Our Company

Directors George & Josette Gonthier started their vanilla dream in 1988 in the backyard of their Cairns home before moving in 1999, to a larger property in Cow Bay, located in the lush, tropical Daintree Rainforest of Far North Queensland.

Using skills passed on from generation to generation George and his family have mastered their craft and have transformed a much loved hobby to a full scale commercial business now producing some of Australia’s finest vanilla.

To do this the family is working closely with the University of Western Sydney to create a unique system to process the beans to achieve optimum vanillin content.

The future is bright for Daintree Vanilla & Spice, with the family planning to develop a range of Vanilla By-products such as essences, powders, tea, coffee and perfumes; as well as a range of other spices and their related by-products to come online in the next few years.

Currently Daintree Vanilla & Spice offers

• Vanilla Beans
• Vanilla Essence
• Vanilla Sugars
• Vanilla Salt
• Vanilla Tea

We also offer a consultation service to growers wishing to establish a vanilla plantation or optimise their current operation.

Pricing for our consultation services is based on the requirements of the client. Please contact us to arrange an obligation free Quote.

Please visit our online shop for more information on our current products. Pricing for Vanilla Plants or cuttings is available on request, please contact us with your requirements for a quote.

Daintree Vanilla & Spice are members of the Australia Herb & Spice Industry Association (AHSIA), Austrade and the International Tropical Farmers Network (ITFN), an international organisation set up for vanilla farmers around the world.

As well as working towards becoming Certified Organic by the National Association of Sustainable Agriculture (NASAA), the nation’s leading Organic Certifier, Daintree Vanilla also plans to obtain both HACCP and AQIS Accreditation in the near future.

We hope to work closely with such leaders in food safety and preparation standards to develop guidelines and standards for both homegrown vanilla and products being imported into Australia.

As a family run operation, George and Josette hope to pass the business on to their children and their respective families, creating a lasting legacy and imprint on the landscape of Australian Agriculture.

The Farm

Located in lush, tropical North Queensland, the Daintree Rainforest is a 2 ½ hour drive north of Cairns and offers the perfect climate conditions in which to grow vanilla.

Using only the finest soil blends and natural fertilizers the vines are grown in the underbrush of the rainforest using the available trees so as not to harm the beautiful environment and surrounding rainforest.

No harmful pesticides are used in pest management with a preference to using co-planting and natural insect repellants.