COMMERCIALIZING PRODUCTS FROM PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY 201
by high technology research. Most respondents declared that the "un-
known company" concern would not be a factor in their decision to buy
the product.


PRODUCT NAME

 Choosing a suitable name is important in creating a favorable reception
for a product as well as introducing its qualities. Reaction to a list of
possible product names offered to respondents on a rotational basis elicited
a variety of responses ranging from, "that's particularly unappealing," to
"that's a name a person can relate to." Some suggested a strategy of incor-
porating the mycorrhizal idea in the name. From a list of ten names that
included Dynagrow, Inoc, Assist, Nutri-Link, Mycron, Paydirt, Symbion,
Upstart, Provam, and Booster, the name Nutri-Link was selected. Some
names in the list had been used previously in other contexts and were not
available. Subsequent development of promotional literature and contacts
with growers indicated a very high acceptance of the new name.


 PILOT DEVELOPMENT

 Making the transition from research to scale-up production requires
many innovations. Immediately following success in producing cultures of
superior strains of VA Mycorrhizae and characterizing crop plant responses
to these strains, plans, and schedules for a pilot production unit were es-
tablished. Three important elements of the planning process were: build-
ing a stage-one scale facility, establishing criteria for quality control, and
developing strategies for test marketing.


SCALE-UP PROBLEMS

 The transition from laboratory research to volume production requires
many adaptations and extrapolations. To achieve the level of product nec-
essary to meet the marketing goal of 2000 liters planned for the initial year,
NPI designated a sterile (clean) greenhouse in which to grow the required
amount of product. Whereas research had been accomplished on an indi-
vidual container basis involving growth of select mycorrhizal strains on the
roots of host plants in a pasteurized potting mix, scale-up operations re-
quired many large pots on a batch basis repeating the operation many