Every company that does something genuinely different started with someone who saw something that others were missing and decided to do something about it. The origin story of Vanillas of the World is that kind of story. It begins with Ted Jones, who for 23 years worked for a premium vanilla extract manufacturer. Ted was the company's main outside salesperson and helped build the company by working directly with the owner to target large ice cream makers, spice companies, and bakery distributors. That duo helped build that family-run business. Unfortunately, the immensely gifted founder passed away, and things changed. So, Ted started his own vanilla company - Jones & Company Flavorings - which began in Central California. It was a vanilla business built on the conviction that many small producers were not able to sell their vanilla, except in their own country. And the big buyers (ie., extract manufacturers) were passing them by because they did not have sufficient quantities (metric tons) to export.
As a farming major, Ted valued the hard work of farmers and their passion and ability to produce wonderful crops. He had the opportunity to travel to vanilla growing regions and see firsthand all that was involved. This helped him to completely readjust his thoughts and ideas on what he could do to support small vanilla growers/curers and provide unique, rare, and superior vanillas to his customers. Due to the changing business climate in California, Ted chose to relocate his entire operation to Southwest Idaho and rename the new Idaho corporation - Jones & Co Vanillas Inc.
Where It Began: Jones & Co Vanillas
Jones & Co Vanillas was built on a simple but consequential observation: the vanilla that most buyers had access to was not representative of what vanilla could be. The commodity supply chain that dominated vanilla distribution was delivering a product that was consistent in its mediocrity, homogenized by the sourcing practices of a market that valued price predictability over aroma complexity and supply chain efficiency over supply chain integrity and rarity. And it focused solely based on production and price from a handful of countries - Madagascar, Uganda, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.
Ted viewed vanilla differently. He had encountered vanilla from specific origins, produced by specific farmers and curers, that demonstrated a flavor complexity and aromatic richness that commodity vanilla could not approach. And, he then began to realize that terroir, weather, precipitation, elevation, curing techniques, and passion all produced differing aromas and results.
Jones & Co Vanillas became a business built on direct sourcing relationships rather than commodity broker networks, on sensory evaluation of specific lots rather than specification-based purchasing, and on the conviction that the buyers who used premium vanilla deserved to know where it came from, who produced it, what its unique aromas were, and why the customer should consider using a particular vanilla. Our story page provides the fuller narrative context for how Jones & Co Vanillas developed and what the early sourcing relationships looked like that became the foundation of Vanillas of the World.
The Evolution From Jones & Co to Vanillas of the World
The evolution from Jones & Co Vanillas to Vanillas of the World was not a rebranding exercise. It was the natural expression of a sourcing philosophy that kept expanding as Ted's understanding of vanilla's global diversity deepened and as the network of direct sourcing relationships grew beyond what the original Jones & Co framework was designed to contain.
The more origins he sourced from, the clearer it became that vanilla as an ingredient was capable of far more flavor diversity than the vanilla market acknowledged or communicated to buyers. Each new origin added to the sourcing network brought different aromatic characteristics, different flavor profiles, and different expressions of vanilla's potential that the commodity market's fixation on Madagascar planifolia as the default vanilla had made largely invisible to most buyers.
Vanillas of the World as a name and as a concept was the response to that expanding understanding. It was the framework that could contain the full diversity of vanilla origins he was sourcing from, communicate the global scope of the sourcing network, and position the company clearly as something fundamentally different from a commodity vanilla supplier. The name said what the company was: not a vanilla company, but a company that had made it its mission to source and share the full range of what vanilla, in all its global diversity, could be. That led to filing and receiving a US Federal trademark for the name.
The vanilla handbook is one of the most tangible expressions of this evolution, representing the depth of knowledge about vanilla's global diversity that the team at Vanillas of the World has accumulated through years of direct sourcing engagement and that they have chosen to share with the broader vanilla grower and buyer communities.
The Sourcing Philosophy That Carried Through
What carried through from Jones & Co Vanillas to Vanillas of the World without change was the sourcing philosophy that had defined the company from the beginning. Direct relationships with farmers and curers rather than commodity broker networks. Sensory evaluation of specific lots rather than specification-based purchasing. Transparency about origin, production practices, and supply chain relationships rather than the opacity that characterizes commodity vanilla sourcing.
That philosophy is not simply an ethical preference, though it has clear ethical dimensions. It is the practical foundation of the quality and authenticity that Vanillas of the World delivers to its customers, because the quality of premium vanilla is inseparable from the sourcing practices that produce it. Vanilla that is purchased through commodity channels without visibility into the producing end of the supply chain is vanilla whose quality and authenticity cannot be verified in the way that buyers who care about what they are sourcing need to verify it.
The direct sourcing relationships that Jones & Co built and that Vanillas of the World has expanded are the mechanism through which quality and authenticity are verified. When the team knows the farmer, has visited the growing region, has observed the curing process, and has evaluated the finished bean with sensory rigor, the confidence they can offer to buyers about the vanilla they are selling is substantively different from the confidence that commodity sourcing can provide.
Why sustainable vanilla sourcing matters to premium food brands addresses the supply chain integrity dimension of the sourcing philosophy that has carried through from Jones & Co to Vanillas of the World, and that remains the foundation of what makes Vanillas of the World different from commodity vanilla suppliers.
The Origins That Defined the Company's Direction
The specific vanilla origins that Jones & Co sourced from in its early years and that Vanillas of the World has expanded to include are worth understanding as expressions of the sourcing philosophy rather than simply as a product catalog.
