Is Pumpkin Spice Wearing Thin Yet?

Starbucks denies it. The official word from the dominant force behind pumpkin spice season is that the launch of its fall menu – featuring the much loved and hated latte – sparked the “best ever sales week” for Starbucks. Nonetheless, we can’t help wondering if pumpkin spice is wearing thin.

Call us cynical, but there’s nothing in the frothy PR from Starbucks about their record sales to say that actual sales of the PSL are up. Rather, it’s all about how the season is sparking a bump in total store sales.

We will grant that, in the midst of a lot of chaos, the return of fall offers a bit of reassurance that this old world is still spinning as it always has. We’re just not ready to concede that pumpkin spice everything is forever.

Hints of Trouble in Social Media

A small measure of support for our skepticism comes from Montclair State University’s College of Communication and Media. A faculty team there has been studying the PSL phenomenon for years. This year, in a social media analysis, they’re seeing hints of trouble. Searches related to PSL are down. There’s negativity about prices and the impact of tariffs. But perhaps most ominous is the fact that negative posts about pumpkin spice are surpassing positive posts for the first time ever.

When social media posts are down by 70,000, this is a problem for the pumpkin spice juggernaut.

Indulgence in fall flavors of pumpkin and spices will surely be a pleasure to enjoy for some time to come. But we suspect the hype machine will, sooner or later, shift to something new and shiny. Apple butter, anyone?

Click here and here for more about the Montclair State study and here for a bit about the business angle. For insight on flavors that might rival pumpkin, click here.

Pumpkin Spice Haircuts, photograph by Ted Kyle / ConscienHealth

Subscribe by email to follow the accumulating evidence and observations that shape our view of health, obesity, and policy.

October 20, 2025