Starbucks has announced the highly anticipated return of its Pumpkin Spice Latte, set to grace menus across the US and Canada from 26 August.
The seasonal favourite, often seen as a harbinger of autumn, is the coffee giant's most popular limited-time beverage.
Since its debut in 2003, hundreds of millions of the espresso-based drink have been sold, cementing its status.
Its immense success has also spurred numerous imitations, with competitors like Dunkin’ introducing pumpkin-flavoured drinks in 2007 and McDonald’s following suit in 2013.
Here’s a look at the Pumpkin Spice Latte by the numbers:
— 100: Number of Starbucks stores that sold the Pumpkin Spice Latte during a test run in Vancouver and Washington in 2003. The following year it launched nationally.
— 79: Number of markets where Starbucks sold the Pumpkin Spice Latte in 2024. The company has stores in 85 markets around the world.
— $36.2 billion: Starbucks' net revenue in its 2024 fiscal year, which ended last September. Starbucks' net revenue was $4.1 billion in 2003, when the Pumpkin Spice Latte first went on sale.
— 33.8 per cent: Increase in mentions of pumpkin spice on U.S. menus between the fall of 2014 and the fall of 2024, according to Technomic.
— 4: Number of spices in McCormick’s Pumpkin Pie Spice. They are cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice.
— 2022: The year Merriam-Webster added “pumpkin spice” to the dictionary. Less common, it said, is the term “pumpkin pie spice.”
— 3: The Pumpkin Spice Latte was the third seasonal beverage introduced by Starbucks, after the Eggnog Latte and the Peppermint Mocha.
— Sept. 8: Date the Pumpkin Spice Latte went on sale in 2015. The on-sale date has edged earlier since then.
— 24 per cent: Amount foot traffic rose at U.S. Starbucks last year on Aug. 22, the day the Pumpkin Spice Latte went on sale, according to Placer.ai. The company compared traffic that Thursday to the previous eight Thursdays.
— 45.5 per cent: Amount foot traffic rose at Starbucks stores in North Dakota on Aug. 22, 2024, the most of any state, according to Placer.ai. Foot traffic in Mississippi rose the least, at 4.8 per cent.
— 42,000: Number of members of the Leaf Rakers Society, a private Facebook group Starbucks created in 2018 to celebrate fall all year long.
Leading risk factor for cancer revealed – and it’s not smoking, alcohol or the sun
Scientists find link between where you live and childhood leukemia
Starbucks announces major change to ‘secret menu’
Painful lumps on teenager’s neck turned out to be rare cancer
I spy: The murky ethics around electronically tagging our children
This halloumi lasagne is the ultimate vegetarian comfort food
