January 24/Tokyo/Press Release -- A strategic joint venture was signed on September 20, 2012, between Ramanandraibe Export Co., the biggest vanilla producer in Madagascar, and Takasago International Corp., a leading flavor and fragrance manufacturer headquartered in Japan.

This significant backward integration brings Takasago in direct contact with the farmers in the heart of the vanilla cultivation zone in the North Eastern part of Madagascar, a vanilla bean exporting country.  As a result, Takasago obtains a major competitive advantage in securing this strategic natural raw material, while achieving price stability and cost effectiveness.

Located in Sava, an area between Sambava and Antalaha, the 60-hectare vanilla plantation acquired by Takasago is called "Domain of Ambohimanitra,” an evocative name which means “the hill of a thousand fragrances”.

Takasago can now cultivate, harvest, process and extract its own vanilla locally, selecting the best vanilla pod quality and influencing the whole curing process. This curing process is essential for the development of vanilla’s signature aroma and taste, and is used to preserve the over 200 flavor compounds present in the vanilla planifolia beans.

The crude vanilla extracts processed in the Madagascar factory in Tamatave are then shipped to Takasago Morocco in Agadir, a recently acquired facility that specializes in the extraction and customization of key natural raw materials, including vanilla.

The combination of the best vanilla sources with the company’s sophisticated analytical and extraction techniques enables Takasago to capture the true essence of nature and transform it, by means of its expertise and creativity, into a completely new vanilla taste perspective.

With its signature brand “La Vanille T”  Takasago has set the foundation to  become a world  leader in the  manufacturing  of vanilla extracts and flavors, offering an extensive palette of vanilla nuances designed to flavor  desserts, ice creams, yogurts, beverages, baked goods, chocolate and sweets, to delight the variety of consumers’ palates all over the world.

Thanks to its wide array of proprietary consumer insights tools paired with its  expertise in psychophysiological research, Takasago can count on a solid and constantly evolving knowledge database  to better understand and map the ever changing country-, age-, and gender-specific consumers’ preference of vanilla flavored foods and beverages.

In order to meet the increasing global vanilla flavor demand, a whole portfolio of distinctive vanilla specialties, ranging from 3-20 fold extracts to other customized vanilla products and flavors with individual footprint tonalities, all compliant with country-specific food regulations, will soon be available for Takasago’s captive use, as well as for food and beverage manufacturers at market competitive prices.