Washington apples are getting a boost in Vietnam, thanks to WSU’s Cosmic Crisp

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam – Inside a bustling supermarket in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, a vibrant display of red and green stands out: apples.

Shoppers mill about, pausing to examine them. A banner hangs over the display reading: “Washington Apples.”

“It looks nice … big, juicy,” said Linh Lee, a local shopper. “I need to try it because I’ve never eaten (it).”

The display is a vivid expression of a deepening agricultural and economic relationship between Vietnam and Washington state, one that has quietly accelerated in recent years. Two decades ago, apple exports to Vietnam were negligible, totaling about 100 shipping containers each year. That’s about 100,000 40-pound boxes.

Today, that figure has climbed to around 2,000 annually, or just over 2 million boxes, underscoring a transformation fueled by rising incomes, urbanization and the rapid expansion of Washington’s star apple, the Cosmic Crisp.

“Vietnam is a very important market for us,” said Lindsey Huber, international marketing manager for the Washington Apple Commission. “It’s grown from a small market into the largest in Southeast Asia.”

While exports of many varieties of Washington apples have remained flat or declined in the past few years, exports of Cosmic Crisp to Vietnam have skyrocketed.

Produced by Washington State University and introduced commercially in 2019, the Cosmic Crisp was bred for flavor and durability, qualities that make it well-suited for long-distance shipping to markets in Asia. Washington growers hold exclusive production rights, and the variety has quickly scaled to millions of boxes in export markets. Royalties to WSU from sales have continued to support research and promotion of the apple variety.

For many Washington apples, the more than 7,000-mile journey to Vietnam begins in the Yakima Valley, the top apple producing region in the U.S.

In Yakima, a century of growing and harvesting

In 1916, the Washington Fruit and Produce Company opened its facility to export produce. Today, the family-owned company is a bustling modern facility, one of many packing and shipping operations in the region.

Employees move crates of apples, washing the fruit, packing bags and inspecting each apple that goes through. A conveyor belt carries the crates and dips the apples into a lazy river-like section where the fruit is soaked and washed. A rotating conveyor belt flips the apples repeatedly as a sprinkler system above washes the apple once more.

After the shower, the apples are taken to a drying system where they can be prepared for waxing. Then, they are photographed – infrared cameras take more than 270 images of each apple, looking for defects and discolored blemishes as they speed through the line.

“There are around nine cameras over each lens that are taking photos from the top, bottom, side, side and all around,” said Mikey Hanks, a system operator who oversees the images the system snaps.

The quality of the apples, including their appearance, is particularly prized by buyers in Southeast Asia, according to Francis Lee, the Washington Apple Commission’s 30-year trade representative in Vietnam. Lee said success in international markets like Vietnam is measured less by export volume and more by consumer recognition.

“Every grower should understand the culture …the consumer taste preferences, before they ship,” Lee said. “Each country is different.”

When apples are transported, the most common and affordable method is by sea. Arriving at the port in temperature-controlled and sealed boxes, the apples are loaded onto boats for an excursion overseas that can take up to two months to reach Vietnam. This might sound like a long time, but many apples, including the Cosmic Crisp, can last for months in cold storage.

Washington apples can survive these long-haul shipments, unlike Washington cherries or blueberries, which must be airlifted . This process though is likely to shorten, according to the Northwest Seaport Alliance, which is upgrading its weekly transport services to better accommodate Vietnam and Southwest Asia’s market growth.

Consumer preferences in Vietnam

The reason behind the growth of the market in Vietnam is both economic and cultural in nature. Rising incomes, the expansion of large grocery-store chains and digital commerce have contributed to the surge in exports. Also impactful, in March 2025, Vietnam cut tariffs on U.S. apples from around 8% to 5%, making U.S. apples more competitive. However, the numbers tell only part of the story.

In export markets like Vietnam, Lee said a familiarity with the product, as well as its visual appeal, matters greatly.

“To have a better export market, we have to have high color,” Lee said. “That’s how you grow volume.”

Consumer color preferences in Vietnam center largely around bright colors, especially red, which symbolizes wealth, prosperity and good luck and is especially notable around Tet, the celebration of the Lunar New Year.

Large, red Cosmic Crisps are especially popular in northern Vietnam, around the wealthier capital city of Hanoi, where 80% of the apples were sold last year. The country’s most populous city, Ho Chi Minh City, is more competitive. Consumer preferences there favor more established, sweeter varieties. This is exacerbated by lower incomes, making consumers more likely to spend money on recognized varieties.

The apple’s continued growth in this region will depend on consumer education, namely, getting people to try it.

Marketing strategies are built around holiday celebrations and tradition, and campaigns ramp up around major holidays with themed packaging, in-store displays, and sampling. Social media collaborations also play into the branding effort, using Vietnamese influencers and others, like Apple Girl Kait, to shape consumer opinion and reach a larger audience.

A Washington-based agriculture influencer, Kait Thornton has around 500,000 combined followers across social media platforms. She visited Vietnam earlier this year to promote Washington apples, especially the Cosmic Crisp, and to connect with other influencers.

Lee said it’s just a matter of time before the apple catches on more in southern Vietnam, though the Cosmic Crisp is currently second to Gala in popularity.

“This is the future of a star,” Lee said. “It will one day be the top.”

One leading Vietnamese importer proposes leaning into the name and visual identity of the apple in a way that connects with Vietnamese consumers.

Naming the apple Cosmic Crisp was good marketing, said Kim Min Gu, director of Hand & Hand, a leading importer and distributor of fresh fruit in Ho Chi Minh City.

Gu is contemplating marketing strategies for the Cosmic Crisp and said the apple’s white speckling could be viewed as a weak point by Vietnamese consumers who prize the color red.

Instead, the apple’s name conjures images of stars and the cosmos. Gu is considering using that space theme, with ideas like a “find the constellation” campaign, where consumers with star charts will line up popular constellations on the skin of their Cosmic Crisps to attract consumer attention.

Back at the grocery store in Ho Chi Minh City, apples are turned prettiest side-up. Young women circulate with trays offering samples and urging consumers to take a taste. The women answer questions and say good morning to every customer who passes by.

The spread of fruit, accompanied by a large banner reading “Washington Apples,” is set in a stand-alone display in the center of this WinMart store, which is part of the largest retail chain in Vietnam.

This location, like many others, is participating in a branding competition established by the Washington Apple Commission. The store with the best display for Washington apple varieties wins a prize.

Every detail of every campaign is deliberate, to win the competition for consumer attention and money in markets like Vietnam. All apple varieties are competing for a slice of the pie.

“It’s not just about moving products,” said Lee, with the apple commission. “It’s about building relationships and understanding.”

Grace Harvey, Olivia Soliz and photographer Andrew Perdue reported this story as part of Washington State University’s Backpack Journalism program, a donor-funded program which sends journalism students to foreign locales to report stories.