TEM Lab team to develop global marketing strategy for the lemon industry in Anyue County

Thunderbird School of Global Management’s Emerging Markets Laboratory (TEM Lab) has been tapped by the Lemon Industrial Development Bureau in Anyune, China to develop a global action plan for the province’s most important agricultural crop. The three-phase project will launch in March and last through the end of July. It will focus on streamlining the lemon value chain, marketing and branding Anyue and its signature lemon products, and crafting a strategy on how to access the major markets of the US, Europe and the Middle East.

Known as the “Lemon capital” of China, Anyue produces about 160,000 tons of lemons annually, about 80 percent of China’s total lemon output. In 2010, the Lemon industry in Anyue contributed 384 million USD (25 Billion RMB) to local GDP growth. For decades, the local government has worked to promote the lemon industry, but Anyue still seeks a systematic global strategy or implementation plan. The goal of TEM Lab’s work in China will be to strengthen the competitiveness of Anyue Country in the lemon market and boost sustainable regional development.

Now in its third year, TEM Lab is a capstone honors consulting practicum for advanced Thunderbird students led by Professor Michael Finney Ph.D. Each trimester, TEM Lab teams of four or five students spend five weeks working directly with a client organization in the field and completing pre and post work back on campus. They meet planned deliverables and provide an exit consultation of their work. Independent student-led TEM Lab teams have worked with businesses, government entities and non-profit organizations across Africa, Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe. 

Three TEM Lab teams over the course of two trimesters will work with the Lemon Industrial Development Bureau of Anyue County in Sichuan Province. Not only will this be the first TEM Lab project in Africa, but with three consecutive teams working on the same project, it is one of the group’s most ambitious assignments. A majority of the students participating in the program are conversant in Mandarin and all have undertaken advanced coursework on China.

“We are proud and excited to be conducting three consecutive TEM Lab projects in the world’s second largest economy,” said Charles Reeves, TEM Lab Program Manager. “China is one of the strongest forces in the global economy today and is naturally a focus area for many Thunderbird students.  A TEM Lab in China allows our students to put their business skills to the test in a real life scenario, assist the country with its development goals, and better prepare themselves for a career doing business in China.” 

All three TEM Lab teams will be blogging their takeaways throughout the project’s duration at:

http://knowledgenetwork.thunderbird.edu/research/temlab/

To download a PDF of this press release in Chinese, click here.