Is it really fall without the “pumpkin spice latte”?
It feels like we have all been counting down the days until crunchy leaves are stuck under our boot. A vibrant knit scarf (maybe from Urban Outfitters?) wrapped around our shoulders, and the sweet, sweet, flavor of the infamous pumpkin spice latte rises from the ashes. Legend says some still hold a grudge since last year when peppermint took over the seasonal menu at Starbucks.
No, but seriously, it is that serious.
Sources report worry that the spice hasn’t been responding well to the sudden fame. She is digging her claws into anything she can find. Latte’s (of course!), but now there’s Pumpkin Spice Cheerios, Swiss Miss Pumpkin Spice, and Pumpkin Roll Febreze Bathroom Air Fresheners! This is only the tip of the iceberg, N Crowd. Respectfully, we have seen many celebrities go down the tubes and we would hate to see the same for this spice. Fans say the marketing has marketed too well, and the niche flavor of Fall has been diluted into a commercialized seasonal tradition. We all know what happened to Santa Claus, and the GoFundMe for his rehabilitation will be linked at the end of this article…
Let’s get back to the roots of what Pumpkin Spice is meant to be. Not a money hungry celebrity, not a Fall marketing crutch, but a SPICE! Keep reading to learn more about the history of the spice, and maybe, who is to blame for yet another lost soul blinded by the lights of stardom.
The Early Childhood of Pumpkin Spice
Pumpkin spice was born a mixture of many sweet and zingy ingredients. None of which actually include any pumpkin flavoring. This baking blend is made of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, mace, and cloves. According to the Savory Spice Shop, its origins trace all the way back to the 1600s at the Dutch East India Company. It’s important to know that the Dutch East India Company, founded in present-day Netherlands, was created to protect trade across the Indian Ocean and operated as a corporate colonial power.
Now, it’s called the Dutch EAST INDIA Company for a reason. The Dutch East Indies was the historical colonial name for the region that would later become what we know as modern-day Indonesia. One of the main ingredients in pumpkin spice, nutmeg, has been a staple in Indonesian crops years before it was introduced to trade routes. In a history deep dive by Barista Magazine Online, “archaeologists discovered nutmeg residue on pottery shards in the Banda Islands that are estimated to be 3,000 years old.” Most ingredients in the popular mixture are indeed traced back to Asia, including countries such as Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, and parts of China.
The Dutch heavily profited off introducing these spices to Europe. Classified as a rare commodity, professor John Munro from the University of Toronto, claims nutmeg was more valuable than gold.
To this day, N Crowd, we continue to see how these spices evolve and take over consumer markets.
The Spice Continues to Pique The Interest of Consumers
Coffee vendors big and small utilize pumpkin spice to bring in revenue. According to spend management platform, Ramp, the number of Starbucks receipts went up by 16% during the PSL season. About 8% of those orders consisted of a pumpkin loaf or pumpkin spice latte. Dunkin’ is also noted for assisting in the rise of the popular latte. Following the Starbucks introduction in 2004, Dunkin’ followed behind with their own signature PSL. During a study done in 2026, a customer typically visits Dunkin’ around 6.3 times within a certain time frame. However, during the fall season, the number of customer visits increased to 11.4.
N Crowd, are you contributing to this increase in sales? We know we are.
The big question here remains the same. What company deserves to take the pumpkin spice throne, AND who is to blame for this explosive marketing? For more related updates be sure to check out Just N Life’s business column. Don’t forget to learn more about what’s trending in your shopping cart.
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