History of Venui Vanilla

Founded by Piero Bianchessi in 1987

With a Masters in Organic Chemistry from Pavia University, Piero Bianchessi established Venui Vanilla in 1987, and went on to gain over 25 years of practical experience cultivating sustainable and integrated tropical farming and food production in the Pacific.

Initially Venui Vanilla's sole focus was on producing vanilla, but through Piero's passion for tropical agriculture the company later expanded into cultivating other spices including pepper, chilli, ginger and turmeric, with a focus on sustainable farming practices, quality standards, and advanced processing techniques.

As Piero's experience grew, he evolved Venui Vanilla to include practitioner-based advisory services, coaching and training for other companies within the Vanuatu Spice Network. Piero's passion for farmer development and his hands-on approach led to 20 years of introducing and advising farmers and Department of Agriculture trainers throughout the South West Pacific on vanilla, spices, value added agriculture, organic farming and internal control for farmer groups.

Piero has now retired back to his home country of Italy, but his legacy remains strong and is evident in the top quality vanilla and spices that Venui Vanilla and the Vanuatu Spice Network continues to produce today.