Cosmic Crisp combines the features of the existing Honeycrisp and Enterprise apples, namely, it is intended to have the texture and juiciness of the Honeycrisp, and the late-ripening behavior and long storage of the Enterprise. In breeding the variety, the focus was not on the appearance, but on durability and shelf life. Cosmic Crisp is characterized mainly by uniformly colored dark red skin, dense firm flesh, and an improved shelf life. The look of the apple's light lenticels against its wine-red skin reminded focus groups of a galaxy against a night sky, which led to it being named the Cosmic Crisp. It is the first widely-grown apple variety developed in Washington. The apple ripens at the same time as Red Delicious and is expected by the producers of it to replace a large part of the Red Delicious stocks. Cosmic Crisp was made available to consumers in 2019, after 20 years of development. Industry watchers expect Cosmic Crisp production to outpace Pink Lady and Honeycrisp apples in five years. The New York Times described the apple as "dramatically dark, richly flavored and explosively crisp and juicy", making it "the most promising and important apple of the future". FoodRepublic.com called it "firmer than the Honeycrisp, but not too firm. And it is high in both sugar and acidity, making it far superior to the Red Delicious, Gala and Fuji varieties as well." Northwest Public Radio notes that Washington, which produces 70% of U.S. apples, is betting that the apple will "conquer" the market.
First plantings
The variety was first planted for commercial use in spring 2017, with 12 million trees pre-ordered by Washington state orchards. The variety is initially only available to Washington-based growers, and will remain limited to them for at least ten years. Growers pay a royalty for each tree purchased and for each box of apples sold. Interest was so high the trees initially had to be distributed to apple farmers in a lottery held in 2014—WSU had planned to provide 300,000 saplings but were met with requests for 4 million. Within three years, over 13 million Cosmic Crisp trees had been planted. Lawsuits emerged between WSU and a Seattle spinoff that the university claimed distributed over 100,000 trees improperly. WSU owns the Cosmic Crisp patent.
A $10 million consumer launch of the product was funded by Washington State agriculture promotion funds through the Washington Apple Commission and other agencies. The two taglines for the apple were "Imagine the Possibilities" and "The Apple of Big Dreams". It is said to be the largest campaign in apple industry history, and included payments to social media influencers and a partnership with a touring children's production of Johnny Appleseed. The term "Cosmic Crisp" is trademarked. The apples went on sale in Seattle grocery stores on December 1, 2019, beginning with a QFC store at University Village.
