Pumpkin. Spice. Latte. It’s the drink you either love or love to hate, and for many people its arrival is basically synonymous with fall.
And this year is a big one for PSL, as it is affectionately known. Starbucks’ signature seasonal beverage is turning 13. (HBD, PSL!)
Related: Want to skip the line this fall? Try this super simple PSL recipe at home.
In light of this auspicious autumnal occasion, The Washington Post pulled together a tribute, tracing pumpkin spice’s rise and reign.
A few notable numbers about PSL (a fragrant blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, often cloves or allspice, maybe ginger and sometimes even real pumpkin) from the Post’s video and story and other sources:
More than 200 million: The number of PSLs Starbucks sold in the first decade following its 2003 launch.
100 million: Revenue in dollars Starbucks made from the sale of pumpkin spice lattes last fall alone, according to Forbes’ estimates.
114,000: Followers tracking the pumpkin spice latte’s official Twitter account, @TheRealPSL.
More than 70: The estimated number of pumpkin spice products on offer at Trader Joe’s this fall.
65: Number of pumpkin-spice-flavored foods on Eater’s list of foods “that have no business being pumpkin spiced,” including fig bars, Four Loko, kefir, cream cheese, caramel squares and chicken sausage.
72: Percent of PSL buyers who say they buy the specialty beverage only once per season, according to the global info firm The NPD Group.
20: Percent of pumpkin spice latte customers who buy them twice per season.
8: Percent of PSL customers — those hardcore loyalists — who indulge in the drink three or more times during the period of time Starbucks is offering them.
2: Number of limited-edition flavors Cheerios has introduced this year. One is strawberry and the other is — you guessed it — pumpkin spice, which Bloomberg reports General Mills is bringing out in hopes of bolstering its appeal after years of declining sales.
Crunch.
Related:
Original post by Amy Reiter, published in FN Dish News on September 30th, 2016