The Sustainable Vanillin Replacement that Reigns Supreme

2021 has been quite the rollercoaster for Vanillin and Ethyl Vanillin. The synthetic vanilla market has seen high growth for many years, covering over 97% of the overall demand. Vanilla from vanilla beans now accounts for only 1% of the global demand!

Original demands for synthetic alternatives for vanilla came from the demanding environment required to grow vanilla orchids. Natural vanilla requires specific weather, only grows in limited locations and every flower needs to be hand pollenated. It is the second most expensive spice, falling just behind Saffron! With growing demands for chocolate, biscuits, confectionary, ice creams and cakes, there is no way natural vanilla could keep up with industry.

In 1876 the first vanillin from Guaiacol was synthesised. By the 1930s, synthetic vanillin became significantly more available for industrial applications. Borregaard are the sole producer of wood-based vanillin using lignin from Norwegian Spruce to make EuroVanillin Supreme.

Shortage

To understand where 2021’s vanillin shortage has come from, we need to look back to 2010. It was this year that technical secrets were stolen from the largest producer of vanillin (Zonghua) by an employee and given to another company in China. This company became the 3^rd largest producer of Vanillin, selling material at a much lower price as there were no R&D costs to cover. In 2018, a lawsuit was filed and Zonghua won in February 2021. The company in question was ordered to stop production of vanillin immediately, removing 2,000-3,000 MT from the market.

Therefore, 2021 started with a tight vanillin market. Zonghua stopped supplying new customers, but the extra demand had to be spread around the rest of the market. This led to demand outstripping supply and saw prices soar to the highest they have been for years.

It didn’t take long for the issues with Vanillin to spill over to Ethyl Vanillin leading to a sell out of Ethyl Vanillin for the rest of 2021. To try and balance this out, Chinese manufacturers plan to focus more on vanillin production for the rest of the year. Strain on Ethyl Vanillin continues and delayed shipments from China only exacerbate the problem.

However, there is light in the darkness! Borregaard’s EuroVanillin Supreme and Blends are readily available, and their price remains stable.

EuroVanillin Supreme

As previously mentioned, Borregaard are the sole producer of wood-based Vanillin. The Norwegian Spruce is sustainably forested and then goes through a pulping process before being converted to Vanillin.

“But surely natural is better for the environment?” In short, no. This is a common misconception, and we often fail to look at the full supply chain when we think that natural must mean environmentally friendly. However, Vanilla orchids require a huge amount of water relative to other foods, at around 126,505 litres to produce just 1kg of vanilla beans. The planting of vanilla crops also adds to deforestation, endangering wildlife, soil erosion and greenhouse gas emissions making the process unsustainable. Furthermore, the content of vanillin in a cured vanilla pod is around 2%, so for just 1kg of vanillin we would need 50kg of vanilla pods.

EuroVanillin Blends (Plus & Expert)

Borregaard’s Plus range offers the following:

• EuroVanillin Plus – same intensity as vanillin with a smoother profile
• EuroVanillin Plus 1200 – again, smoother, but now 20% stronger
• EuroVanillin Plus DS – twice as strong as standard vanillin and still smoother

The Plus range offers a cost-efficient vanillin product with various aroma-profiles to suit all applications. These are unique to Borregaard.

The Expert Blends include:

• Bakery
• Borrebon
• Butter
• Caramel
• Chocolate
• Cream
• Dairy

Each EuroVanillin Expert Blend uses specially tailored EuroVanillin Plus for specific applications to overcome common challenges in applications. They offer the same performance as Vanillin with added aroma. Again, these are completely unique to Borregaard.

With Borregaard’s ever expanding portfolio, Stort can help to find a solution to your vanilla questions. For assistance, samples, pricing and anything else you need, please contact our F&F team!