After 5 years, has Cosmic Crisp paid off for Washington growers? - Anlık Haber

Each year, Washington Fruit Place ships apple gift boxes across the U.S. — a significant part of the Yakima-based fruit retailer’s holiday operation.

For owner Mark Barrett, who also grows fruit in his commercial orchard in Yakima, there is one clear standout among the apple varieties being shipped: Cosmic Crisp.

Like many Washington-based growers, Barrett first planted the new variety nearly a decade ago. Cosmic Crisp, developed through Washington State University’s apple breeding program, was bred to be the next hit apple, like Honeycrisp.

Besides its sweet taste and crisp texture, Cosmic Crisp ships well. Barrett believes this benefits his gift-box business and is important as the apple is shipped to more retail markets in the U.S. and abroad, which he believes is crucial for Cosmic Crisp’s continued success.

As Cosmic Crisp marks five years since its release and has experienced exponential growth each year, those in the apple industry say they will have to keep promotions strong to ensure there are places for the apples to go and that growers get a sufficient return on their investment.

The Cosmic Crisp apple crop has grown from just a few hundred thousand 40-pound boxes in 2019 to an estimated 12 million boxes in 2024. Cosmic Crisp is anticipated to be the sixth most-cultivated variety in Washington, making up about 9% of the estimated 124 million boxes anticipated for the year, according to figures from the Washington State Tree Fruit Association. The top five varieties ahead of Cosmic Crisp: Gala, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Honeycrisp and Fuji.

Given the intense interest from Washington fruit growers, the industry anticipated a significant increase in the Cosmic Crisp apple supply. But this has led to substantial price declines, giving growers less cushion to cover costs and realize a return on the initial investment.

Barrett feels that the supply is outpacing the demand for Cosmic Crisp, which for now is negatively impacting growers. “The return on investment is not there at this point.”

Still, Barrett believes in Cosmic Crisp’s long-term upside, and that’s why he’ll stick to the variety for now. “I think this will make it in the long run,” he said.

Washington’s apple

Cosmic Crisp was developed at Washington State University more than 25 years ago as a crossbreed of Honeycrisp and Enterprise.

Many in the Washington apple industry sought to replicate the wide popularity of Honeycrisp, developed at the University of Minnesota. Industry officials also sought to provide Washington growers with an apple that was easier to grow than Honeycrisp.

At the time, it wasn’t unusual for growers to have as few as 40% to 45% of Honeycrisp apples picked at a given time to be acceptable for shipping and selling because of damage to the fruit during harvest, said Jeremy Tamsen, director of innovation and commercialization for Washington State University. For Cosmic Crisp, that percentage is around 80%.

Cosmic Crisp’s commercial rollout, which started in the mid-2010s, came as Red Delicious, once Washington’s dominant apple variety, was in decline in supply and popularity.

Cosmic Crisp worked on several levels for growers who invested in trees early on. It has a harvest schedule similar to that of Red Delicious, but unlike Red Delicious, Cosmic Crisp is exclusive to Washington state growers. And because growers contributed funds for the research and extension work crucial for the apple’s development and commercialization, they also could provide feedback on it, Tamsen said.

“The Cosmic Crisp is more a Washington apple than the Red Delicious, which was an apple that Washington was known for,” said Jon DeVaney, president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association.

Growth despite challenges

Just months after the first boxes of Cosmic Crisp arrived in stores in late 2019, the world was hit with the COVID-19 pandemic.

That meant a quick shift in marketing plans as key aspects such as in-person tastings and demonstrations were no longer viable as pandemic restrictions took hold.

Marketers leaned on social media and online tools. They distributed recipes featuring Cosmic Crisp apples and had several influencers promote the product online, said Kathryn Grandy, chief marketing officer of Proprietary Variety Management, the company that promotes and markets Cosmic Crisp.

One pandemic-era promotion was partnering with Walmart to offer a Cosmic Crisp apple packaged in a box with facts and other information about the variety with online grocery orders.

Grandy said such marketing tactics not only helped sell the small crop of Cosmic Crisp apples available at the time but also provided a foundation of brand awareness needed to increase demand for the apple, which was necessary as its supply grew.

Social media would continue to be a key promotion tool even when pandemic restrictions were lifted and in-person events resumed. For example, Cosmic Crisp has worked with nationally ranked pickleball player Tyson McGuffin on various promotions.

“Those kinds of creative approaches really help us,” Grandy said.

What’s next

In Washington, there’s no doubt that consumers have embraced the hometown variety.

Cosmic Crisp is currently the second best-selling apple, just behind Honeycrisp, for QFC, the Washington-based grocery store chain owned by Kroger Inc., said Ken Bethea, the retailer’s produce merchandiser. And for Kroger overall, Cosmic Crisp is in the top five.

Bethea, like many others, is an evangelist for the variety. Besides its crunch and sweetness, he also likes how well the Cosmic Crisp holds up after several months of cold storage.

Its durability and abundance ensures that QFC and other retailers can market and promote the Cosmic Crisp year-round and offer it at affordable prices. They typically cost $2.49 to $2.99 a pound, but QFC has had promotions in which they cost as little as $1.99 a pound.

Bethea believes there are customers who would be willing to pay more for Cosmic Crisp, as they purchase fruit based on quality and taste, not just price.

However, pricing is a concern for the industry, especially as growers face rising production costs, from increasingly expensive farm tools to a relatively new state agricultural overtime policy.

DeVaney of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association notes that the price of a 40-pound box of Cosmic Crisp has dropped notably, from nearly $73 when the first crop launched to just over $28 now.

DeVaney said that while larger volumes have ensured Cosmic Crisp’s presence in retailers’ minds and helped increase consumer awareness, he understands growers’ frustration with having to weather such a significant price drop, especially given harsh weather conditions and rising costs in the past few years.

Barrett is among those frustrated. Despite the media attention and buy-in from retailers, he believes that consumer demand hasn’t caught up with the exponential increase in supply.

Grandy of Proprietary Variety Management believes there are still plenty of untapped markets for Cosmic Crisp, both domestically and internationally.

For example, in the U.S., Grandy said there are plans to move farther into the eastern U.S., where Cosmic Crisp currently has less presence. The brand also started shipping to a select few countries, including existing top apple markets in Canada and Mexico, and has begun offering the fruit in places such as New Zealand and Australia.

She said she heard the growers’ price concerns and was working to ensure that Cosmic Crisp remains profitable for them. “We do not want to be commoditized too quickly. We want to maintain our brand standards.”

Growers’ challenges with Cosmic Crisp — and in general — have also influenced how WSU approaches efforts to commercialize its newest variety in development, Sunflare.

The apple, previously known as WA-64, is a cross between the Cripps Pink and Honeycrisp. WSU recently <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/briefs/2024/12/washington-state-university-unveils-newest-apple-variety-name”>announced the name</a> at the Washington State Tree Fruit Association meeting earlier this month.

According to WSU, trees are expected to be widely available to growers by 2026, and Sunflare is likely to appear in grocery stores by 2029.

Sunflare will likely take a different path than Cosmic Crisp, Tamsen of WSU said. Given the massive investment of growers in Cosmic Crisp and the industry’s tight margins, he expects Sunflare to not be a volume juggernaut.

“The timing for the industry is not perfect for taking up a new variety,” Tamsen said. “That’s to say we’re strategizing around the market realities.”

Topics: <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/agriculture” hreflang=”en”>Agriculture</a>, <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/apples” hreflang=”en”>apples</a>, <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/cosmic-crisp” hreflang=”en”>Cosmic Crisp</a>

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