Well folks, It’s that time of year again. Shelves are stocked with everyone’s seasonal favorite-Pumpkin Spice. I have to admit I’m a huge supporter of the flavor and was counting down the days until I could finally get my hands on some. About two weeks ago I decided to ring in the fall by treating myself to a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte and it was a spiritual experience, per usual. This sparked a PSL revolution inside of me. So naturally the next time my friends and I went for our iced coffee run to Dunkin’ Donuts, my game plan was to get another PSL. When we arrived the vibe was eerie, I immediately felt like something was off. I quickly assessed my surrounding and to my surprise, the joint was decorated in posters advertising their Maple Pecan flavor along with their new Maple Bacon Breakfast Sandwich. I was furious, where was the love for my babe Pumpkin Spice? I decided then and there that Maple is NOT a thing, stop trying to make it a thing. A couple days later my roommate, Meghan decided to order a Maple Pecan Latte, I was baffled. I couldn’t believe she would order such a thing. So I have to ask, is Maple a thing? Welcome to the Flavor Forecast.
I’m a marketing major and currently deep in my business studies. So, as the professional marketer that I obviously am made the hypothesis that Dunkin’ is probably losing a lot of fall sales by not promoting their Pumpkin flavor. Lots of brands try to market to ages 18 to 24 because we are the trendsetters! It’s proven that we have a lot of influence on the people around us (at least that’s what my notes say). I say this because I can see older people ordering a Maple coffee, but I just can’t picture a 19-year-old doing the same. By the way, don’t take this as me saying old people can’t have nice things, blah blah blah. I did a little research and I guess Maple is trending for Fall 2018. You go Maple! This is coming from the major foodies though, not your average college student. Therefore, I asked my friends what they thought about the flavor and I got mixed reviews. I received some yes’s but mostly grossed out faces followed by an “Ew, no!” I ended up making a poll on my Instagram story and asked “Would you order a maple flavored coffee?” and it resulted in 60% YES and 40% NO, proving me (and my ignorant thoughts) wrong! I also had some people directly reply to the poll and tell me that they really enjoy it. Since I blew this way out of proportion I thought it was only fair that I try it for myself, and I didn’t hate it! It didn’t rock my world, but I was able to drink and enjoy the Maple Pecan Iced coffee experience. As Guy Fieri would put it, I didn’t take a trip to Flavor Town. Do I think it can take Pumpkin Spices role as my new boyfriend, no. I will say it’s a nice switch up if you’re looking to try something different. I’ll be interested to see if it comes around next fall for an encore. Way to keep me on my toes, Dunkin’!
My Friend Meghan enjoying a Maple Pecan Latte