The newest Washington apple variety will remain nameless for a few more months, but consumers are still in line to get theirs by the end of the decade.
Washington State University hopes to name the hybrid of Honeycrisp and Cripps Pink or Pink Lady apples by the end of the year, a few months later than originally anticipated, though this won’t impact the scheduled 2029 release date, said Jeremy K. Tamsen, director of innovation and commercialization.
The university is currently analyzing five possible names, which came from participants in a naming contest the university launched this past spring. The five names were considered by three focus groups, and WSU is expected to get a report from that research later this week.
Another factor in choosing a name is whether the university can secure a trademark for it. This trademark is separate from the registered plant patent WSU secured for the apple itself last year.
The apple, referred to as WA 64, was developed in 1998. WSU pursued further development of the variety over the past two decades because it showed good eating and storage quality. Research from WSU and the Washington Tree Fruit Commission found that the apple does not brown and, when kept in cold storage, maintains quality even after several months.
Developers describe WA 64 as crisper and juicier than Cripps Pink and slightly less crisp and juicy than Honeycrisp, with a sweetness and acidity that falls between the two varieties. The apple is a bicolored symmetrical fruit with a pink/red blush on a yellow background.
Recently, WSU finalized a partnership with the International New Varieties Network to commercialize the variety. Trees are expected to be widely available to growers by 2026, and the apple is expected to appear in grocery shows by 2029, according to an earlier WSU announcement. The apple will be grown and produced exclusively in Washington orchards.
It will be WSU’s second new apple launch in a decade, after the 2019 debut of Cosmic Crisp. In just five years, thanks partly to a strong marketing campaign and robust planting, Cosmic Crisp has grown to be one of the state’s highest-volume varieties.
A crossbreed of Enterprise and Honeycrisp also grown exclusively in Washington, it is expected to make up 9% of 2024’s estimated 124 million 40-pound box crop, according to figures from the Washington State Tree Fruit Association. That’s notable growth from 2023, when it was 6% of the crop. The variety was among the top 10 best-selling apple varieties in the U.S. by sales and volume, according to WSU, citing Nielsen data.
However, the consumption of fresh apples has suffered a decades-long decline that may not be fixable with a few new varieties. In 2022, per capita consumption of fresh apples in the U.S. was 15.8 pounds, well below the 1989 figure of more than 21 pounds, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.
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