The vanilla buyers guide
Most vanilla suppliers publish a price and a photograph. Neither tells you what you are actually buying. This guide covers what does: grading, vanillin, moisture, yield, incoterms and the documents your customs authority will ask for.
It is written to be useful even if you buy from someone else. That is deliberate — an informed buyer is a better client than a persuaded one.
Published
What is the difference between Grade A and Grade B vanilla beans?
Grade A beans are cured to a higher moisture content and selected for appearance; Grade B beans are drier, which concentrates vanillin per kilogram and makes them the standard input for extraction. Neither is "better" — they are optimised for different uses.
Read →02 · Vanillin & moistureTwo suppliers quote the same price per kilogram. Which is cheaper?
The one with lower moisture, in most cases. Moisture determines how much dry matter you actually receive per kilogram, so comparing offers requires converting both to a dry-matter basis before comparing price.
Read →03 · Extraction yieldHow much vanilla do I need for a given volume of extract?
In the United States, single-fold vanilla extract legally requires 13.35 ounces of vanilla beans per gallon, at no more than 25 % moisture. Above that moisture level, the required weight increases proportionally.
Read →04 · Direct or through a deskShould I buy straight from an exporter in Madagascar?
Below roughly 200 kg a year, buying direct rarely pays: the letter of credit, the inspection and your own time cost more than the margin you save. Above it the case is worth examining — but the saving assumes you can obtain alone the terms that a relationship built on the ground secures, which is the part most comparisons skip.
Read →05 · Reading a lab reportI have been sent a lab report. How do I know it means anything?
Check five things before the figures themselves: that the lot reference matches your offer, that the analysis is recent, that the laboratory is named and accredited, that vanillin is reported on a stated basis, and that the method is specified. A report missing any of these describes some vanilla somewhere, not necessarily yours.
Read →06 · Incoterms & landed costThis FOB price looks good. What will it cost me delivered?
Between a quoted FOB price and the goods on your shelf sit freight, insurance, handling, clearance fees, duty, import VAT and inland transport. On a small shipment those fixed costs weigh heavily per kilo, which is why two offers on different Incoterms cannot be compared until both are brought to the same basis.
Read →07 · Importing into the USWhat documents will US customs and the FDA ask for?
Prior Notice before arrival, a current FDA food facility registration held by the foreign supplier, and a Foreign Supplier Verification Program that you as importer must operate. The commercial and phytosanitary documents come on top. Duty is rarely the issue on US vanilla imports; food safety oversight is.
Read →08 · Importing into the EUWhat will vanilla from Madagascar cost me in duties on arrival in the EU?
Nothing, if the origin is properly attested. Madagascar is a least developed country, so it falls under the EU Everything But Arms scheme: zero duty, no quota. But the exemption is not automatic — it requires a statement on origin issued by an exporter registered in the REX system, and without it you pay the standard tariff.
Read →09 · MOQ & lead timesWhat is a realistic minimum order, and how long will it take?
There is no industry minimum, only the threshold below which a given supplier stops earning on a transaction: 25 kg or more for a bulk exporter, far less for a sourcing desk that consolidates orders. Count two to four weeks door to door by air once the order is confirmed, six to ten by sea.
Read →10 · Avoiding scamsHow do I know this supplier is real?
Ask for an export licence number, a lot reference that appears on every document, and a pre-shipment inspection. A price far below the market, or a volume larger than the origin can physically produce, is the clearest warning sign there is.
Read →A question this guide does not answer?
Incoterms and landed cost, customs documentation, minimum orders, checking that a supplier is real — we deal with these daily. Ask directly and you get an answer, whether or not you end up buying from us. The questions we are asked most often become the next guides.
Ask a question