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Pumpkin spice season already? What we know about Starbucks, Dunkin' fall 2024 menus

By Alex Meier
Published  July 31, 2024 12:59pm EDT
Consumer
FOX 5 NY

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NEW YORK - We know you're reading this headline with a sigh: August has yet to begin, and already, FOX 5 NY is breaking out the pumpkin spice headlines.

But stores, eateries, and yes – even some of you readers – are already thinking about fall 2024. According to restaurant technology provider SpotOn, more than 1,000 "pumpkin" items have hit shelves between May and July 15, including International Delight's Pumpkin Pie Spice Cold Foam Creamer. And companies have good reason to think fall: the "pumpkin spice market" was valued at $1.1 billion in 2023, according to Coherent Marketing Insights.

Pumpkin spice latte purchased at a Starbucks in Baltimore (Credit: Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Here's what we know about 2024's "pumpkin spice season," fall menus and the growing trend of embracing "Summerween":

Starbucks

According to food influencer Mark Vayntraub, who runs the popular @markie_devo Instagram account, the first half of Starbucks's fall 2024 menu is speculated to launch Aug. 22.

Note that the company has not confirmed the launch date nor its official fall menu. Vayntraub cites the "awesome people who work at Starbucks" for the leak.

Included in the speculated phase one of the Starbucks fall menu are the Pumpkin Spiced Latte, Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew and two new menu items: Iced Apple Crisp Cream Chai and vanilla Raccoon Cake Pops.

The second half of the menu is speculated to launch Sept. 19, according to Vayntraub's Instagram. These are all new food and beverages: Iced Pecan Crunch Latte Oatmilk, Salted Pecan Cream Cold Foam and Mummy Cookies.

Last year, the Starbucks fall menu returned on Aug. 24. The chain's iconic Pumpkin Spice Latte was first introduced in 2003, with hundreds of millions sold since its launch. And it has produced a huge — and growing — industry of imitators flecked with cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. There are pumpkin spice Oreos, protein drinks, craft beers, cereals and even Spam!

Oreo's Pumpkin Spice Sandwich Cookies will be available on August 15. 

Dunkin'

Dunkin' typically announces its fall menu in August as well.

Last year, Dunkin' brought back its Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte on Aug. 16, five weeks before the first day of autumn. 

"Summerween"

Halloween inventory, including candy and decorations, are already hitting shelves at some retailers this summer. 

"We're not ready to talk about fall yet. It's too hot for that," one New Yorker told FOX 5 NY.

Stacks of Halloween candy sit on shelves for sale at the new Shaw's in Mansfield. (Photo by Tom Herde/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

The holiday raked in $6.4 billion in candy alone last year, and stores are trying their best to cash in as early as possible. 

"It's funny to see retailers beat each other to the punch to put things out there and get consumers shopping," said retail expert Trae Bodge. "The thing about Halloween is that people who participate in Halloween – decorating their lawns and homes – they are very serious about it."

Stores getting serious about the "Summerween" trend include Marshall's, Michael's, Five Below, Costco, Target and Home Depot – which began marketing its viral 12-foot skeletons in April.

The Associated Press and FOX 5 NY's Kendall Green contributed to this report.