Trader Joe’s, Starbucks and More ‘Take Advantage’ of the Pumpkin Spice Craze — Here’s How Much It Costs You
The spice blend born in 1934 comes for American wallets every fall.
Key Takeaways
- Starbucks launched its still-popular pumpkin spice latte more than two decades ago in 2003.
- Retailers continue to cash in on the seasonal trend — and significantly mark up standard products.
Love it or hate it, if you’re like millions of Americans, you probably associate one particular flavor with the start of fall: pumpkin spice.
The spice blend when McCormick and Company developed the product, then surged in popularity when Starbucks launched its .
Nowadays, Americans spend more than $500 million on pumpkin spice products every year, according to Nielsen data reported by .
Related: Starbucks Just Experienced a ‘Record-Breaking Sales Week’ Thanks to One Line of Products
Naturally, some of the biggest retailers, from Trader Joe’s to Target and beyond, cash in on the seasonal trend — and a new study from online lending marketplace breaks down just how much.
Across the board, pumpkin-flavored items cost an average of 8.4% more than their nonpumpkin counterparts, up from 7.4% in 2024, but down from 14.1% in 2022, per the report.
Some retailers rolled out significantly higher markups than others, according to the data.
The ubiquitous Starbucks pumpkin spice latte saw a 21.8% increase compared to its non-flavored counterpart — and the iced version even more: 25.2%.
Trader Joe’s saw significant pumpkin spice taxes on seasonal variations of standard products: 50.3% on its Joe’s Os cereal, 42.9% on its Joe medium roast ground coffee and 41.7% on its garden vegetable soup.
Target‘s Favorite Day pumpkin spice trail mix cost 76.4% more than its Favorite Day monster trail mix, and the retailer priced the pumpkin spice version of Oreo cookies 38.5% higher.
However, not all pumpkin spice products were subjected to the seasonal tax, the study found.
Related: 18 Must-Have Products for People Who Love Pumpkin Spice
At Whole Foods, Republic of Tea’s pumpkin spice black tea cost 30.6% less than its Earl Greyer option.
A couple of Trader Joe’s products also bucked the trend: Pumpkin Spiced Joe-Joe’s sandwich cookies cost 18.6% less than the chocolate and peanut butter Joe-Joe’s, and the pumpkin body butter cost 16.7% less than the Brazil nut body butter.
“Pumpkins are practically as big a part of the fall in America as sweaters and football,” said Matt Schulz, LendingTree chief consumer finance analyst. “I think retailers take advantage of that enthusiasm to a degree by pricing pumpkin-flavored goods a little higher than other products. Americans aren’t that concerned about the higher costs because these items keep flying off the shelves.”
Key Takeaways
- Starbucks launched its still-popular pumpkin spice latte more than two decades ago in 2003.
- Retailers continue to cash in on the seasonal trend — and significantly mark up standard products.
Love it or hate it, if you’re like millions of Americans, you probably associate one particular flavor with the start of fall: pumpkin spice.
The spice blend when McCormick and Company developed the product, then surged in popularity when Starbucks launched its .
Nowadays, Americans spend more than $500 million on pumpkin spice products every year, according to Nielsen data reported by .
