SALT LAKE CITY — The Cosmic Crisp is coming to your local grocery store, and you’re probably not prepared for it.
California Sunday Magazine recently profiled an apple — yes, an apple — that will disrupt the entire industry. It’s a worthwhile read, as the article explains the diversity and complex nature of the apple industry and how one new breed — in this case, the Cosmic Crisp — can change everything.
The Cosmic Crisp is the design of Bruce Barritt, the head of the apple-breeding program at Washington State University. In 1997, he cross-bred the Enterprise apple (good for long-storage, late-ripening, long lifetime) and the famous Honeycrisp. He thus created the Cosmic Crisp — an apple with “creamy white” flesh, high density so it feels “heavy in your hand, and has a flavor that is pleasant, a bit more sweet than zing,” according to California Sunday Magazine
In fact, the Cosmic Crisp apple has a marketing push behind it. Not only does the apple have a distinct name — which came after test eaters noticed how there were so many pores on the skin that it reminded people of the stars of the Milky Way galaxy — but it also has a $10.5 million marketing budget to help push it into your grocery cart.
“Packers, for the first time, will leave their own logos off the boxes to further the primacy of the overall Cosmic Crisp brand,” according to California Sunday Magazine.
Just one quick Google search led me to find the Cosmic Crisp website, which has a wealth of information about the new apple, including where you can find it, what it tastes like and explanations about all of its aspects.
And there’s a TRAILER for the apple. No seriously. Watch below.
The Cosmic Crisp promoters feel that this will give them an advantage as well. Having such a large supply is critical toward building a brand for the apple.
“The Cosmic Crisp goal is to grow enough fruit to create the impression that the apple is as reliable and consistent a product as a granola bar,” California Sunday Magazine reported.
Still, there are some concerns and worries about how successful the apple can be. Putting too many apples into the market might confuse consumers, and make them forget about one distinct type of apple. There are so many flavors of apples out there that consumers never manage to get excited by one type of apple.
“It’s a numbers game, right?” said Kate Evans, a student at Washington State University. “No, you don’t get sad.”
Demand was pretty high for the apple, too. WSU, which owns the patent for the apple, was going to kick off with 300,000 trees to plant. But the number ballooned up to 4 million, according to Mother Nature Network. The trees were first made available through a lottery. Now, they’ll only be available in Washington state for at least 10 years, beginning in 2017.
So yeah, there’s a lot of hype around one apple. But it raises questions, like, should you try it? What does it taste like? Will it be worth the hype?
Well, Knute Berger, a writer for Crosscut, tried it. And here’s the description he wrote:
“The Cosmic Crisp ticked every box: good looking, with a nice crunch and powerful snap, a beautiful sweet-tart balance, tons of juice trickling down the chin. I wasn’t overwhelmed by, say, hints of blueberry or a floral nose — the kinds of complexities wine tasters go on about. But it was one of the best apples I’ve ever eaten. In fact, my sample was the essence of apple.”
The apple will be available this fall and should arrive in stores in December.