The Snack – Cosmic Crisp®, a result of 20 years of scientific pursuit and industry ingenuity, has taken hold of consumer consciousness in unforeseen ways.
From a young age, I was taught to reach for the stars. Ever since, the cosmos has been a fitting ruler with which to assess my life. Lofty goals, then, do not scare me, nor do industry innovators that upset the balance of produce synergy. Why, Pythagoras himself looked at the star-riddled blanket above us and saw order, nobility, wonder.
Millennia later, the swirling gases and the organized brilliance of chaos would distill a new apple that some have fittingly called out of this world. Cosmic Crisp®, a result of 20 years of scientific pursuit and industry ingenuity, has taken hold of consumer consciousness in unforeseen ways. Kathryn Grandy, Director of Marketing for Proprietary Variety Management (PVM) and Manager of the cultivar’s consumer launch, shared the story with me one afternoon, dotting each revelation with comet-jets of light.
“Cosmic Crisp is a dream apple created from the collective and inspired thinking of many people,” she began, sparks of starlight already apparent in her voice. “Bruce Barritt, Horticulturist and Developer of the Cosmic Crisp, set out on a mission to fill a produce void for a firm, crisp, and juicy apple. After decades of cross-pollinating, tasting, and testing, along with research and development at Washington State University’s (WSU) world-class treefruit breeding program, the Cosmic Crisp apple was discovered. WSU researchers, including pome fruit breeder Kate Evans, developed a new cultivar that would change the face of the industry and win enthusiasm among consumers with a combination of taste, texture, and usability.”
“Cosmic Crisp® is a dream apple created from the collective and inspired thinking of many people.”
At its core, PVM is all about bringing new fruits into the market so that consumers will continue to be delighted by fresh options. It’s easy to think of each new discovery as a planetary revelation or spotting a new comet: the space between each sighting makes it all the more precious.
