THE QUINTESSENTIAL FLAVOUR OF GOODNESS VANILLA IS A RESULT OF OUR CARING AND HARDWORKING FARMERS AND THE ALL-NATURAL WAY OF PROCESSING WE PURSUE.
Vanilla is one of the world's most labour intensive crops. The orchid plant flowers once a year over a period of approximately two months with large, fragrant and waxy flowers. They usually open in the early morning and are receptive to pollination for about 6 hours. A single plant can produce any number of flowers; however, a single flower can produce only one bean.
Vanilla cultivation in India requires great care and attention, and our labour of love begins with the vanilla plant. The flowers open only for a day and every flower is then hand-pollinated. The ripe pods are handpicked when they are 9 - 10 months old and are still green in colour. If they are picked too soon, the vanillin content and quality of the bean will be lower. If they are left on the vine too long, they will become over-ripe and split on the vine.
Different curing methods are used around the world, but the ultimate goal is to produce dark brown, blemish free, supple, aromatic pods. From flower to flavour, our pods are cured to perfection, bringing out the delectable undertones & aroma of true vanilla.
Fine vanilla is a work of nature perfected through traditional processes. Post-harvest, the best scores of vanilla beans are carefully sorted and then cured by means of our own indigenously developed processing method. The beans are blanched, sweated, and sun dried over a period of weeks until they turn moist, dark-brown and wrinkled. They are then conditioned for months to bring out the rich aroma and flavour in the pods which are then crafted into extracts and powders which completed the art of vanilla bean cultivation.
Our Gardens
Welcome to the magical and mysterious mountains of Western Ghats, on which grows the world’s finest vanilla. Spread across three states - Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, we have a highly organized vanilla cultivation system under the Indian Vanilla Initiative. We take every possible step to ensure the crop’s quality, all-natural characteristics and mesmerizing flavour. Several farmers and organizations engage in the laborious process of natural vanilla production under the Initiative to make real a truly wonderful promise - Goodness Vanilla.
Indian Vanilla Initiative
It is the chronicle of an extraordinary enterprise that proved to the world that nothing is impossible. The Indian Vanilla Initiative is the dream child of Dr.Mahendran, who at his home town, Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, has been ardently into farming.
A veteran with two decades of experience in the Vanilla value chain right from cultivation to marketing, Dr. Mahendran sensed the viability of the situation and started the Indian Vanilla Initiative. It was begun with a noble aim to help organize Vanilla planters of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and to help them get fair prices for their hard work, on par with international pricing.
Under this Initiative, large and small farms and organizations cultivate Vanilla through contract farming tie-ups making use of the group's own cultivation techniques. The Initiative ensures 100 % buy-back guarantee for the growers and traceability and audibility to cultivation across the Western Ghats. The Vanilla that we grow here is later introduced in all its goodness to the market under the brand name Goodness Vanilla by our own marketing arm – Indian Vanilla Enterprise.
Indian Vanilla Enterprise
The Indian Vanilla Enterprise is the marketing entity of Goodness Vanilla which offers the world a platter of the finest and all-natural Vanilla products. The venture is highly committed to present the painstakingly cultivated and processed Indian Vanilla, keeping its quality intact.
After successful cultivation and harvesting under the supervision and technological assistance of the Indian Vanilla Initiative, the high-quality beans are meticulously processed and value added to extract & powder. From there, the all-natural range of Vanilla products is introduced to the Indian market by The Indian Vanilla Enterprise under the brand name Goodness Vanilla.