Starbucks started Pumpkin Spice Latte season in August this year, and some people thought it was a little too early.
Since the iconic fall drink debuted 21 years ago, “Pumpkin Spice” has basically become its own little industry in the U.S. You can find candles, beer, cookies, perfume, even garbage bags marketed with the scent.
The “Something Offbeat” team reached out to an expert who could tell us all about people’s reactions to pumpkin spice over the years, Dr. Jin-A Choi. She’s part of a team from Montclair State University that create the annual Pumpkin Spice Report – the latest just came out this month.
“We went online to various social media sites and we collected mostly tweets regarding hashtag pumpkin spice PSL – which stands for Pumpkin Spice Latte that Starbucks coined – and related keywords to gather data,” Dr. Choi explained. “And we found that people actually expressed more love and obsession for the drink rather than hate.”
Dr. Choi also helped us explore the expanding world of Pumpkin Spice products, why people are so attracted to them and more.
Each week, “Something Offbeat” takes a deeper look at an unusual headline. If you have suggestions for stories the podcast should cover, send them to us at somethingoffbeat@audacy.com.