from the boston globe: go priya!

APPLES AT HER CORE - Priya Khetarpal, a business student at Babson College in Wellesley, is simply mad for apples.

Khertarpal's obsession with the fruit began in a literature course she took her sophomore year where she learned about John Chapman, more commonly known as Johnny Appleseed. Inspired by Chapman's dedication to teaching apple culture and spreading seeds far and wide, Khertarpal set out to find out as much about apples as possible, visiting every orchard in Massachusetts and studying the apple aisle in every nearby supermarket and farm stand.

She can spout arcane facts about apples, such as they have 2,500 names and can slow down the balding process, and can recite statistics on the apple's nutritional value, flavors, and overall popularity in the supermarket produce aisle (the apple ranks in the top 10 out of 315 fresh produce items sold in US stores, she says) and has perfected methods for drying and storing rarer varieties.

But Khertarpal hasn't forgotten she's a business student. She has applied to Babson's Hatchery Program, a leased space on campus where she can set up a production and distribution center and put her apple knowledge to use as a fledgling business, making and selling apple chips. Already, she says, she is selling 50 bags a week, and is negotiating contracts with farmers, national nonprofits, and business "incubators'' to bring her product to the mass market.