Pumpkin Spice is as Popular as Ever, 2024 Montclair Study Shows

Despite fatigue and confusion over fall drinks releasing too early, social media is still crazy for Pumpkin Spice Latte season

Montclair, NJ (10/02/2024) — A team of faculty and students from the Joetta Di Bella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication in the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University today released a new study examining 2024 conversations, trends and sentiment on social media about pumpkin spice. With Starbucks releasing its popular Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) one week earlier than last year, consumers took to social media to discuss the polarizing flavor.

Highlights from the study from the School's Center for Strategic Communication include:

• PSL is as popular and polarizing as ever. Combing through more than 209,000 social posts from August 22 to September 23, 2024 via the Brandwatch platform, the Montclair team discovered an 895% increase in social media conversations surrounding pumpkin spice from a similar period in 2023.
• Too early for fall drinks? There was heightened negative emotion (26%) vs. positive (17%) due to what appears to be confusion and fatigue. Compared to 2023, when Starbucks released its fall drinks on August 30, this year's release (August 22) felt premature to many social media audiences.
• Team Apple vs Team Pumpkin. Apple emerged as a highly anticipated flavor for fall. Apple was frequently discussed as a preferred alternative fall item to pumpkin spice, especially "spiced apple," "apple cinnamon," "apple cider" and "apple cider donut." A comparison of Google Trends for pumpkin spice vs. apple cider reveals that interest in apple cider has surpassed that of pumpkin spice since early September.
• 'Pumpkin spice' searches haven't slowed. Still, a Google Trends Analysis of "pumpkin spice" over the past five years showed that the highest share of search frequency in history occurred in 2024 during the studied time period, reaching the 100-point mark. This is four points higher than the level of search interest for pumpkin spice in 2023.
• More searches for at-home PSL recipes. Amazon emerged as a new competitor in our data. The arrival of the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks has divided boycotters in the midst of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Many consumers flocked to Starbucks, while others turned to home recipes to mimic the Starbucks drink. Therefore "pumpkin spice syrup" was mentioned frequently in posts discussing where to buy the syrup (e.g. Amazon, Walmart, etc.).
• Other brands join the PSL craze. Krispy Kreme and Einstein Bros, brands not featured prominently in previous studies, also emerged to join the pumpkin spice social media trend in 2024.

See the full study, released Oct. 1 on National Pumpkin Spice Day.

The study was conducted by faculty Dr. Jin-A Choi, Dr. Yi Luo and Dr. Bond Benton, with research and event planning assistance from Professor Keith Green and graduate students. It is the 20th study released from the School's Joetta Di Bella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication, which provides social media analytics tools and training for faculty and students for classroom learning and research projects.

"There were 209k social conversations regarding 'pumpkin spice' in a span of a month from the first date of the Starbucks PSL release to the first day of fall (August 22 to September 23, 2024)," continued Dr. Choi, who is the Director of Data Analytics for the Joetta Di Bella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication and an Assistant Professor of Advertising. "This is a staggering 895% increase from the 2023 volume, indicating an even bigger craze for everything pumpkin spice this year."

"Notably, this year's conversations highlighted a rising trend toward apple cider and healthier options for enjoying pumpkin spice-infused drinks and food," said Dr. Luo, who is an Associate Professor in the School of Communication and Media.

This study is a follow up to the 2023 and 2022 reports from the Center for Strategic Communication on the same topic that garnered national attention.

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About the School of Communication and Media: Founded in 2012, the School of Communication and Media offers a range of dynamic programs in communication and media to a talented and diverse student population of over 2,000. Offering degrees in film and television, social media and public relations, advertising, journalism and digital media, sports communication, communication and media studies, animation and visual effects, and an MA in public and organizational relations, the School prepares the next generation of communication and media practitioners and leaders. The School houses award-winning student programs that include WMSC Radio, The Montclarion newspaper, Hawk Communication. s Agency, the Red Hawk Sports Network, Hawk+ OTT streaming platform, and News Lab, as well as the Center for Cooperative Media, which serves the public by working to grow and strengthen local journalism. Student projects and programs have recently received national recognition from PRSSA's Bateman Competition, an Edward R Murrow Award, several Marconi Award nominations, and a College Television Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

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