Mexico was among the earliest and most significant origins in the Jones & Co sourcing network, for reasons that go beyond Mexico's status as vanilla's country of origin. Mexican vanilla, particularly the planifolia grown in the Totonac heartland of Veracruz, carries a flavor lineage and a cultural history that no other growing region can replicate. Sourcing Mexican vanilla directly from farmers in the growing regions where vanilla has been cultivated for centuries was a statement about what vanilla sourcing could look like when it was rooted in origin knowledge and direct relationship rather than commodity convention.
Gourmet vanilla beans from Mexico and gourmet vanilla beans from Mexico Maya represent the Mexican sourcing relationships that have been part of the company's identity from its earliest days and that continue to produce vanilla with the distinctive character that Mexican terroir and curing tradition create.
Madagascar was the other foundational sourcing origin, not because Madagascar vanilla needed a champion in the way that rarer origins did, but because sourcing Madagascar vanilla directly and with the same rigor applied to every other origin was the baseline that demonstrated the sourcing philosophy in the world's most familiar vanilla context. Gourmet vanilla beans from Madagascar represents this foundational sourcing relationship.
The Pacific origins, including Tahiti, the Marquesas Islands, the Cook Islands and Papua New Guinea, expanded the sourcing network into territory that few vanilla buyers had explored with the depth that Vanillas of the World brought to it, and the tahitensis variety expressions from these regions became some of the most distinctive and sought-after vanillas in the collection.
What the Company Has Become
Vanillas of the World today is the fulfillment of the potential that Jones & Co Vanillas represented at the beginning. A global sourcing network spanning more than 7 species and forty origins. A product range that includes gourmet vanilla beans, extraordinary extracts, ground vanilla, vanilla paste, and the educational resources that serious vanilla buyers as well as growers/curers need to use these ingredients with the sophistication they deserve. A wholesale operation that serves food manufacturers, pastry programs, and specialty food brands who want origin-specific vanilla sourced with the transparency and quality rigor that their products and their customers deserve.
The extraordinary extracts collection represents one dimension of what the company has become: a vanilla extract producer that applies the same origin-specific sourcing philosophy to extract production that drives the bean sourcing, producing extracts that carry the distinctive character of their origin rather than the homogenized flavor of commodity extract.
The around the world collection represents another dimension: the curation of vanilla from origins across the globe into a single product that demonstrates the full breadth of vanilla's flavor diversity in a way that no other vanilla supplier offers.
And the Vanilla Handbook, the educational resource that the team at Vanillas of the World produced to share the depth of vanilla knowledge they have accumulated through years of direct sourcing engagement, represents the commitment to vanilla education that has been part of the company's identity since its Jones & Company Flavorings beginnings. Who is Piero Bianchessi and lessons from the vanilla handbook provides a window into the depth of vanilla knowledge that the handbook contains and that informs the sourcing decisions Vanillas of the World makes every day.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Origins of Vanillas of the World
What is Jones & Co Vanillas and how does it relate to Vanillas of the World?
Jones & Company Flavorings (California), which then became Jones & Co Vanillas (Idaho) was the name under which the founder of Vanillas of the World built his direct-sourcing vanilla business. As the sourcing network expanded to encompass more than forty global origins and the company's identity as a global vanilla sourcing platform became clearer, the name evolved to Vanillas of the World to better reflect the scope and philosophy of what the company had become.
How long has Vanillas of the World been sourcing vanilla directly from farmers?
The direct sourcing relationships that define Vanillas of the World's supply chain approach were built from the company's earliest days. They have been developed and expanded continuously since then. Most of the sourcing relationships with specific farming communities and curers span many years and represent the kind of long-term partnership that produces the supply chain reliability and quality consistency that our wholesale customers depend on.
What makes Vanillas of the World different from other premium vanilla suppliers?
The breadth of our global sourcing network, the depth of our direct farmer relationships, the rigor of our sensory evaluation practice, and the transparency we maintain about origin and production practices distinguish us from other vanilla suppliers, including those that position themselves as premium. Most premium vanilla suppliers specialize in a narrow range of origins. We source from more than forty, and we maintain the direct relationships that allow us to verify the provenance and quality of every origin we carry. Furthermore, we provide direct assistance, which may take various forms, to growers/curers worldwide.
Does Vanillas of the World still operate under the Jones & Co name for any products?
The Jones & Co Vanillas name reflects the heritage of the company that is Vanillas of the World. Our current products and wholesale relationships operate under both Jones & Co Vanillas and the Vanillas of the World brand, which represents the full expression of the sourcing philosophy that Jones & Co has established.
How do I get started with sourcing premium vanilla from Vanillas of the World?
Visit our wholesale page to understand our wholesale sourcing relationships and what working with Jones & Co Vanillas / Vanillas of the World looks like in practice, or call 208.832.8030 to speak directly with Ted about your sourcing requirements and how he can serve them.
The Story That Started With Better Vanilla Is Still Being Written
Jones & Co Vanillas began with the conviction that buyers deserved better vanilla than the commodity supply chain was delivering. Vanillas of the World is the fulfillment of that conviction, expanded to a global scale and deepened by the sourcing relationships, the origin knowledge, and the quality rigor that years of direct engagement with the world's vanilla-growing communities have produced. The story is still being written with every new origin added to the sourcing network, every new farmer relationship developed, and every buyer who discovers that vanilla is capable of far more than the commodity market ever showed them. Explore our full collection or call 208.832.8030 to become part of that story.
