Vanilla is native to Mexico, it is now widely grown throughout the tropics. Indonesia and Madagascar are the world's largest producers.

Vanilla is the second-most expensive spice after saffron, because growing the vanilla seed pods is labor-intensive. Despite the expense, vanilla is highly valued for its flavor. As a result, vanilla is widely used in both commercial and domestic baking, perfume manufacture, and aromatherapy.

The majority of the world's vanilla is the V. planifolia species, more commonly known as Bourbon vanilla (after the former name of Réunion, Île Bourbon) or Madagascar vanilla, which is produced in Madagascar and neighboring islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean, and in Indonesia.

Vanilla vines require three years before they bear fruit. Each spring the plant bears small, pale greenish-yellow orchids. Like most orchids, the blossoms grow along stems branching from the main vine.

The vanilla bean grows quickly on the vine but is not ready for harvest until maturity- approximately nine months. To ensure the finest flavor from every bean, each individual pod must be picked by hand just before it splits.

In Madagascar vanilla is planted in October, after the first two years of growing the floral induction is realized in July-August. The flowers appear from September to January with November as their peak. The maturity of the beans is generally reached from mid-July of the next year.

Our advantage: Creator Universal is both growing vanilla, as well as supporting established growers. We work with highly experienced vanilla cultivators.

Locations: North & North East Magadascar

Destinations for export: Worldwide

Annual production: A good vanilla bean crop in Madagascar is about 2,000 tonnes. The 2015 crop was 1,300 to 1,400 tonnes.

The 2016 harvest in Madagascar should begin in June or July, after being cured, it should be ready for shipment about November or December.