Cosmic Crisp Wins Good Housekeeping’s Health Snack Award

Congratulations to Washington State University, after the school’s WA 38 was nationally recognized as a healthy snack. Judges at Good Housekeeping named the Cosmic Crisp a Healthy Snack Award winner for the second summer in a row.

Good Housekeeping’s registered dietitian evaluates hundreds of snacks every year to help families make nutritious choices. The apple was among 45 snacks and products to receive the magazine’s 2021 award. Consumer testers praised the apple’s crisp bite and refreshing taste, while judges noted its good nutrition, antioxidants, and fiber.

“Recognition by Good Housekeeping two years in a row is fantastic for the Cosmic Crisp apple,” said WSU professor and apple breeder Kate Evans. “It’s particularly great to see this award go to a piece of fresh fruit, a clear result of plant breeding and selection.”

Cosmic Crisp is the fruit of more than 20 years of careful breeding and evaluation at WSU. A cross between Enterprise and Honeycrisp, it was classically bred in 1997 as the WA 38 apple. The original mother tree still grows at WSU’s Columbia View Research Orchard in Wenatchee, WA.

Large, round, crisp, and juicy, these apples have a rich red blush, dotted with starburst-like pores, called lenticels, which led to the ‘cosmic’ name. Along with the fresh market, Cosmic Crisp is being featured in hard cider, juice, pies, and other products. More than 16 million trees have been planted.

“To have the Cosmic Crisp apple earn this accolade from the Good Housekeeping Institute a second year in a row is a big win for our brand,” said Kathryn Grandy, chief marketing officer for Proprietary Variety Management, the company that markets Cosmic Crisp. “The snacking category continues to grow in grocery stores and it’s critical that fresh fruits be a key component to those sales. The Cosmic Crisp® brand continues to shine in major lifestyle media which is a boost to building awareness as volumes increase this year.”

Scientists at WSU continue to study WA 38 production, harvest, storage, and fruit quality at orchards throughout Washington state, sharing their discoveries at virtual and in-person field days.

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