Does the Name Matter? Developing Brands for Patented Fruit Varieties

Brands have largely been absent for fresh produce products; however, apples are one notable exception whereby varieties partially take the place of brands. Studying the role of brands in this market is particularly interesting given the introduction of several patented or socalled managed apple varieties. We develop an experiment to examine consumer response to a suite of apple varieties; treatments employ different branding strategies using different names for a new managed variety included in the experiment. Results suggest that the name does influence consumer valuation of the new variety and existing managed varieties, but has little impact on markets for traditional apple varieties.