The rise of the Pumpkin Spice Latte

It's Been a Minute

NPR

News Commentary, Society & Culture, News, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 8.8K Ratings

🗓️ 28 August 2024

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It's been 21 years since Starbucks debuted the first pumpkin spice latte in 2003. Since then, it's become a cultural phenomenon greater than itself: it's shorthand for fall, for basicness, for femininity, and even for white culture. In this episode from last year, we explore why the PSL became so powerful — and how food trends garner so much meaning.

Host Brittany Luse chatted with Suzy Badaracco, food trend forecaster and founder of Culinary Tides, to discuss the $500 million dollar industry, and how little miss pumpkin spice has held on to her cultural power.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt
0:05.2	through the Schmidt Family Foundation working toward a healthy,
0:08.8	resilient, secure world for all. On the web at the Schmidt.org.
0:14.0	Support for NPR and the following message come from Yarl and Pamela Moan,
0:19.0	thanking the people who make public radio great every day
0:22.0	and also those who listen.
0:24.3	Hey there, so for all of you who are excited about the Smackdown,
0:31.9	don't you worry, we've got a lot of special ones lined up and we'll get back to it next week but we're pausing because there's a birthday we have to celebrate. It's turning 21. It can drink, but it is also a drink. The pumpkin
0:46.8	spice latte. To celebrate its 21st birthday, I'm bringing you a special
0:51.7	episode from last year.
0:53.0	A look back at how pumpkin spice became ubiquitous.
0:56.0	So without further ado, let's go back. Today I'm headed to meet Liam, our producer to have my very first pumpkin spice latte.
1:16.4	I've never happened in my life.
1:19.0	You're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR.
1:21.6	I'm Brittany Loose. And this particular day wasn't just a momentous
1:25.8	occasion for me, but for the pumpkin spice latte too. The drink is celebrating its 20th birthday
1:32.3	this year, and we weren't the only ones making the pilgrimage on its drop day.
1:37.0	The PSL has plenty of die-hard fans.
1:40.0	So how long have you been planning on coming to Starbucks to hit the pumpkin spice drop?
1:46.0	We put this on our calendars like a week ago.
1:49.0	Okay, so I'm wondering how did y'all know about this week ago because Liam and I just found out yesterday?
1:54.3	It was on the DL on Instagram like people were mentioning it in the comments.
	...

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