On Day 1 of my 13 Days of Halloween, we turned ourselves into zombies and nothing awakens and summons the dead like espresso infused with the delicious flavor of pumpkin pie. So for Day 2, let’s grab a Pumpkin Spice Latte, Starbucks’ signature seasonal beverage that zombies can’t resist! For the record, it’s the most popular seasonal beverage of all time by Starbucks’ self-proclamation. Savvy social media zombies refer to it as a #PSL, and affectionately refer to their PSL-loving brethren as #PSLZombies.
Retooling the #PSL Recipe
This year walkers everywhere can enjoy the new and improved version made with real pumpkin puree and no artificial ingredients. This is the first and only change of #PSL ingredients since it hit the market 12 years ago. Starbucks’ claims their incentive to remove artificial ingredients comes from years of fan feedback and Peter Dukes, Director of Espresso and Brewed Coffee, said “We asked ourselves, do we think we could do better? And we thought that we could.”
Many zombies were horrified that Starbucks would consider such a blasphemous act; some zombies even tweeted Starbucks was “ruining fall“. Dukes said it took the Starbucks team three months to develop the updated version, but the result is apparently well worth the effort.
#PSL aficionados and walkers alike say it tastes the same… espresso, perfectly steamed milk, warm fall spices. with the delicious flavor of pumpkin pie that reminds you of the cool, crisp days of autumn. “The second you take a sip, it just takes you to fall,” says Duke.
Thank goodness Starbucks didn’t ruin fall!
Starbucks loves #PSLZombies
Starbucks loves #PSL guzzling zombies. Why? Zombies consume roughly 20 million of these beverages per year. Seasonal drinks provide a one-two punch, in they boost the frequency of customer exchanges and also prompt them to spend more per visit.
Assuming a price point of $4 for a 12-ounce “tall”, this equates to $80 million in sales revenue for the #PSL alone, a huge number considering it’s only available for roughly five months a year. This doesn’t account for larger drink sizes which could increase this figure.
The annual debut of the #PSL coincides with ~5% increase in store foot traffic and ~7% increase in quarterly sales. According to the industry publication Nation’s Restaurant News, the NPD Group reports zombies who purchased a pumpkin spice latte spent an average of $7.81, compared to an average non-pumpkin check of $6.67. Multiply the $1.14 difference by $20M and you can see why Starbucks loves its #PSLZombies.
Hilary, Hell hath no fury like the wrath of Scorned #PSLZombies
Democratic front-runner, Hilary Clinton, made headlines recently when she engaged Facebook for a question and answer session covering a wide range of topics. Of course the exchange that got the most attention was her response to the question, “Are you a pumpkin spice latte kind of gal?”
Not since Starbucks’ press release announcing a “reformulation” has an answer caused such a stir in the #PSLZombieNation. Some zombies even hinted such a gaff might cost Hilary the presidency.
The exchange prompted Chris Cillizza, a writer for the Washington Post, to publish, “Hillary Clinton is Dead, Dead Wrong – About Pumpkin Spice Lattes.” Chris starts out by saying, “Sometimes a politician says something so outrageous that you can’t just let it go uncommented on, this is one of those days…”
What about Clinton’s point about how many calories are in the PSL? Here’s the drink’s nutritional info — via Starbucks — for a grande (that’s a “medium” to normal people) with 2 percent milk: 310 calories and seven grams of fat. That’s practically good for you! Especially when you consider downing a grande 2 percent Salted Caramel Mocha (360 calories) or a grande 2 percent White Chocolate Mocha (400 calories).
What would you rather have for breakfast — a PSL (310 calories) or two cups of cheerios with 1 1/4 cups of skim milk (300 calories)? No contest.
Look, life is short. Why not drink as many pumpkin spice lattes as you can? In fact, I am going to follow my own advice and order up one of those suckers right now. Bye!
Chris Cillizza
Spoken like a true #PSLZombie, Chris. Love how you zombies sneak the word “dead” into your titles!
And Hillary, the good news is, he didn’t accuse you of “ruining fall”. I’m sure you can spin this in your favor.
Just sayin.
OMG I need a PSL right now!!! Too bad there is a mountain between me and the closest Starbucks!!!
Yes, I could use one too.