That won’t stop the return of Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte.
The popular drink makes its way back to Starbucks menus all across the United States on Tuesday, earlier than ever before. Last year, the beverage released at Starbucks locations a day later, on August 28, while in its earlier years the drink typically hit stores right before Labor Day holiday.
Since it’s launch in 2003, the Pumpkin Spice Latte has become a fan favorite of coffee lovers and Starbucks customers. The anticipation surrounding the drink started to rise during the thick of the summer this year with some superfans expressing their eagerness for the Latte’s return on social media as early as July. Adversely, a poll conducted by digital storytelling content platform Apester found 62.5 percent of consumers thought the pumpkin-flavored beverage’s early release was, well, too early this year, USA Today reported.
Nonetheless, customers by the thousands will likely flood Starbucks’ throughout the U.S. for Tall, Grande and Venti-sized cups of the latte just as they did last year. Starbucks grossed an impressive $7 million in sales within the product’s first week in August 2018, according to Nielsen data released by Forbes. With an earlier release date this year, the drink is expected to ignite similar pumpkin pandemonium.
Only adding to the profits, customers will also have the choice to add that beloved Pumpkin Spice taste to their home-brewed pots of java with Starbucks’ new Pumpkin Spice Creamer. The coffee company also released a new line of flavored creamers in partnership with Nestle, which are now available at grocery stores nationwide.
The craze surrounding the fall drink may have something to do with its rich pumpkin flavor, notably made with actual pumpkins. While various other coffee-makers use flavored syrups and sweeteners to create those pumpkin-like notes everyone loves, Starbucks gave its Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe a more natural makeover back in 2015. The with artificial flavors and caramel coloring used in the original recipe was replaced with real pumpkin while the drink’s coloring is now deprived from fruit and vegetable juices along with annatto, a food coloring made from seeds.
Of course, Starbucks isn’t the only one cashing in on the pumpkins early this year. Competitor Dunkin Donuts released its fall menu, which includes pumpkin-flavored, drinks on August 21.
