Apple breeding programmes are currently in the middle of transition in terms of
ownership and management. Until now most of them were funded by the public.
Breeding took place by traditional methods since decades in a very sustainable way
to develop better apple varieties. Today, increasing loss of national boundaries and
globalisation, less interest by national bodies and institutions and rising cost levels
for high tech breeding methods entire programmes are nowadays urged to look for
new sustainable co- or self-financing business models in order to continue their
work. The paper explains through financial calculations how risk can be split by all
partners and how the supply chain can be developed further into a value chain by
using a collective royalty system on trees and fruit, to add value to all market
participants and to support the breeding efforts and to become sustainable through
profitability. A leading shift of mindset requires the involvement of variety managers
and companies who are coaching the whole process of introduction
