Dansk Vanilje

This interview details Dansk Vanilje, an indoor farming company based in Denmark. The interview is with Ann Sofie Forsling, Owner of Dansk Vanilje.

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What is the origin story of Dansk Vanilje?

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Many years ago, one night a friend of mine and I were talking about how the prices of vanilla have risen and was wondering if we could grow our own vanilla pods. It never got further than the conversation that night until I started in the Medicinal cannabis industry in the Quality department and started to get interested in plants and how to grow plants in a controlled environment.

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After a couple of years, I started to study vanilla and read all the literature I could find. On August 29th, 2020 my husband and I took the decision – we would like to grow vanilla in a controlled environment in Denmark.

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On October 12th, 2020, we bought a second-hand refrigerated container. Around Christmas, the container was equipped with LED grow lights, a ventilation system, and CO2 supply.

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I had an agreement with a man from the Netherlands who could supply me with 18 vanilla Planifolia cuttings. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, I was not allowed to travel to The Netherlands. I found two plants on the internet (just to have some in the container). June 1st, 2021 I could finally go to the Netherlands to pick up the cuttings – they had meanwhile grown to 18 nice plantlets at approx. 1-meter length. The plants are today approx.. 20 meters long.

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In the summer of 2022, we built a 210-square-meter large building for the next step in our pilot vanilla production. Unfortunately, we have not yet had flowers. 

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What are some of the biggest challenges facing Dansk Vanilje in the future?

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At the moment our biggest challenge is the lack of flowers or my lack of patience. According to the literature it takes 3 - 5 years before the plants will flower. Another challenge is room for our plants. We have luckily managed to get more plants and have made some cutting ourselves so have a lot of plants today. Perhaps we can accommodate more in our building over the long term.

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What is unique about Dansk Vanilje compared to competitors?

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We are one of the first companies growing vanilla in a controlled environment. We have no emission to the surroundings. We are using LED light fixtures. All our electricity is made from our own solar panels. We are watering our plants with rainwater collected from the roof of our building. And last but not least we are growing vanilla in Denmark.

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What are some other relevant metrics of the company (growing area size, production quantity, team size, etc.)?

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Good question, we have approx.. 200 square meters for the growth of our plants. The capacity is hard to say, due to that not a lot of others are growing vanilla this way we don’t know what to expect!

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The team is at the moment 2 persons.

What are some goals in 2024 and beyond for Dansk Vanilje?

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I wouldn't say it is a goal rather a wish for 2024, to have the first flowers.

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How can people connect with you or learn more about Dansk Vanilje?

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People can follow the project at Instagram #danish_vanilla

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My email is: asf@danskvanilje.dk

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