Vanilla is a parasitic orchid native to Mexico. It was brought to Europe by the Spanish and over the years has traveled all over the world. The first to produce vanilla were the Réunionese in the 19th century. Since then, vanilla production has spread to Madagascar and other regions with a tropical climate. Madagascar is an extremely fertile region for vanilla cultivation and has quickly become the world’s largest producer, with approximately 220,000 tons of black vanilla per year.
Hello. I am Samuel Renoux. A trained chef by profession, I was a restaurant owner in Brussels for nearly 20 years, and vanilla has always been one of my favorite products.
In 2016, during a trip to Guadeloupe, I discovered its production up close and, passionate about the subject, I decided to learn more. I took a seven-month break to return to the “island of beautiful waters” and follow a seven-month training in agroforestry. After this, I also traveled to other countries to further deepen my knowledge, including Madagascar. Upon my return, I handed over my restaurant to launch this project…
During my research in Madagascar, I met Monique, a 50-year-old Malagasy woman who has always worked with vanilla and with whom I share ideals of production methods, product quality, and respect for the environment. Together we created a small company with the goal of exporting high-quality and eco-responsible vanilla. It’s primarily an administrative process, a long-term endeavor, during which we have already begun to prospect local producers, offer them our help, and integrate them into our project.
After 3 years, our structure was ready, technically and administratively, for the cultivation, processing, and marketing of high-quality eco-responsible vanilla. The sale of our product began in early 2020. Yes, just at the beginning of the global health crisis which of course hindered our plans, but did not discourage us. We used this time to continue refining our methods and developing our contacts and… create this website!
Our goal is to produce high-quality vanilla. Even if this limits our production objectives to 225 to 250 kilos per year, it allows us to offer you a refined, fragrant, oily vanilla with well-filled beans. But the product is not our only motivation: we also wish to develop partnerships, help local organizations on our scale (Malagasy development, children’s education, contraception awareness…) and raise awareness about responsible production methods that are environmentally friendly and non-polluting (Ecocert label application in progress).
