Ingredient

Vanilla Pod Infusion

Vanilla planifolia

Vanilla infusion is made in-house by placing pods (also called beans) in boiling water. That’s a fragrant sweet treat for sure!

Where does Lush get its vanilla pods?

At Lush UK manufacturing sites, vanilla pods are purchased from the Ndali farm in Uganda, with whom we've had a long-standing relationship. It is a curing facility that purchases green vanilla beans from the Rwenzori Farmers Cooperative Union. The cooperative enables farmers to maintain fair prices throughout the market's fluctuations.

As the vanilla orchid grows on vines that climb trees and naturally needs shade to thrive, it works well within an agroforestry system. It can be cultivated alongside other high-value crops, such as plantain and cocoa trees, which helps diversify crops and incomes and improve biodiversity.

With seven manufacturing sites across the globe, this information may vary depending on where your Lush products were made.

What are the benefits of a vanilla infusion?

Steeping vanilla beans in hot water captures their sweet, comforting scent and skin-soothing benefits. Often, in cosmetics, a lot of water is used in the formula because it acts as a natural solvent and helps all the ingredients to blend. At Lush, we like to infuse this water with natural ingredients like vanilla so you can get a lot more value out of it.

Sourcing natural vanilla can be very tricky, learn more about it in this article.