From pumpkin spice drinks to candles to apparel, during autumn, it’s everywhere you look. Every coffee shop and store is decked out with pumpkin spice merchandise the very second summer season shows signs of ending. Here in Southern California, the summer heat isn’t over until mid-October, but regardless, you will still see a pumpkin spice latte in everyone’s hands.
Does pumpkin spice even have a real flavor? The mix of cinnamon and perfume-tasting coffee is all the rage, and it shows no sign of stopping. According to an article on CNN, Americans are spending over five hundred million dollars on pumpkin spice products a year.
Is it the flavor or the trend that truly makes pumpkin spice so popular?
“I think nostalgia plays into the demand for pumpkin spice, and it gets people in the fall spirit,” junior Emely Garcia said.
With overconsumption being a significant problem in the U.S., the amount of pumpkin spice products being produced and consumed each year is also increasing. The drink that started as a tasty coffee flavor is now becoming a trend, contributing to over-consumerism.
“I think that the consumerism of [pumpkin spice products] is based on the fall trend, and companies are trying to capitalize off of it,” Rancho Cucamonga High School teacher Mr. Tyler Statzel said.
Even without having the intention to overconsume products in general, it is still considered overconsumption when products are bought in unnecessary amounts.
“I think that people just anticipate going out and getting a [pumpkin spice] latte. It’s not that they are intentionally trying to overconsume,” Garcia said.
Whether pumpkin spice is truly loved for its flavor or simply followed for the trend, its seasonal takeover reflects the bigger picture of how easily consumer habits are influenced by nostalgia and marketing.
“Everything was pumpkin spice-flavored at Trader Joe’s a couple days ago,” Statzel said.
As shelves fill up with pumpkin spice products, it’s worth considering how much of what we buy is driven by genuine enjoyment versus seasonal hype. Autumn may be temporary, but obsession with trends like these shows no signs of cooling down.
