The quality of a product starts long before transformation! Seed Suppliers Selection

One of the most common problems I see in bio-based industries happens right at the beginning of the value chain: the selection of seeds that specify the chemotype (and ideally, if possible, the cultivation with regenerative agricultural practices 🪱).

So, when producing vegetable oils, essential oils or extracts, selecting suppliers of certified seeds is, I believe, very important.

You can find seed suppliers whose catalogues clearly specify not only the botanical species, but also the chemotype, which is different from a cultivar.

A cultivar is a specific cultivated plant variety, selected for traits such as appearance or yield. A chemotype, on the other hand, groups plants within the same species based on their distinct chemical profiles, revealing the chemical profile (the dominance of a certain compound) rather than external traits.

Plants may look identical and belong to the same species, yet have very different chemical compositions.

If the wrong chemotype is planted from the start, the final product may fail to meet market requirements, and not sell.

🌱 The image from this article is an example of a seed supplier catalogue Conservatoire National des Plantes à Parfum, Médicinales et Aromatiques (CNPMAI) that clearly specifies both the cultivar (cv) and the chemotype (ch.), for instance indicating dominant compounds such as α-pinene , camphre or cineole 🌱
This level of detail is essential for ensuring chemical consistency and market suitability from the very start.