000 executives and investors converge to shape the future of business. The National Overall Award winner will move on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award in May 2027.
The Entrepreneur Of The Year program has recognized the leadership of entrepreneurs such as:
· Jason McGowan, Crumbl Cookies Noom
· Allison Ellsworth | Stephen Ellsworth, Poppi
· Jitendra Mohan | Sanjay Gajendra | Casey Morrison, Astera Labs
· Shelly Ibach, Sleep Number
· Howard Schultz, Starbucks Coffee Company
· Holly Thaggard | Amanda Baldwin, Supergoop!
· Jodi L. Berg, Vita-Mix Corporation
· Michael Happe, Winnebago Industries
· Arthur Blank, Atlanta Falcons, The Home Depot, Georgia Force
EY | Building a better working world
EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society and the planet, while building trust in capital markets.
Enabled by data, AI and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow.
EY teams work across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions. Fueled by sector insights, a globally connected, multi-disciplinary network and diverse ecosystem partners, EY teams can provide services in more than 150 countries and territories.
All in to shape the future with confidence.
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, [May 13, 2026] — Jeff Reynolds, Founder and CEO of Sensapure Flavors, has been named a finalist for the Entrepreneur of the Year® 2026 Mountain West Award by Ernst & Young LLP (EY US). Now in its 41st year, the Entrepreneur of the Year program celebrates bold leaders who disrupt markets, revolutionize industries, and uplift communities. An independent panel of judges selected Reynolds among 40 finalists based on entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, company growth, and lasting impact in building long-term value.
"Being named a finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year is an honor I don't accept alone," said Reynolds. "It belongs to the 185+ people on the Sensapure team who show up every day to solve hard problems for brands building something real — and to every customer who trusted us with their product. Utah's functional food and beverage industry is growing faster than most people realize, and we intend to be the company that helps define what world-class flavor and formulation looks like for the brands leading that growth."
Founded in 2017, Sensapure Flavors is Utah's only full-service flavor house, combining flavor chemistry with applications expertise to help functional beverage and active lifestyle brands create better products and scale with confidence. The company has grown to more than 185 employees across facilities in Salt Lake City and Lehi, Utah, and has achieved consistent double-digit growth — including liquid flavor sales that doubled from 2024 to 2025. Under Reynolds' leadership, Sensapure has been named #20 on the Utah Business Fast 50 and has commercialized more than 2,500 flavors for brands across the U.S. and internationally.
Entrepreneur of the Year honors business leaders for their ingenuity, courage, and entrepreneurial spirit — celebrating original founders, transformational CEOs, and multigenerational family business leaders who have reshaped industries and built lasting value.
This year's Mountain West finalists represent Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Washington across all industries, including technology, consumer products, manufacturing, health and more.
Regional award winners will be announced on Thursday, June 18, 2026 during a special celebration in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and will become lifetime members of an esteemed community of Entrepreneur of the Year alumni. Winners will then be considered for the Entrepreneur of the Year National Awards, presented in November at the annual Strategic Growth Forum®.
Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, Cresa, LLC, Marsh USA, SAP, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In the Mountain West region, sponsors also include regional Gold sponsors Big Picture, Perkins Coie, Strong & Hanni Law Firm and Truss, and regional Silver sponsors ADP, Pierpont Communications, and Silicon Slopes.
About Sensapure Flavors
Sensapure Flavors offers a growth platform for active lifestyle, functional food and beverage brands looking to scale. The full-service flavor house is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, with production facilities in Salt Lake City and Lehi, Utah. Founded in 2017 by Jeff Reynolds, Sensapure delivers best-in-class formulation, custom flavor creation, active ingredient masking, spray drying, product development, and consumer sensory evaluation for functional food, beverage, and dietary supplement brands. The company serves active lifestyle, sports nutrition, and wellness brands across the United States and internationally, combining flavor chemistry with real-world applications expertise under one roof. Sensapure has commercialized more than 2,500 flavors, maintains a library of 1,700 active raw materials, and operates with a team of more than 185 employees — including IFC-certified master flavorists, applications specialists, beverage scientists, and beverage processing engineers. Learn more at sensapure.com.
About Entrepreneur of the Year®
Founded in 1986, Entrepreneur of the Year® has celebrated more than 11,000 ambitious visionaries leading successful, dynamic businesses in the US, and has since expanded to nearly 80 countries and territories globally. The US program consists of 17 regional programs whose panels of independent judges select regional award winners every June. Those winners compete for national recognition at the Strategic Growth Forum® in November. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.
About EY
EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society and the planet, while building trust in capital markets. Enabled by data, AI and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow. EY teams work across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions. Fueled by sector insights, a globally connected, multi-disciplinary network and diverse ecosystem partners, EY teams can provide services in more than 150 countries and territories. All in to shape the future with confidence. EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.
