There鈥檚 two types of people in your neighborhood coffee shop right now: Those who can鈥檛 get enough of pumpkin spice lattes and those who want to hurl every pumpkin to the moon. That moneymaking “flavor of the week” has turned into months, and it seems to .
And none of it is an accident 鈥� it鈥檚 all psychological.
Part of it is the pumpkin itself. It鈥檚 a fruit you associate with autumn and Halloween, and it鈥檚 often mixed with other spices, such as nutmeg and cloves, to provide a bit of warmth to your palette. But the other part is the fact that you know the pumpkin flavors aren鈥檛 going to last forever. Your brain tells you that you need to get it now, before it鈥檚 too late.
鈥淵our brain is saying 鈥榯here鈥檚 only this window of time where I can take advantage of this wonderful beverage when I swing by Starbucks,鈥� and so it鈥檚 now become part of our routine,鈥� said Hank Boyd, a clinical professor of marketing at the University of Maryland.
It鈥檚 the same reason your coffee shop will move from pumpkin to peppermint flavors sometime in November.
鈥淚t鈥檚 almost like a Pavlovian response,” Boyd added.
Of course, your FOMO for pumpkin is also a reason why pumpkin spice season might be starting sooner than you thought 鈥� too soon for some people, in fact.
鈥淚n theory, they say 鈥榳e鈥檝e got to keep the exclusivity, but how far can we push the envelope?’鈥� Boyd said. So while it might start in late August, 鈥渁t some point, they鈥檝e got to say 鈥榚nough is enough, we can鈥檛 go any further and we鈥檝e got to keep this window.鈥� If you offered it all year, it loses its whole appeal. It鈥檚 not special anymore.”
鈥淪carcity is something that drives us,鈥� he added. 鈥�’If I don鈥檛 act now, I鈥檓 going to lose and wait a whole other year,’ you will definitely come in and you鈥檒l see the numbers spike.鈥�
Between August of 2023 and July of 2024, it鈥檚 estimated Americans spent nearly $817 million on pumpkin spiced products, down from the year before but still up by over $200 million compared to 2020, according to the market research firm NIQ.
鈥淔rom a business standpoint, you鈥檙e saying, ‘How far can we extend that window to where it still has that scarcity effect happening and folks are once again having all those great associations with that time of year for that particular product?’鈥� Boyd said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e accustomed to getting things whenever we want them. The time where there鈥檚 a certain product, there鈥檚 a certain service out there that鈥檚 kind of rare, the fact that I have to wait for it makes it even more desirable,鈥� Boyd said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what鈥檚 kind of cool. So from a marketing standpoint, we won鈥檛 give up playing that card.鈥�
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