Product differentiation in the fruit industry: Lessons from trademarked apples

Abstract

We derive price premiums for patented or trademarked apple varieties, also known as “club apples,” compared to open‐variety apples. We use an expansive retail scanner dataset, along with unique data on apple taste characteristics, to estimate monthly club apple premiums for 2008–2018. We find that club apple premiums are around 29% and have consistently decreased from 35% in 2008 to 22% in 2018. Positive club apple premiums relate to consumers' preferences for juicier, more acidic, and sweeter apples. We do not find evidence that consumers place value on the exclusivity of purchasing more expensive and limited varieties. Hence club premiums exist in the market by meeting the demand of consumer segments for apples with distinct taste attributes rather than replacing the demand of traditional consumers who prefer open varieties. We use a vector error correction framework to find short‐run and long‐run determinants of club apple premiums. In the short run, the sales of club varieties may positively associate with the sales of open varieties, given the premium and cost factors. However, in the long run, there is a negative cointegrated relationship between club apple sales, open apple sales, and club apple premiums; and an increase in club apple sales is adversely related to the open apple sales and club premiums. The high initial premiums of protected club varieties have provided incentives for the development of uniquely differentiated apple varieties, while in the long term as production expands, premiums decrease making club varieties less expensive for consumers [EconLit Citations: L66, Q11].