With the regular introduction of new varieties in the fruit business a key element of success, it should come as no surprise that growers are always on the lookout for what may be around the varietal corner. The nursery industry has traditionally provided that service and continues to serve growers well, but a “new product” company called Proprietary Variety Management (PVM) is looking to add a new direction to that activity.
According to Dr. John Reeves, PVM General Manager in Yakima, WA, the company was created to provide not only new and innovative products but valuable assistance in the commercialization process. The new company will work to help those products reach their full marketing potential not only on behalf of the breeders but for all stakeholders.
“What we’re doing is unique in that it adds to the range of products to be available to growers and it helps provide a focus on the success of those products in the marketplace,” Reeves says. In order to make these new products available, PVM will first call on those varietal sources that have been established over the past decades, with some coming from prior domestic connections and others from the other side of the world.
“PVM™ collaborates with some of the most prominent breeding programs and largest marketing companies,” Reeves says. “One of the most notable is the Associated International Group of Nurseries (AIGN) where we have a quarter century of experience with ten group members in different territories.
“The availability of intellectual property to the entire produce distribution chain, and therefore the fruit industry, is becoming more important each season,” says Reeves. “PVM is taking the focus on new innovative IP in its strategic approach to work with breeders, nurseries, shippers/marketers, retailers and, of course, at the starting point with the growers. This is done in order to maximize the value of its efforts for all concerned.”
It all comes down to the opportunity from an intellectual property standpoint to add value in the marketing of new varieties, value which is realized from the orchard all the way to the consumer. “The intellectual property aspects of PVM are tied closely with its assistance in the overall commercialization process,” Reeves says. “This is where the results coming out of the discovery of new IP are realized with the grower making a decision on the planting of a new orchard block.”
When it comes to the many commercialization possibilities, PVM offers not only the standard format supplied by the nurseries, but it also provides a range of services such as helping to shepherd the new product to reach its maximum potential.
For more information, contact Alan Taylor at alan@provarmanagement.com or 509-961-9186.