The acquisition of FIAS in November 2021 and the completion of the integration of the unique competencies of the Vanzago plant make AromataGroup – and in a broader sense the entire Nactarome Group – one of the most reliable partners in the vanilla market, with strategic competencies that go beyond the simple production of quality-controlled, high-performance extracts.
Vanilla’s journey begins in Madagascar, where a consortium-cooperative of around 500 small family-run companies cultivates Vanilla planifolia on traditional farms, but also on organic and Fairtrade certified farms, a certification backed by various ethical projects with a positive impact on local communities, such as the development and installation of photovoltaic panels on Malagasy farms, or the guarantee of access to health care on site and the purchase of foodstuffs.
The group’s commitment begins even before the pods are harvested: supply contracts are signed to guarantee the green pods, thus ensuring the livelihood of the Malagasy companies and sparing them the need to borrow from banks to finance the processing stages, which are extremely lengthy and require expertise and large numbers of staff. In order to achieve the highest and most consistent quality possible, every stage of the vanilla processing in the Group’s supply chain is monitored and controlled: from cultivation to harvesting and pod care.
When the mature and fermented vanilla pods reach the production site in Vanzago, Italy, they undergo a series of checks to verify their quality and authenticity. The processes involve different types of extraction in order to obtain bourbon vanilla extracts and concentrates (with origin certification), from conventional, certified organic and Fairtrade certified raw materials. From the exhausted vanilla beans, a limited quantity of vanilla powder is also produced, with high added value.
The control of the supply chain, from the cultivation and processing of the raw material to the production of aromatic extracts, makes it possible to obtain authentic, fully traceable products with guaranteed stability and quality.
However, the strategic value of AromataGroup expertise is not limited to vanilla extracts and concentrates, but is combined with the skills of a group of flavour houses with more than twenty years’ experience in the formulation of flavourings, both natural and highly cost-effective, which are fully customisable both in terms of their organoleptic profile and in terms of the application process of the finished product and the typical tastes of the target market.
The group also strongly believes in a rigorous and standardised analytical approach to guarantee a constant, authentic, and microbiologically controlled quality and organoleptic level.
