Rush to find natural vanilla substitute as pod prices soar

Rush to find natural vanilla substitute as pod prices soar: The Financial Times

It is made from petroleum, cloves, Norwegian spruce trees and has even been extracted from cow dung. Now the world’s flavour companies are scrambling to find additional sources of vanilla flavouring as prices for beans have soared to a record.

Vanilla prices have more than tripled in the past two years to $450 per kilogramme, due to hoarding by local middlemen and crop collectors in Madagascar, the world’s largest producer. The surging price has been exacerbated as an increasing number of large food companies have pledged to use “natural” flavourings made from food sources.

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