Bonny Babu

FOUNDER & CEO, KHAO YAI VANILLA

Industry : Business

Born into a farming family, Bonny Babu spent years working as an engineer in the fields of IT and AI before returning to his roots with a powerful mission: to establish Thailand as a world-class producer of premium vanilla. Today, he leads Khao Yai Vanilla - the country’s first 100% off-grid, solar-powered vanilla farm, in the heart of one of Thailand’s most fertile regions. His approach blends organic farming practices with smart agriculture, enabled through partnerships with an international agri-tech firm. The farm is equipped with weather stations, sensor-based irrigation, and real-time environmental monitoring, all designed to optimise vanilla cultivation using data and precision farming techniques.

But his vision goes far beyond farming. Through certified bean production, partnerships with universities and corporate collaborators, and the development of vanilla-based products, Bonny is creating an entire vanilla ecosystem in Thailand. He also plays an active role in knowledge-sharing, hosting visitors, chefs, and aspiring farmers at the farm to learn about sustainable vanilla cultivation, and supporting others looking to establish vanilla operations across the country. By combining deep agricultural roots with cutting-edge innovation, he is not only growing Thailand’s finest vanilla but cultivating a new future for Thai agriculture.