Ahhhhh Fall. The season of brisk walks, sweaters, Halloween and of course, the Pumpkin Spice craze. This relatively simple blend of nutmeg, ginger and allspice has completely taken the food industry by a storm. This seasonal delight is one of the most influential food trends of the century, but has it gotten out on control? PSL is on our shelves, in our coffee and all over our social media.
I write this while drinking my extra hot #PSL and munching on my limited edition Pumpkin Spice M&Ms (exclusively at Target!). This morning I started my day with a lovely Pumpkin Spice Pop Tart with a side of Pumpkin Spice soy milk, and I will probably end my day at a local bar drinking a deliciously smooth Pumpkinhead. This is a little overboard, but you get the idea. This fall flavor has completely saturated the food market. However, just 10 years ago Pumpkin Spice didn’t even exist.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Pumpkin Spice Latte, and Starbucks says that they weren’t originally on board with the flavor. According to Peter Dukes, espresso brand manager “It wasn’t the natural winner, but there was something there.” Well, it is a good thing they decided to go with it as they have sold 200 million Pumpkin Spice Lattes in 10 years. It’s no wonder why brands like Stonewall Kitchen, Dunkin Donuts, and even McDonald’s have hopped on the #PSL bandwagon.
Not only has Pumpkin Spice taken over the food world, it has also infiltrated the social media world as well. Brands are capitalizing on the #PSL hashtag, using its incredible reach to promote their own products. I’ve gotta say it’s pretty brilliant considering there are dozens of tweets every few minutes.
In closing, I leave you with some thoughts on the #PSL.
