Crunch Time Apple Growers confident in 'amazing' 2025 crop despite record US market challenges

The leaves are finally changing on the East Coast, and harvest season has already come to a close for Crunch Time.

Comprising over 147 growers in Central New York, the cooperative is responsible for 60 percent of the state’s apple production and has full confidence in its 2025 crop.

“The apples are amazing this year!” says Jessica Wells, Executive Director of Crunch Time Apple Growers. 

Thanks to favorable weather conditions in the months leading up to harvest, she explains, both of the cooperative’s exclusive varieties, SnapDragon and RubyFrost, are tasting and looking “really delicious.”

Wells adds that even though the harvest lasts only a few weeks, Crunch Time’s cultivars are incredibly resilient when stored properly, which ensures availability in stores for months to come. 

Record-breaking challenges

Despite high-quality fruit and favorable weather, Cruch Time must navigate the tribulations of yet another record-breaking season for US apples, which is forecasted to reach a historic production of 278.5 million bushels nationwide. 

“We’re feeling the strain of the apple market being increasingly oversaturated,” Wells says. “Shoppers have more varieties to choose from than ever before, so standing out is a challenge.”

Achieving good pricing while staying competitive is also an increasingly delicate balance that apple growers in the US have been dealing with. This is especially true in the face of rising costs in critical items such as labor, fertilizers, packing, and machinery. 

Wells explains that ensuring members don’t lose money is a key mission for the cooperative, which is composed in large part of family farms with a long-standing apple-growing tradition—some dating back generations. 

“We’re constantly on the lookout for efficiencies to help lower costs so that we can keep the prices to consumers stable while keeping our growers profitable,” she says. 

Crunch Time's bountiful stop at IFPA 

Back in mid-October, Crunch Time was part of the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) Global Produce and Floral Show in Anaheim, California. 

Wells says the cooperative team had a great time at the event, where visitors could stop by the Crunch Time’s booth and enjoy samples of snack-ready SnapDragon apples. 

Attendees also had the opportunity to meet Snappy, the company’s six-foot dragon mascot, who walked around the floor at IFPA snapping pictures with attendees and even showing off his moves at a dance-off. 

Wells regrets to inform FreshFruitPortal.com that, unfortunately, he didn’t win.  

Crunch Time also welcomed Andre Reed, a Pro Football Hall of Famer and long-time wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills, the NFL team whose official apple is the SnapDragon. 

Reed was there to promote the cooperative’s upcoming sweepstakes, Snap Your Way to Canton, which will send a lucky winner to Canton, Ohio, for the 2026 Hall of Fame induction weekend in August 2026. The promotion goes live in December, and Crunch Time is focused on recruiting retailers.

“This is the largest contest we’ve ever done, and we couldn’t be more excited about it,” Wells concluded. “It’s a great, natural fit for our brand and who we target as shoppers.”

*All images courtesy of Crunch Time

Related stories

Driscoll's new CMO is betting on consumer experience and global brand expansion

IFPA 2025 comes to a close, marked by record attendance and new intelligence platform