IFF opens vanilla centre in Madagascar
Credit: IFF
IFF has announced the opening of its Vanilla Innovation Center in Madagascar, reinforcing vanilla as a strategic and priority tonality for IFF and strengthening its ability to innovate at origin.
“The opening of the centre marks an important step in how we approach vanilla innovation,” said Dr Adam Jańczuk, senior vice president, research, creation and design, Taste, IFF. “By strengthening our presence at origin, we connect science, creativity and sustainability more closely, responding to climate changes, safeguarding quality and creating value across the supply chain.”
Located in Toamasina, Madagascar’s principal seaport, near vanilla growing areas and post-harvest processing activities, the 650-square-metre centre brings together lab analysis, extraction, scent and flavour creation, and application development in a single site. By embedding these capabilities close to the crop, IFF can better understand natural variability and translate on-the-ground insights into tailored solutions for customers globally.
As one of the world’s most complex natural ingredients, vanilla is shaped by climate, post-harvest handling and curing methods. The innovation space supports IFF’s ability to follow the ingredient’s journey from origin extraction and in-field testing, through advanced lab analysis to flavour creation, providing a seamless path that deepens material understanding, shortens development cycles and enables solutions informed by real crop conditions.
It offers lab analysis capabilities, extraction facilities, a flavour creation unit and a research greenhouse.
The Vanilla Innovation Center also serves as a hub for knowledge sharing and capability building, the company says. It delivers hands-on training, workshops and laboratory programmes that bring together experts, customers and local teams.
“This centre is built to turn insight into action,” said Marcus Pesch, vice president, research and development, Taste, IFF. “By bringing science, flavour creation and application development together at origin, we can work more collaboratively with customers, improve speed and consistency, and deliver solutions that are market-ready and grounded in the realities of vanilla production.”
