With the fall season approaching, Pumpkin Spice is back at your local coffee shops and supermarkets. We all are familiar with the well-known pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks, and now the newly launched drink from Dunkin’ Donuts Clearly, there seems to be some favoritism with this popular fall spice.
I think the media and the overall theme of fall make us want to purchase this spice without truly enjoying it. The media uses things like fall aesthetics and celebrities as clickbait for these hyped up drinks.
An article called The Rise and Rise of Pumpkin Spice from the website BBC.com states “Nostalgia, clever marketing, media coverage, and hype by companies such as Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and Hallmark led to people believing they like this spice mix, according to Kantha Shelk, a food scientist and spokesperson for the Institute of Food Technologists”. This makes me believe that pumpkin spice is not as nice as it seems.
How far do we go to achieve the overall fall aesthetic? Our Instagram feeds are filled with pretty pictures of pumpkin-spiced drinks and TikTok pumpkin drink recommendations. We can be pretty obsessed with fitting Social Conformity.
Social conformity is when we match our attitudes and behaviors to unspoken “norms” of small groups or society as a whole” as stated in an article called Why Americans are so obsessed with pumpkin spice everything- according to Science published by the website theconversation.com.
The pumpkin spice craze is nothing but a trend people choose to follow because of social norms. It’s normal and popular to like this spice, especially during the fall, but what about the others? Isn’t cinnamon, apple cider, and hot chocolate delicious favors that are associated with the fall season?
I think we as a society need to understand how much of an influence social media and social norms have on us. The pumpkin spice itself brings a nice overall feel and aesthetic. It puts us in the fall spirit because this is the only season we see pumpkin spice advertised. But what will happen if one day that changes, will pumpkin spice still be as popular? Or will audiences move towards whatever’s next just because it’s in the public eye?
