Having successfully launched the first organic Fairtrade Vanilla Extract last year, spices specialist Steenbergs Organic, is increasing its Fairtrade offering with the launch of a homebaking range.

Peppermint Extract, Rose Water, Orange Flower Water, Lemon Extract, and Mixed Peel are all included in the range and come packaged in traditional amber glass bottles with aluminium caps.

"When we launched our organic Fairtrade Vanilla Extract, we never expected to get so much interest from home bakers and the food industry, but when we did, we decided to add some of our favourite baking flavours to the range," explains company founder Axel Steenberg.

Traditionally, people baked at home as a money-saving exercise, but now the array of convenience bakery products - from birthday cakes to in-store baked biscuits - is vast and comparatively cheap, he says.

"However, there still remains nothing like home-baked cakes and biscuits, yet there are relatively few high quality, ethical ingredients (other than dried fruits and nuts) available to shoppers. We are targeting this group of consumers who are interested in quality and ethics over price," adds Steenberg.