CBI, Inc. was a pioneer in technical procedures for curing vanilla in Indonesia and introduced the cooperative form of business to Indonesia for spice procurement, processing, and export. Our supply and market development activities started with vanilla in the 1980’s. After expansion of our product lines and operations to nearly all areas of Indonesia, we currently procure, process and export:

    • Black pepper
    • Cinnamon
    • Cloves
    • Nutmeg and Mace
    • Natural vanilla

CBI’s North American Joint Venture operation, Select Products and Flavors, is in Westminster, Maryland.  This operation offers inbound logistics, storage, quality control, processing, quality assurance and condition monitoring, and specialized handling of spices and flavors. It distributes natural vanilla from multiple origins including Madagascar, Indonesia, and Tanzania.

The objective across our spice line is to partner with smallholder farmers and cooperatives to source high quality products and to improve that quality and consistency through our procurement, processing and marketing. In addition, we offer value-added services driven by customer needs.

The spice team leads a vertically integrated network whose participants share a strategic vision focused on value creation:

    • Growers understand that CBI looks for high quality products and rewards them with a better financial return for delivering product at that level.
    • Because of these strong partnerships, we purchase outstanding raw products after harvest.  This allows to focus on efficient logistics, quality control, and other processes which add value.
    • Our highly responsive marketing team creates efficiencies that deliver the quality and service levels valued by customers.
    • Our team at Select Products and Flavors extends the value-added services through quality control, inventory management, and distribution support customized to customers’ needs and specifications.

The CBI network provides customers with quality and consistency of products and services that meet their unique standards and delivery requirements.