By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Many Americans consider vanilla a common spice, but the homely vanilla bean produces one of the world’s most expensive spices, second only to saffron. Vanilla is also the world’s favorite flavor, and the most labor-intensive agricultural product, requiring hand pollination at a precise time and harvesting at the peak of ripeness.
But Jenison entrepreneur Rob Conley, 25, didn’t know any of that when he began his research for his online vanilla sales endeavor, Beanilla Trading Company.
Beanilla provides bakers, restaurants, chefs, breweries, and home users with a choice of several fine quality vanilla varieties—from Madagascar’s sweet aroma and strong creamy flavor to the rare Tahiti variety’s floral, fruity essence prized by pastry chefs.
“What makes us unique is we source from growers across the world, and we fly it in monthly,” Conley says. “We’re in the top three online companies in the US that sell vanilla.”
Last year, the company’s first full year in business, Conley did $60,000 in sales and was the sole employee. In November, he added an employee, and by next January, he plans to hire two more employees and quadruple his sales.
Part of those sales could be through a high-end spice store in the Grand Rapids area.
Conley, a GVSU grad credits that school’s Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization chapter with inspiring him to use his degree in information systems technology to create his online store.
“When I started, I thought, if I can make $5 a day that’s gonna pay for my dinner that day,” Conley says with a laugh. “Soon I couldn’t meet the number of orders running the business on my own.”
Source: Rob Conley, Beanilla Trading Company; Kevin Orlich, GVSU Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization
Deborah Johnson Wood is the development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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