Pumpkin Spice Lattes are just the beginning. Long before Halloween and the Great Pumpkin arrive, the flavor can be found in drinks, doughnuts, and pretty much everywhere else—even garbage bags.
Mid-August is just around the corner and you know what that means – pumpkin spice everything.
The season has begun: Krispy Kreme is now serving up Pumpkin Spice Lattes in abundance – and Pumpkin Spice Cake Doughnuts are also just coming out of the oven.
Even Dave Skena, Krispy Kreme’s global brand manager, sounds a little incredulous, saying in a press release: “It’s August and we’re all kind of ready for pumpkin spice.”
“Our fans want their Krispy Kreme Pumpkin Spice Cake Doughnut and Latte now, and we’re here for it,” he said. “But stay tuned, we’re not done spicing up the season yet.”
Neither does the competition. Pumpkin Spice Lattes will soon be available at Starbucks and Dunkin’. Dunkin’ already offers an alcoholic Spiked Pumpkin Spice Iced Latte (6% ABV) in cans.
Also taking part in the Pumpkin Spice Latte-Palooza: Tim Hortons (exclusive to Rewards members in the app until August 20, then to all customers) and 7-Eleven, which has already brought back its Pumpkin Spice Latte and Pumpkin Spice Coffee as well as a new Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew.
There’s even a Pumpkin Spice Slurpee, but it’s only available at five select 7-Eleven and Speedway stores (two in LA, one each in Irving, Texas, New York and Enon, Ohio).
If you don’t live nearby, you can opt for Yogurtland’s Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Swirl yogurt, available now.
If pumpkin spice flavored coffee isn’t enough, you can choose from numerous pumpkin spice creamers and other fall flavors to spice up your coffee.
Coffee Mate has pumpkin spice-flavored iced coffee and pumpkin spice-flavored creamer in stores, as has competitor International Delight, which has added a new Pumpkin Cold Foam Creamer to its lineup, including Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer (there’s also a sugar-free version).
Big names in on-the-go coffee and latte are also offering pumpkin options for at home.
Dunkin’ has its Pumpkin Munchkin Creamer in stores now. In addition to its Pumpkin Spice Flavored Coffee, Starbucks offers Pumpkin Spice Cold Brew Concentrate and Iced Espresso PSL in stores, a Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino Chilled Coffee Drink, and two Pumpkin Spice Latte Creamers, one of which is dairy-free and made with almond milk and oat milk.
Pumpkin beers can now be harvested
Over the last decade, the “seasonal trend” has led to pumpkin beers hitting the market earlier and earlier. Pumpkin beer lovers aren’t complaining.
Seasonal beers typically make up 9 to 10 percent of total craft beer sales throughout the year, but in the fall – when pumpkin beers and Oktoberfest beers dominate – the share of seasonal beers rises to 12 to 14 percent, according to data from Bump Williams Consulting, a Shelton, Connecticut-based firm that serves the alcoholic beverage industry and uses NIQ data to track retail sales at supermarkets, convenience stores and select liquor stores.
Already available: Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, Schlafly Pumpkin Ale, Samuel Adams Jack-O, Southern Tier Pumking and Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale.
Halloween: Does the holiday come earlier every year? The reasons for “Summerween”
Is pumpkin spice oversaturated?
But how much pumpkin is too much? Retail spending on pumpkin products has declined slightly over the past 12 months — from $818.8 million in August 2022-July 2023 to $816.9 million in August 2023-July 2024, according to consumer data from market research firm NIQ.
Still, spending is up 33 percent from five years ago, according to a NIQ survey of sales in U.S. supermarkets, drugstores, mass merchandisers and other retail stores.
And in 2023, more people bought pumpkin products than in the previous two years, said Darren Seifer, industry consultant for consumer goods and foodservice insights at research firm Circana. “Consumption starts to pick up in August, peaks in September, drops slightly in October before giving way to holiday flavors like peppermint,” he told USA TODAY.
Don’t expect a decline this year, Alison Lin, head of restaurants at search engine Yelp, told USA TODAY. “Demand for pumpkin and pumpkin-flavored products seems to be growing every year on Yelp, and even increasing earlier,” she said.
Pumpkin-related searches on Yelp increased 147% in July 2024 compared to July 2019. During the first week of August, pumpkin-related searches increased 30% compared to the same period last year. “As the industry views ‘August’ as the unofficial start of fall flavors, we expect demand for pumpkin flavors to continue.”
Shopper demand for pumpkin spice has led to a crop of other fall flavors, including apple, caramel and cinnamon. New products this season include Honey Bunches of Oats Salted Caramel Cereal and Coffee Mate Caramel Apple Crisp Flavored Creamer.
“Coffee drinkers are constantly experimenting with their cups and paying attention to the seasons to refine their favorite flavors and creations,” said Nataleeja Bucci, senior manager of brand marketing for coffee enhancers at Nestlé. “While the traditional pumpkin flavors are still very popular, coffee drinkers are craving additional offerings.”
Pumpkin spice: There is officially no pumpkin in it
OK, pumpkin spices are plentiful. But what about the pumpkin itself?
Spice manufacturer McCormick launched its pumpkin spice in 1934 to enhance canned pumpkin for making pumpkin pie. It consists of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice – but no pumpkin.
The pumpkin spice boom began around 2010, Kevan Vetter, executive chef at McCormick, told USA TODAY two years ago. “Use is increasing both in restaurants and at home,” he said.
In 2019, pumpkin pie spice was McCormick’s fourth-best-selling retail spice from September to November. “The whole idea of pumpkin pie spice beyond pumpkin pie has really exploded,” Vetter said.
Want to enjoy pumpkin spice in a different way? Try Watkins’ new organic pumpkin pie spice, a blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves.
Some of the wildest pumpkin products
Today, the great pumpkin spice phenomenon has gone far beyond the obvious.
- Pumpkin Spice Avocado Oil: Last year, Chosen Foods launched a pumpkin spice caviar—the caviar-shaped balls were made with avocado oil and fall spices. This year, the San Diego-based avocado food company is offering a pumpkin spice avocado oil on its website.
- Skin products with pumpkin spice: Tree Hut, a Texas-based maker of skin and body care products, offers Pumpkin Pop Whipped Body Butter, Pumpkin Pop Shea Sugar Scrub and, new this season, Pumpkin Pop Foaming Gel Wash, made with pumpkin seed oil and avocado, kiwi and orange oils. (The products are available online and in Target, Ulta and Walmart stores.)
- Pumpkin spice trash bags: Yes, you can combat trash odors with Hefty Cinnamon Pumpkin Spice Ultra Strong Trash Bags. Available while supplies last on Amazon.com and at select Walmart stores in late September.
- Beard oil with pumpkin spice: Backwoods Beard Co. is offering a limited-time Pumpkin Spice Beard Oil ($18.00) that contains “an amazing combination of warm, inviting and deliciously fragrant notes of nutmeg, clove, pumpkin and a hint of cinnamon.”
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