Washington has imported most of the apple breeds they grow. Red Delicious from Iowa, Golden Delicious from West Virginia, Gala from New Zealand, Grammy Smith from Australia, Fuji from Japan, and Honeycrisp from Minnesota. Better commercial apples have been a goal for Washington State since the 90s. The movement away from the Red Delicious to the consumers’ choice Honeycrisp is part of what is driving leaders in the industry. Cosmic Crisp® is set to be Washington’s debut.
A traditional approach is not the Cosmic Crisp® approach. This means instead of pushing the product on consumers, Washington is getting consumers pulled in the exciting early days through taste tests and focus groups.
Sounds exciting? Join the party. Intense demand for the Cosmic Crisp® required a random lottery in 2014 to award the first trees because so many Washington growers wanted the chance to be part of history and grow their state’s sensational apple. Millions of more apples have been ordered because the initial lottery wasn’t enough.
Apple production is ramping up in other states such as Minnesota, Michigan, and New York but with the highly anticipated Cosmic Crisp®, Washington is still the state to beat.
