Okay, I need you to play along with me a little bit today. First, I need you to think like a carnival barker as you read this first paragraph. “Step right up! Hey, you there, step right up and see what I’ve got for you today! I’ve got your favorite pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin spice latte (Starbucks). Do you want pumpkin-flavored breakfast items? I’ve got Kellogg’s pumpkin pie Pop-Tarts, pumpkin spice shredded Mini-Wheats, pumpkin Life, pumpkin spice Special K, pumpkin spice Cheerios, and Thomas pumpkin spice English muffins and bagels. Or, maybe you are more refined in your taste. There are Pepperidge Farms pumpkin spice Milano cookies, pumpkin scones, pumpkin spice coffee, and pumpkin spice coffee creamer (Coffee Mate, International Delight, or Starbucks… take your pick). Dessert is covered too. Dairy Queen has pumpkin pie Blizzards, there are pumpkin spice M&M’s, pumpkin spice Dunkin Donuts, pumpkin cake w/icing, pumpkin rolls, pumpkin spice Jell-O instant pudding, Lil Bites pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin butter, Pillsbury pumpkin iced Grands cinnamon rolls, pumpkin pie almonds, pumpkin caramel corn, and Cheesecake Factory pumpkin cheesecake. There are pumpkin flavored marshmallows, pumpkin caramels, pumpkin spice whipped cream, pumpkin ice cream, and pumpkin pie yogurt.” Whew!!
As I stop to take a breath, I think you can realize where this The Other Day… is going. Harvesting time is near, and the stores are loading up for your shopping dollars this season. However, where did this hankering for all things pumpkin and pumpkin spice come from? Well, Punkin’, you may be surprised to hear what I found out. In 2016, the Washington Post presented an article written by Jayne Orenstein, entitled “The Origins of Pumpkin Spice and How it Became the Flavor of Fall.” In the article, she mentions that this whole pumpkin spice concept was the “Brain Child,” in part, of Starbucks. Sixteen years ago (thirteen years in the article), Starbucks introduced the Pumpkin Spice Latte, and in that 13-year period, they have sold over 200 million cups of the flavorful beverage.
It seems that Forbes estimated that in 2015 Starbucks made over 100 million dollars on this one beverage alone. Wow! Grocery stores and marketers bet heavily on people favoring more pumpkin-flavored products, and they were right. The shelves have exploded with pumpkin or pumpkin spice flavored items since the first offerings of the coffee chain. So, if you like pumpkin-flavored items and you don’t see it in what you like, just wait. You can be sure that, sooner or later, they’ll have pumpkin licorice or who knows what else.
Personally, I don’t drink coffee, but I do like me a good pumpkin-flavored Pop-Tart. I can hear my wife already, “That’s not on your diet!” Don’t I know it! Hey, until next time, enjoy the upcoming fall season and your pumpkin or pumpkin spice-flavored everything. MUH!!