Autumn has officially arrived in Iowa City, which for many means football season, sweater weather, and falling leaves. However, for some, it also means the return of their favorite seasonal flavor: pumpkin spice.
The blend of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg has become a staple in the coffee industry, creating a caffeinated craze that has swept the nation for decades.
People love the flavor, but the reason why has more to do with psychology and clever marketing than the actual taste.
In recent years, there has been a significant push to release seasonal drinks earlier in the fall, or even in the summer months. Because of this, the pumpkin spice phenomenon can feel like a ploy to drive up sales while convincing people to buy into the holiday spirit, regardless of the date.
To understand why people love the harvest-time flavor so much, and why companies are trying to extend the fall season as long as possible, we must first examine the seasonal blend’s history.
According to CBS News, the flavor, created in response to the invention of canned pumpkin pie, was introduced in 1934 by the McCormick Company. The seasoning giant saw the spice as “a more convenient way for consumers to make a perfectly seasoned pie,” and even today has never seriously tinkered with its initial recipe.
Despite the flavor’s continued success, the spice’s ultimate rise in popularity came much later, thanks in part to major coffee chain Starbucks.
In 2003, the Seattle-based coffee giant introduced the Pumpkin Spice Latte, now popularly known as a PSL. With the help of clever marketing and brand recognition, the drink quickly blew up in stores across the country. The beverage was such a success that other coffee shops followed suit with seasonal drinks of their own, all revolving around pumpkin spice.
In recent years, the PSL has been heavily promoted on social media, with a push to associate the flavor with fall weather and holiday spirit. It’s also Starbucks’s highest-performing and most popular drink of all time, with over $500 million in sales each year.
While many believe the drink’s success is purely based on a unanimous love of the taste, there may be more science behind the pumpkin spice phenomenon than expected.
Jason Fischer, assistant professor of physiological and brain science at John Hopkins Krieger School of Arts and Science, explained to the university’s Arts and Science Magazine that the aroma creates a connection to fall.
“Pumpkin spice aromas emerge in the fall in shops and cafes, coinciding with the arrival of colorful leaves, family gatherings, and back-to-school bustle. The association that the smell has with the season in our memories allows it to powerfully evoke the refreshing feelings of fall,” Fischer said.
This explanation of taste and smell association is a powerful tool in understanding the complex and unique attraction many of us have to the seasoning, as well as its continued popularity despite its seasonal availability.
The same technique is used in movie theaters, where the scent of fresh popcorn drives concession sales. People love the smell of freshly popped popcorn, so they associate the aroma with movies and a positive theater-going experience.
The University of Iowa has even gotten in on the trend, with the Main Library’s Food for Thought Cafe offering a shaken pumpkin spice espresso as its seasonal beverage last week. The drink, created as an independent item by the cafe, lacked some of the essential components that made pumpkin spice so appealing, like the heavy cinnamon tang and creamy texture, but provided a refreshing alternative from the traditional Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Recently, both Starbucks and other national coffee chains have started releasing their fall drinks earlier than expected. This lineup, which often features pumpkin spice items, now debuts before the first official day of fall and often before many begin thinking about autumn at all.
This year, Starbucks took this a step further by unveiling their seasonal fall menu on Aug. 22.
“From an operator’s perspective, restaurants typically see a softening near the end of summer, so starting a limited-time holiday offering a bit early makes good sense. It also doesn’t hurt that pumpkin is incredibly versatile and can appeal to food and beverages, both sweet and savory,” said Kevin Bryla, chief marketing officer and head of customer experience at SpotOn, via The Food Institute.
Whether or not consumers view these early releases as promotional stunts, many will continue to return to pumpkin spice for its nostalgic ties to fall memories and the seasonal atmosphere.
Nostalgia is a powerful drug, and with the help of psychosocial connection to fall memories, people will keep flocking to stores whenever possible to grab a PSL of their own.