Millions of people might be coping with extreme heat, but Starbucks is already getting ready for chilly fall temperatures with its most anticipated annual menu announcement. It could use the boost.
The coffee chain revealed that its wildly popular Pumpkin Spice Latte beverage will return to menus on August 26 — four days later than last year’s release date and the drink’s latest arrival since 2022. However, this year’s announcement marks the earliest date that Starbucks has provided a date for the Pumpkin Spice Latte’s arrival.
The PSL, as fans call it, is a best seller and could be a hit that Starbucks could use to help turn its business around. Starbucks has struggled over the past couple years with slumping sales and growing competition – to the point that the company brought in a new CEO who said Starbucks needed to “fundamentally change our strategy.”
Roughly 10% of Starbucks’ overall sales come from seasonal staples, the chain revealed last year.
Following the PSL’s release last year, visits to Starbucks were more than 24% higher than a typical day and generated a “sustained visit spike” that lasted several days after, according to a previous Placer.ai report, which tracks foot traffic.
Typically, Starbucks announces the drink’s arrival a few days before its release. But the company is giving a heads up a month earlier because Google searches for “pumpkin spice” have started earlier this year, with an increase in interest beginning in mid-June rather than mid-July in 2024, it said. (Plus, the drink’s arrival often leaks on Reddit long before Starbucks makes its official announcement).
If fans can’t wait, Starbucks said that its fall flavors are rolling out to grocery stores this week, including a PSL-inspired creamer and its autumn-themed as well as smoked butterscotch-flavored coffees. A canned PSL coffee drink will be released in early August.
Former Chipotle leader Brian Niccol became Starbucks’ CEO last September and has instituted a number of other changes. He’s tweaked employee uniforms, overhauled the menu by cutting 30% of its offerings and is testing a new café design that encourages paying customers to linger.
Since its 2003 launch, the PSL has taken on a life of its own, becoming a signal for fall both beloved and mocked and ushering in an era of pumpkin spice products, from trash bags to yogurt and even whiskey.
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