Good Fruit Grower

June 2016

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www.goodfruit.com Good Fruit Grower JUNE 2016 35 Enter the Cosmic Crisp Since then, the university released the WA 38 — also bred by Barritt — using a marketing plan and brand name Cosmic Crisp devised by Proprietary Variety Management, a Yakima, Washington, company contracted to commercialize new varieties. The university asked the company to do the same for WA 2. The company chose the name Sunrise after two focus groups, one in Spokane and one in Seattle, came up with the term independently in early 2015. The company then added Magic after a trademark attorney advised that two-word names have a better chance at approval from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The logo was chosen in an online poll. Only Washington growers are allowed to produce the WA 2 in North America for 10 years. The management company is pursuing breeder's rights to protect the brand in several overseas markets, too, said Lynnell Brandt, president of Proprietary Variety Management, or PVM. Growers will pay $1.25 per tree, plus 4.75 percent of the sales price of each box over $20. The money goes to the university's breeding program and the management company. The university keeps the "vast majority" of the proceeds, Brandt said. Neither Brandt nor Albert Tsiu, the university's technology transfer coordinator, would disclose how much the university pays PVM. However, of the university's portion, 50 percent will go to the breeding program, 30 percent to the breeder, 10 percent to the university for administrative costs and 10 percent to the university's Office of Commercialization. The breakdown is standard for any vegetatively propagated plant varieties, according to the faculty manual. An apple with two names is nothing new, said O'Rourke, the analyst from Pullman. In the end, the market may decide which one sticks around. For example, the Pink Lady brand, first trademarked in 1996, has drawn a stronger following than the generic name Cripps Pink, he said. A brand, a name that tells a story and generates excitement, makes a big difference in the competitive apple industry, both with stores and consumers, he said. "If you don't have a clear name, title, … you're not going to do very well in the marketplace." • 360.333.4044 Casey Schoenberger Mount Vernon, WA Natural Fish Fertilizers for Organic Crop Production ORCHARDS VINEYARDS DRAMM Manitowoc, WI • U.S.A. www.FishFertilizer.com FRUIT Extremely high levels of available Calcium & Phosphorus

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