The first commercial trial campaign for the Cosmic Crisp apple in Europe has got off to a "flying start", amid high demand and expectations for strong future growth.

Italy's VOG and VIP Consortiums said the apple had a positive debut and has sparked the interest of the market with the first tastings.

Officially presented in late January at the 2021 Apple Summit, the Washington State-bred Cosmic Crisp is a cross between the Enterprise and the Honeycrisp. It launched in the U.S. in 2019 amid widespread excitement.

“We are really pleased with the initial feedback we have collected from many expert professionals in the wholesale markets” comments Klaus Hölzl, sales manager of the VOG Consortium.

“Cosmic Crisp is popular for its texture and for the explosion of flavor and intensity apparent from the very first bite.”

Thanks to the first trade marketing activities in support of customers, industry professionals have been able to get to know and appreciate the qualities of this new product.

“We have organized tastings so greengrocers and specialist wholesalers can try the Cosmic Crisp^®. We have also distributed illustrative materials that they can use in their shops to communicate the qualities of this incredible apple to consumers."

The South Tyrolean consortia have already reserved 500 hectares of land for the cultivation of this new variety and following these first tests will launch greater quantities of the product on the market as of the 2021-22 sales season.

“Cosmic Crisp is an apple with an excellent shelf life and is perfect for the second half of the sales season, from February through to August,” explains Fabio Zanesco, sales director of VIP.

“This year we began with the first 100 tonnes, a clearly limited amount but ideal for this launch phase which enables us to receive lots of useful feedback, as has been the case in the last few days."

"As of next season, we will gradually ramp up both distribution and sales thanks to the availability of increasing volumes that will enable us to satisfy the already high level of demand."