Why is Vanilla so expensive?

Why is Vanilla so expensive? We’ve heard that question so many times.

Here are the three main reasons why Natural Vanilla is expensive:

1. Centralized cultivation in one region - Madagascar.

~ 80% of the world’s Vanilla is grown in Madagascar. The small island is prone to natural disasters and have suffered bad harvests in the past, causing world prices for the spice to skyrocket.

2. Increased demand from Food & Beverage companies

Many companies are eliminating artificial flavors from their products and replacing them with natural flavors. Vanilla is the # 1 flavor in the world.

3. Labor Intensive & difficult to grow

Vanilla requires a special environment to grow and is very labor intensive. Furthermore, most regions that grow Vanilla only have one harvest season.

You might ask yourself, why don’t we just grow more Vanilla? That’s a very good question.

The bad news is that Natural Vanilla is difficult to grow. Unfortunately, many countries/regions of the world do not have the right climate to grow Vanilla.

The good news is that there are countries other than Madagascar that cultivate Vanilla. These are Uganda, Tahiti, Mexico, Papa New Guinea and Indonesia.

We believe that increasing the supply of naturally grown Vanilla outside of Madagascar will play a big part in making it more affordable. That's why we support the cultivation of Vanilla Beans in Uganda by buying Vanilla exclusively from Uganda