Buying the Real Thing

Buying the Real Thing. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

A number of years ago there was a lot of talk about knock-off products like Rolex watches that were flooding the market. You had to know what to look for or you were just getting ripped off. Alan Taylor with Pink Lady America says the same thing is going on in the fruit industry.

TAYLOR: Well we’re putting together a campaign at Pink Lady America with the goal of stressing with consumers the need to their Pink Lady apples with the trade mark which is of course the price look up, the sticker which is on the apple in the supermarket. We’re just trying to stress the importance of doing that because that trade mark is the symbol for a program that has quality standards.

He says there has been a considerable investment made.

TAYLOR: We’re just wanting to make sure that the quality standards are being adhered to, that the consumer is educated in that regard because there’s been a major investment by the growers and shippers in the brand equity that is in the Pink Lady apple over the last 10 years to the point where it is worth about $100-million dollars to those growers and shippers.

Taylor says that this branding makes the Pink Lady apple a bit unique.

TAYLOR: This was the first apple that had a trademark and so it was a unique move on our part to do that and it’s also an international trademark that was established and it just pulls it in with the rest of the products out there that are trademarked which means that it has a value to it more than a product that does not have a particular trademark

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.