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Supply Chain

Pumpkin Craze Transforms Lattes, Vodka Into Comfort Food

By square1
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Pumpkin Craze Transforms Lattes, Vodka Into Comfort Food

It may not be sweater weather yet, but the annual deluge of pumpkin-flavoured treats is on its way.

Pumpkin-spice lattes will go on sale at McDonald’s restaurants in some regions starting 1 September and at Starbucks cafés the following day. Starbucks, based in Seattle, is letting customers get the drink early this year by whispering a code -- First PSL -- to a cafe barista.

American’s craving for pumpkin delicacies has become a seasonal ritual that’s only grown in recent years. The success of the Starbucks lattes, which the chain started selling about a decade ago, has prompted a flood of pumpkin-flavored fare, including Pinnacle brand pumpkin-pie vodka from Beam Suntory Inc. and pumpkin-spice Jell-O from Kraft Foods Group Inc. Even pets are joining in, with Nestle SA’s Purina touting the ingredient in its new dog chow.

“Pumpkin itself is a comfort food,” said Bill Chidley, brand consultant at ChangeUp in Dayton, Ohio. “It’s just a perennial favorite, like turkey at Thanksgiving, eggnog at Christmas, fireworks on Fourth of July.”

US pumpkin-flavoured sales jumped 14 per cent to about $308 million in 2013, according to Nielsen. The extra demand helped push pumpkin prices up 11 per cent last year, the US Department of Agriculture reported in March.

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McDonald’s stock was little changed at $93.83 at 9:50 a.m. in New York and has dropped 2.5 per cent this year through yesterday. Starbucks fell 0.4 percent to $77.60 and has lost 0.6 per cent in 2014.

Bloomberg News edited by ESM

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