Client Ambition

Vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the world. Yet, the periodic boom and bust in the global Vanilla market and its vulnerability to fungus makes it an unreliable source of income for the Indian vanilla growing communities. Our client wanted to explore the barriers and enablers for Indian farmers from the tropical rainforests of Karnataka to sustainably grow Vanilla, and identify intervention opportunities for its responsible sourcing.

Our Solution

We deployed our value chain assessment methodology to collect baseline data and insights from 04 categories of respondents – experienced farmers, potential adopters, non-adopters and value chain experts.

We curated tailormade in-depth interview guides after detailed desk research and a reconnaissance survey, which uncovered the motivations, challenges, and economics of growing Vanilla for the farmers

We tested the questionnaires in the field through a pilot survey. In the main field survey of 2 weeks, our 2 member team conducted inetrviews with 70+ farmers and experts.

We presented our insights and analytics in a report and presented a possible roadmap for the client to devise a responsible sourcing program.

Results

The research spread across two vanilla growing districts of Karnataka deepened our client’s understanding on the baseline conditions of the Vanilla farmers and addressed their key management question i.e. what will it take to re-initiate and sustain the cultivation and sourcing of Vanilla from these communities.