The mechanism
The imitation out-earns the original. Vietnam earns more from cassia than Sri Lanka does from true cinnamon, because the cassia arrives on the shelf as a product and the cinnamon arrives at the port as a bale.
The 15 ideas
- 221Cinnamon quills in retail packs with the grade printed, since almost no consumer knows the grades exist
- 222Cinnamon sticks as a branded gift, tied and boxed, sold at every airport in the world where we have a shop
- 223Cinnamon-leaf and bark oils bottled for the aromatherapy trade under a Sri Lankan name
- 224Cinnamon-infused honey, sugar and salt as a range
- 225A "true cinnamon" education campaign run by producers, aimed at bakers and chefs abroad
- 226Cinnamon farm stays in the south-west, where the peeling is the show
- 227Peeler training schools, since the skill is disappearing and it is the whole value
- 228Cardamom, cloves and nutmeg from the Kandy hills as single-origin retail products
- 229A spice-trail tourism route from Galle to Matale with tastings, mapped and marketed as one product
- 230Curry-powder blends roasted and ground here, with the district recipe named on the tin
- 231Spice subscriptions for home cooks abroad: a different district each month
- 232Turmeric from Sri Lanka tested and labelled for curcumin content, which is what the health market pays for
- 233Pepper vines on every coconut estate as a second crop, with a buyer contracted in advance
- 234A cinnamon exchange: published daily prices by grade, so the smallholder knows what his bale is worth
- 235Cinnamon by-products, the chips and the featherings, into oil and powder instead of waste
