Queen Vanilla – A brief history

Established in 1897, the name ‘Queen’ was inspired by Queen Victoria’s love for Vanilla. Borne in a time where bread puddings and tea cakes reigned supreme, Queen vanilla has stood the test of time and is still the secret ingredient in many a bakers’ repertoire – from cakes, brulees, fudges and frostings to drinks, cereals and even savoury dishes. Today we are lucky enough to be regarded as one of the great vanilla houses in the world and this could not have been achieved without the farmers and their families that we work so closely with. Read on to discover our story.

The story of Queen vanilla is one that extends from bean to bottle across generations of family, and with the love of countless Australian home bakers. Our very first Queen Vanilla was made way back in the early 1900’s. It was a pure vanilla extract, which we used to call ‘essence’, in a small glass bottle. At the time, fresh food and baking ingredients were hard to come by, as they were delivered by ship from London. Instead, home cooks relied on Queen Vanilla to add flavor and excitement to their recipes.

In the years that followed, our founders, Pharmacists Mr Taylor & Mr Colledge worked on their increasingly popular vanilla essence recipe to finally master a cold extracted blend of vanilla that contained vanilla pods sourced from across the globe. This blend became the signature Queen blend and our iconic red label vanilla essence was borne.

As generations of home bakers across Australia grew to love vanilla in their recipes, a cyclone hit Madagascar, our key vanilla growing region. The vanilla farms were devastated and as were we, for the impact it had on the lives of the farmers we at Queen had come to work very closely with. It was from this point that our focus turned to partnering with growers and industry organisations such as Fairtrade and Australian Certified Organic to produce vanilla that is sustainable, and fair.

In the years that followed, we shared knowledge, stories, equipment and funding with farmers in vanilla growing countries including Madagascar, New Guinea, Comoros Islands and Vava’u, Tonga. Our mission– to help them build sustainable farms and achieve the best dollar return for their crops possible. In time, we launch vanilla extracts that directly support these farmers, including Queen Fairtrade Vanilla Extract with Seeds and Queen Finest Single Origin

Extracts, Madagascar and Vava’u, Tonga. It has been a highlight of our history that the once dormant vanilla farms on the tiny island of Vava’u, Tonga are now thriving again and improving the lives of hundreds of vanilla farmers and their families. With such close relationships with our vanilla farmers, we’re able to source the best vanilla in the world, and so, Queen Vanilla Bean Paste is created.

The first of its kind in Australia, it’s a hit with chefs and foodies, soon becoming a pantry staple for bakers all over the world.

Our history of quality, innovation & sustainability has seen us grow from our humble origins in vanilla essence into a brand that Australians bake with at just about every sweet occasion.

From Vanilla Bean Paste, to Vanilla Pods and intense Vanilla Extracts that are Fairtrade, Organic and Single Origin, Queen Vanilla is what makes any dish taste that extra bit special. We grow only the best, we bottle only the best.