In the early 2000s, apple growers in the region found that they could not sell their fruit, not because of taste but because it is smaller and has a less shiny appearance than fruit from the north of Mexico, the US and Chile. In 2003, apple growers from Pinal de Amoles and other nearby municipalities came together to find ways of marketing their product. The result is the production of apple juice, produced by a cooperative. Initial taste tests were positive but marketing was a challenge. Business students helped out and eventually the product began to appear on store shelves in various parts of Mexico and even in the US. In 2005, the cooperative signed a deal with bottlers to sell 60 tons of Querétaro Golden apples as 550,000 250-ml boxes of juice.