After a huge year of growth in the United States, New Zealand vanilla producer Heilala is set for even greater expansion in its biggest export market.
Heilala has made a big impact in the States since it became part of the company’s growth strategy in 2017 and is now used in some of the country’s top restaurants including Eleven Madison Park, Gramercy Tavern, The Pool & The Grill and Ovenly. These New York City restaurants are adding a premium taste of South Pacific vanilla to their dishes with Heilala’s extracts, pastes, and beans.
The company saw an increase of more than 2,000 percent in the U.S market from March 2017 – March 2019 and as a result, has developed a new flavour range that is set to be a hit amongst its American fans.
“There is a strong baking culture in North America,” says Jennifer Boggiss, Heilala Vanilla CEO. “From Halloween at the end of October through until Christmas, there are several baking occasions where vanilla is a key ingredient. When developing the new range, we looked at other holiday flavours such as Peppermint which makes an appearance in baked goods and hot drinks, along with Pumpkin Spice which is used to flavour everything from pies and breads to cookies, cakes and crumbles.”.
The six new flavours combine the high-quality vanilla taste the brand is known for, along with decadent infusions to add something extra to your food and beverage creations. The new line up include; Coffee Vanilla Extract, Berry Vanilla Extract, Cocoa Vanilla Extract, Pumpkin Spice Vanilla Extract, Peppermint Vanilla Extract and Oak Aged Vanilla Extract.
As vanilla is commonly paired with other flavours, it made sense for the company to combine flavours to add even more punch to your baking.
Launching exclusively on Kickstarter, the new flavours will be available to bakers all around the globe, along with a number of one-off Heilala experiences that supporters can purchase by pledging.
“Heilala was founded on the importance of community and started by helping out a group of people at a time when they needed it the most. Kickstarter harnesses the power of community so it felt right to launch our new products exclusively on the platform, allowing us to connect with people who believe in our mission and our work,” says Jennifer.
“Kickstarter is our platform of choice to launch this new range of flavoured extracts along with some one off experiences. Building and uniting a community of Heilala Vanilla lovers around the globe through this campaign is very exciting for our Tauranga based team.”
The Kickstarter campaign has a goal of NZD$80,000 which will ensure the flavoured extracts can be produced in a scale to launch. Equally important is Heilala’s ambition to build and engage with a global community of vanilla lovers who are part of the Heilala mission to produce the world’s most awarded vanilla, while also supporting the Tongan communities who help make it all possible.
Those that pledge will receive a Heilala item of their choosing, from the new flavour range through to bespoke experiences which allow supporters to adopt a vanilla plant, gain a Tongan pen pal (from a Heilala farmer who grows and harvests the vanilla), or join a four-day tour of the Tongan vanilla plantation.
For more information about Heilala Vanilla’s Kickstarter campaign and to order your own taste of Heilala Vanilla, click here.
