Inside the Grow Dome: The Technology Putting Australia on the Vanilla Map
Australian Vanilla Plantations (AVP) is leading the development of a commercial
vanilla industry in Australia – scalable beyond the tropical regions where vanilla is
traditionally grown. Founded by David Soo, AVP began by commercialising university
research into vanilla cultivation and developing a breakthrough geodesic dome
greenhouse – the Grow Dome. Modular, low-cost, and high-performing, the dome
enables consistent production across diverse climates and geographies.
- Name: David Soo, Founder and CEO
- Organisation: Australian Vanilla Plantations
- Commercial opportunity: Seeking investors with expertise and experience in manufacturing and/or agriculture, greenhouse fabrication and manufacturing of Australian Vanilla Plantation’s proprietary geodesic dome greenhouse technology in Australia.
- Seeking: Manufacturers and agricultural investors interested in scaling production of geodesic dome in Australia; investors interested in scaling production of vanilla in Australia.
- Connections made: 50+ enquiries – the single most enquiries over growAG.’s lifetime, including some which progressed towards commercial partnership
- growAG. Senior Manager: David Lord
Australian Vanilla Plantations (AVP) is leading the development of a commercial vanilla industry in Australia – scalable beyond the tropical regions where vanilla is traditionally grown. Founded by David Soo, AVP began by commercialising university research into vanilla cultivation and developing a breakthrough geodesic dome greenhouse – the Grow Dome. Modular, low-cost, and high-performing, the dome enables consistent production across diverse climates and geographies.
In its early years, the innovation remained largely a research prototype. “We’d proven the concept in a university environment, but we needed to take that next step into commercial reality,” said David. “That meant building credibility, attracting partners, and showing that our technology could scale.”
To make that leap, AVP listed its opportunity on growAG., supported by a feature in the growAG. newsletter. The impact was almost immediate. “growAG. gave us visibility and reputation,” said David. “In a startup space, credibility is everything. Having the endorsement of a platform like growAG. meant we could point to something trusted – and that changed the conversation for us.”
The commercial opportunity drew strong national and international interest, generating over 50 enquiries – the highest of any listing on the platform to date. “When you’re building a business, quality of engagement matters,” explained David. “Quality is growAG.’s difference. The stories are real, so the quality of enquiry was high; these were people who had done their homework and wanted to explore how they could work with us.”
The attention translated into real opportunity. AVP has since secured multiple grants, including a Cooperative Research Centres Projects (or CRC-P) grant (where they are the lead industry partner), a Food and Beverage Accelerator (FABA) grant, and leadership of an Australian Research Council (ARC) project with Queensland University focused on vanilla genome research. These collaborations will feed continuous improvement in dome design, vanilla genetics, and growth system optimisation – reinforcing AVP’s role as the technical and commercial leader in controlled-environment vanilla cultivation.
“David’s journey is a great example of how growAG. helps bridge research and commercialisation,” said David Lord, growAG. Senior Manager. “We helped filter enquiries to ensure they were aligned with AVP’s goals and facilitated introductions that allowed David and the team to focus on partnerships with real potential.”
AVP has now taken its first steps into commercial deployment, with five vanilla dome projects underway across New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia. Four will involve the grower selling vanilla beans back to AVP, while the fifth is a partnership with a contract grower in Queensland supplying 10,000 vanilla plants as a nursery for AVP’s turnkey operations.
“Even with that scale of production, demand still exceeds supply, which shows the market potential,” said David. “Due to the amount of international interest with the Grow Dome project, we’ve set up agents to operate vanilla buying desks to purchase fresh vanilla beans for processing in Australia, using the most advanced techniques to ensure the highest quality for the resulting product.”
The team has also established its own fabrication facility, completing up to 90% of dome production in-house and advancing automation systems to optimise growth conditions.
Looking ahead, AVP plans to scale dome manufacturing and partner with growers to expand commercial vanilla production across Australia, and beyond. “We see global opportunity, with potential not just for vanilla, but for broader controlled environment crops using our technology,” said David.
“We’ve proven the science and proven the performance. And now, Australia can lead the next generation of sustainable vanilla production – with technology that works across climates and geographies."