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Chapter 18. Recognizing the Quality and Origin of Vanilla from Reunion Island
Creating a PGI “Vanille de L’île de la Réunion”
Bertrand Côme
Strong Historical Links between Vanilla and Reunion Island
Although the genus Vanilla is native to Mexico, Reunion Island can reasonably be considered its second home. Vanilla cultivation and processing have very strong links with the Reunion Island (formerly the Ile Bourbon). The vanilla plant was introduced on the island in three successive years (1819, 1820, and 1822) from Cayenne and Manila (Philibert and Perrotet) and from Mexico, by means of the Jardin des Plantes (botanical garden) in Paris (Marchant).
Grown in different parts of the island, the vanilla plants survived in the ideal climatic conditions and flowered, but failed to bear fruit (as Reunion Island lacked the pollinating insects found in Mexico). It was not until 1841 that a young slave, Edmond Albius aged 12, invented a simple and practical method for pollinating vanilla orchids, allowing vanilla cultivation to rapidly develop on the island (see Chapter 17).
With the first harvests, producers were faced with the problem of the dehiscence of Vanilla planifolia beans. Once again, they invented an ingenious method to prevent the beans from ripening, while activating the aroma production process (David de Floris in 1857). The foundation for the present-day vanilla cultivation and processing was initiated within a span of a few years.
Presently, the techniques that are used were disseminated worldwide under the impetus of the Reunionese producers, who exported their vanilla plants and know-how to the Comoros (1873) and then to Madagascar (1890).
World-Renowned Quality
At the outset, Reunion Island producers strove to produce high-quality beans that rapidly gained an excellent reputation with the consumers. This reputation, based on selecting only the best beans and following very strict production processes, was built around the designation “Bourbon vanilla” (from the former name of the colony under the monarchy) from the very first exports in 1848, and has endured ever since.
In 1964, to face competition from synthetic vanillin and ensure the promotion of the natural product, Madagascar, the Comoros, and Reunion Island met in Saint Denis to form a cartel of Indian Ocean producer countries (which represented 85% of global production at that time). Its aims were to organize production, stabilize prices by establishing country-specific import quotas, promote the product in Europe and the United States, combat counterfeiting (references on labels), and design a logo identify the natural vanilla. To finance these initiatives, a contribution of $1.5 was charged for every kilogram exported.
To clearly identify the product, the signatories agreed on a common designation, “Bourbon vanilla” (whose reputation was already largely established). The term “Bourbon vanilla,” thus, became generic and ceased to identify only Reunion Island as the origin of the product (this generated confusion for people from Reunion Island and many buyers), although its aroma differs considerably from one origin to another.
Finally, more recently, products of Indonesian origin have appeared on the world market under the designation “Bourbon-style vanilla,” but the quality of these beans is not comparable with that of Reunion Island vanilla.
Reunionese Production Reduced to a Niche Market
Owing to its high cost price, vanilla produced in Reunion Island is no longer competitive on the international market of standard vanilla. However, it remains highly prized by certain connoisseurs looking for very special products. But the term “Bourbon vanilla” is no longer enough to enable Reunionese production to distinguish itself from competition. Many retailers play on the ambiguity of this term to hide the true origin of their product and thereby mislead consumers, who often wrongly assume that “Bourbon vanilla” originates in Reunion Island. Producers have, therefore, thought about ways to clearly identify their products.
To guarantee the origin of their products, their options were either an AOC (“Appelation d’Origine Contrôlée,” i.e., a PDO: Protected Designation of Origin) or a PGI (Protected Geographical Indication).
The AOC is based far more on the concept of terroir (the assumption that the land on which a product is grown imparts a unique quality to that crop) than on the production process. Given the microclimates that exist in Reunion Island and the considerable differences in soil from one area to another, or even from one ravine to another, the AOC would have to be divided into several designations:
• An AOC for the region of Sainte Marie, Sainte Suzanne, and the hills above Saint André (nitisols, umbrisols, and andosols, between 2000 and 3000 mm of rainfall)
• An AOC for the coastal region of Saint André and Bras Panon (detrital cone of the Mât river and 2000 mm of rainfall)
• An AOC for the region of Sainte Rose and Saint Philippe (recent lava flows and between 3000 and 4500 mm of rainfall)
It would also be necessary to deal with these productions separately.
Given the low production volume at present and the resulting constraints, it seemed inappropriate to divide Reunionese production into three parts, even if the AOC is far better known by consumers than the PGI.
The PGI, a designation officially recognized throughout the European Union, provides a very precise definition of the production and processing conditions for a product, corresponding to an ancestral tradition (the concept of know-how) from a well-defined geographical area (the concept of terroir). This designation is therefore more suited to the characteristics of vanilla production in Reunion Island, and this is why the PGI was finally chosen.
The Pgi: A Preference Shared by All Reunionese Producers
The PGI approach is the result of a desire shared by all producers and processors in Reunion Island to promote their product by means of an unambiguous designation (unlike “Bourbon vanilla”). In 2000, they formed the Association pour la Valorisation de la Vanille de l’Ile de la Reunion Island (the association for the promotion of Reunion Island vanilla, A2VR), an organization to protect and manage the designation, with the aim of drawing up the specifications for labeled production and protecting the designation against any attempts at imitation or counterfeiting. The association currently includes producers (Provanille, the association of farmers from Saint Philippe), processors (UR 2) and distributors (Réunion Agricom). It remains open to all (companies and individual producers), provided the terms of the specifi-cations are met. In 2007, A2VR represented 78% of all producers in Reunion Island and 65% of the volume processed on the island.
Choosing the Designation
Vanilla originating in Reunion Island is traditionally known as “Bourbon vanilla.” However, this designation has become the common term employed for all vanilla produced in the Indian Ocean (Madagascar, Comoros). Recovering the exclusive use of this term was therefore not a possibility.