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Forget the calendar. Starbucks says it’s fall. The coffee giant’s Pumpkin Spice Latte returned yesterday, more than a week before Labor Day and nearly a month before the official start of autumn.
Lilly Jan
Lecturer of food and beverage management
Lilly Jan, a food and beverage management expert at Cornell University, says the drink has become a seasonal ritual that blurs the line between consumer tradition and retail strategy.
Jan says:
"The Pumpkin Spice Latte succeeds because Starbucks is selling more than a flavor. It is selling anticipation, ritual, and essentially permission to begin moving into the next season.
"It has become a kind of temporal signpost. For many consumers, it signals the beginning of fall, regardless of what the calendar or weather tells us. People aren’t just buying the flavor; they’re buying the feeling that comes with the start of a new season.
"The Pumpkin Spice Latte is also a successful example of seasonal creep. By bringing it back in August, Starbucks encourages consumers to start thinking about fall before fall actually arrives. That extends the selling season, but it also taps into a real desire for the comfort, rituals and nostalgia associated with what comes next."
