For Vanilla Bean Project, Wind-Energy Shipping is the Present and Future

(Photo courtesy of Grain de Sail)

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Soil regeneration, compostable packaging and upcycled ingredients.

Despite these very meaningful and impactful initiatives, the U.S. organic industry is still importing products from all over the world, largely using fossil fuel cargo ships, a significant emissions contributor. After all, 80% of global trade, by volume, is transported by sea.

Vanilla Bean Project, which sells natural, organic and Regenerative Organic Certified® (ROC) vanilla sourced from Madagascar, 10,000 miles away, is changing that paradigm.

“Our next chapter involves transporting primary raw material across the ocean by wind, and the economics work,” said Sara Kubiak, co-founder of Vanilla Bean Project. “We are excited about the opportunity to layer ROC ingredients with the lowest carbon shipping. It aligns with the world that we want to live in, and we are actively working to create that future.”

By utilizing wind-powered shipping to send its vanilla from Europe to the U.S., the company estimates it is achieving a 90% emission reduction. Furthermore, Vanilla Bean Project is also able to offer unprecedented low levels of Scope 3 emissions — indirect greenhouse gas emissions — to its customers, something increasingly important to retailers.

Not only will California’s Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act require large companies doing business in California to soon disclose their Scope 3 emissions, but Amazon has also announced that it has set climate-related expectations for key suppliers, including providing decarbonization plans, to reach its goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040. Scope 3 emissions account for approximately 75% of Amazon’s carbon footprint.

Additionally, the recently introduced Purpose Pledge, which numerous prominent organic brands have joined, intends to have its participants report their Scope 3 emissions.

GETTING STARTED, WITH SCALE IN MIND

Vanilla Bean Project embarked on its first trans-Atlantic sail-cargo voyage several days ago for its ROC vanilla beans aboard the Grain De Sail II, but this required getting its product from Madagascar to France the conventional way. The beans have since left Saint Malo, France — aboard the wind-cargo boat — and are expected to arrive in New York City later this month.

(Photo courtesy of Grain de Sail)

Although this first shipment is relatively small, scaling up is a priority.

The company is finalizing contracts that will move ‘multiple metric tons’ of vanilla beans and has invested in a European cooperative building a wind-powered ship, expected to launch in 2027. This vessel will allow the company to transport products by wind from Madagascar to France, closing the current logistics gap.

The main objections to wind-powered shipping are time and cost differentials.

“It does take slightly longer, and currently, Grain de Sail is a premium over containers,” said Andy Kubiak, co-founder of Vanilla Bean Project. “However, we believe this extra cost will erode over time. Technology is rapidly advancing, with newer ships offering second-generation biofuels, electrification and wind, and these are less carbon-emitting than big diesel.”

“But this argument about cost is the same one we have faced in the organic food industry for decades. While it may be less expensive at the supermarket, the price of conventional food does not account for the true cost it exacts on the environment and farmworkers through toxic chemicals and synthetic fertilizers. The same holds true for shipping via fossil fuels compared to shipping via wind.”

Major players have been taking note.

Global commodities giant Cargill has been looking at wind-powered shipping for years, and Pyxis Ocean (below) is the first bulk carrier retrofitted with 37-meter-long (150 feet), airplane-style wings called WindWings, which allow the ship to harness the power of wind.

(Photo courtesy of Cargill)

The Pyxis Ocean has completed multiple voyages, crossing the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and it has sailed around Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, facing a wide variety of weather conditions along the way. Based on the small sample set of data, it reported a long-term average of 11 tons of carbon dioxide savings per day of sailing.

For Vanilla Bean Project, Cargill’s investment in this space is further validation of how global shipping will evolve.

“We are a profitable company and believe in doing great things together, while showing the world what is possible,” said Andy Kubiak. “Wind-cargo shipping is a mega-trend for the natural products industry.”

(Andy and Sara Kubiak, founders of Vanilla Bean Project, on the Grain de Sail II)

(Grain de Sail II in Saint Malo, France)

(Post-harvest vanilla from Vanilla Bean Project)

With gratitude, Max Goldberg, Founder