NEW YORK (1010 WINS)-- Tuesday's hot and humid weather might have you dreaming of cooler fall days to come. To get you started, today is Pumpkinox -- it's the day Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte returns. This year's release date of August 28, is the drink's earliest official launch date.
For some, that signals the unofficial beginning of fall. Others wish it could be a year-round drink.
“I'd drink a pumpkin-spiced latte all year long if I could,” Dawn Saari said.
But the limited availability could be driving the drink's popularity.
“It is clearly a winning strategy for coffee chains to continue to offer pumpkin spice lattes as a limited-time offer," said Annie Roberts, a vice president at the NPD Group, a Chicago-based research outfit. Experts say the drink could be losing steam.
Technomic, tracks food industry trends, and says the pumpkin flavor will soon start taking a back to seat to up-and-comers like maple. PSLs kicked off the pumpkin craze 15 years ago.