Selling Blue Elephants Pdf High Quality Download

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Blueberries [northern highbush (Vaccinium corymbosum), southern highbush (V. corymbosum hybrids), rabbiteye (V. virgatum), and lowbush (V. angustifolium)] are an economically important small fruit crop in the United States with 277 million pounds harvested for fresh production valued at $850.8 million U.S. in 2012 (USDA, 2013). Blueberry acreage continues to increase worldwide in accordance with growing demand for these antioxidant-rich fruit. Although native to North America, breeding programs have developed blueberry cultivars that grow in a wider array of climates, allowing production to flourish in South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Global highbush blueberry production passed the one billion pound mark in 2012 and continues to accelerate (Brazelton, 2013). Historically, many traits have been selected for in blueberry breeding programs with producers in mind, including climatic adaptation, yield, mechanical harvest potential, and disease resistance. Conversely, the fruit quality traits of interest to the consumer are what should ultimately fuel production and profitability. In recent surveys, only 48% of U.S. consumers had bought blueberries in the past 12 months compared with 88% of consumers who had bought the highest selling fruit, bananas (Fresh Trends, 2013). Of the 48% of U.S. consumers who purchased blueberries in the past year, 15% of these consumers were reportedly regular buyers of blueberries (Brazelton, 2013; Fresh Trends, 2013). Converting seldom purchasers into frequent purchasers through product satisfaction could have a beneficial impact on the blueberry market. To provide this level of product satisfaction, it is critical to assess the expectations and desires of the current blueberry consumer to make sure these parameters are being met. Increasing market penetration for the 50% of consumers who did not purchase blueberries in the past 3 years will be important to drive continued expansion of blueberry production as well (Brazelton, 2013; Fresh Trends, 2013). 2b1af7f3a8