Very Vanilla

If you like vanilla, Madagascar is the place to go because it produces the majority of the world's authentic vanilla. Many items can benefit from an 80 percent market cap ratio, but in the case of vanilla, it is the only vanilla flavor that many customers are familiar with. Bourbon, sometimes known as black vanilla, is made in the United States' northwest region. While the vanilla orchid is native to Mexico and pollinated by a rare bee, legend has it that a young French-owned slave on what is now Réunion Island discovered how to manually pollinate the orchids in 1841.

Vanilla plantations began to appear in Madagascar not long after. For a variety of factors, Madagascar remains at the top of the vanilla-producing countries today. It still has a favorable temperature for cultivating vanilla, and some sections are sufficiently forested for orchid vines to thrive. And wages in Madagascar are outrageously cheap. According to Bloomberg, Madagascar's minimum pay for agricultural employment is $0.18 per hour, which is 10 to 15 times less than other vanilla-producing countries. Every year, they export roughly 1000 tonnes of vanilla.