America’s love affair with the pumpkin spice latte may be coming to an end

Richard Levine/Alamy Stock Photo

The pumpkin spice latte might just be too basic.

McDonald’s announced last week that the drink won’t be on its fall menu for the first time in a decade. Instead, it’s replacing the classic autumn beverage with another seasonal flavor.

“Caramel Apple Pie is the only fall coffee flavor McDonald’s is releasing this year,” a spokesperson told CNN last week. “While Pumpkin Spice will not be part of this year’s lineup, we’re always exploring new ways to give fans seasonal flavors to enjoy.”

McDonald’s was never the go-brand brand for pumpkin spice lattes like Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts. But its move suggests that America’s appetite for the polarizing drink could be waning.

Since Starbucks first launched the fall drink two decades ago, the pumpkin spice latte has spurred countless coffee dates, memes and vague Gilmore Girls-themed fall decor at TJ Maxx’s. Eighty-six percent of consumers have tried a pumpkin spice latte, according to Datassential, an analytics firm focused on the food and beverage industries.

McDonald’s could be onto something with apples, however. The humble apple could be the next autumn staple,” Clare Conaghan, trendologist and associate director at Datassential, told CNN.

Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service/Getty Images

The calendar might still say summer. But this Starbucks fall favorite is back in stores

Datassential found that 99% more coffee establishments sold Apple Pie flavors and 49% more sold Caramel Apple compared to a year ago — in contrast, only 37% more establishments sold pumpkin spice lattes.

“It’s apples, but caramel apple specifically, as perhaps something that could take over or add to pumpkin spice, and we’ve seen a lot of brands do that,” Conaghan told CNN.

Consumers are generally moving away from pumpkin spice and trying funkier flavors.

Pinterest in August found that searches on its platform for banana latte syrup skyrocketed 916%; blueberry coffee rose 384%; and marshmallow cold foam increased 250%.

Eduardo Contreras/The San Diego Union-Tribune/Getty Images

Beverage chains have leaned into elaborate drinks with a laundry list of cold foam, syrup and protein options. Dunkin Donuts, which has its own extensive pumpkin-flavored menu, introduced drinks such as the Lemon Drop Suncloud Lemonade and Fluffernutter frozen coffees.

Of course, even if other flavors become popular, the pumpkin spice latte isn’t going anywhere. Around a quarter of consumers generally say they find pumpkin an appealing flavor for coffee, Robert Byrne, senior director of consumer research at Technomic, wrote to CNN.

In launching a caramel apple pie latte, McDonald’s seems to have carved out its niche. After all, Starbucks already owns the pumpkin spice latte, Maeve Webster, president of consulting firm Menu Matters, told CNN.

“Why should (McDonald’s) try to be the second runner to something that somebody else owns?” Webster said.

The coffee move fits in with McDonald’s larger strategy of late. The fast food giant recently reported its slowest growth since 2025, with US sales rising just 0.8% in the second quarter. McDonald’s blamed some of the decline in visits on slower service because of the number of value offerings, and said it plans to re-evaluate its menu selection.

Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images

McDonald’s sales in the US are slowing after deal fatigue

CEO Chris Kempczinski said on last month’s earnings call that is US business “slowed significantly” during the second quarter and that results were “below our expectations.”

The caramel apple pie is already a staple McDonald’s dessert. And the company said last year that it would focus on drinks as one of its three core menu categories. It made broad changes to its drink menus, such as adding Strawberry Watermelon and Mango Pineapple refreshers – and fall coffee is its latest shakeup.

The apple caramel lineup’s announcement garnered polarizing reactions on social media. There’s a lot going on in the drink, in true fall sweet treat fashion: salted caramel whipped cream, apple pie crumble topping and caramel apple pie syrup.

“I need this (drink) to look good for me to love it,” one TikTok reviewer claimed , who received their drink without the whipped topping. Another review compared the drink’s taste to “a candle.”

Even with the divided reaction, the comments seemed to coalesce on going back to the basics.

“Petition for them to being back pumpkin spice,” one declared.

Richard Levine/Alamy Stock Photo

南瓜香料拿铁可能太普通了。

麦当劳上周宣布，这款饮品将十年来首次从秋季菜单中移除。取而代之的是，它将用另一种季节限定口味来取代这款经典的秋季饮品。

麦当劳发言人上周告诉CNN：“焦糖苹果派是麦当劳今年秋季唯一推出的咖啡口味。虽然南瓜香料口味不会出现在今年的产品阵容中，但我们一直在探索新的方式，为粉丝们带来应季口味。”

麦当劳从来都不是像星巴克或唐恩都乐那样的南瓜香料拿铁的首选品牌。但它的这一举动表明，美国人对这种褒贬不一的饮品的需求可能正在减弱。

自星巴克二十年前首次推出这款秋季饮品以来，南瓜香料拿铁就引发了无数次的咖啡约会、网络迷因，甚至在TJ Maxx等大型连锁商店里出现了与《吉尔莫女孩》主题相呼应的秋季装饰。据专注于食品饮料行业的分析公司Datassential的数据显示，86%的消费者都尝试过南瓜香料拿铁。

不过，麦当劳用苹果做主或许真的有道理。Datassential 的趋势学家兼副总监克莱尔·康纳汉告诉 CNN：“不起眼的苹果可能会成为下一个秋季主食。”

Christina Tkacik/巴尔的摩太阳报/论坛新闻社/盖蒂图片社

虽然日历上还显示着夏天，但这款星巴克秋季热门饮品已经重返门店了。

Datassential 的调查发现，与一年前相比，苹果派口味的咖啡店销量增加了 99%，焦糖苹果口味的咖啡店销量增加了 49%——相比之下，南瓜香料拿铁的销量只增加了 37%。

“是苹果，但具体来说是焦糖苹果，或许可以取代或增强南瓜香料的味道，我们已经看到很多品牌这样做了，”康纳汉告诉 CNN。

消费者普遍不再喜欢南瓜香料口味，转而尝试更新奇的口味。

Pinterest 在 8 月份发现，其平台上香蕉拿铁糖浆的搜索量飙升了 916%；蓝莓咖啡的搜索量上升了 384%；棉花糖冷泡芙的搜索量上升了 250%。

Eduardo Contreras/圣地亚哥联合论坛报/Getty Images

饮料连锁店纷纷推出花式饮品，配料包括琳琅满目的冷萃泡沫、糖浆和蛋白质选择。以拥有丰富南瓜口味菜单的唐恩都乐为例，他们还推出了诸如柠檬水“阳光云”柠檬水和棉花糖花生酱冰咖啡之类的饮品。

当然，即便其他口味流行起来，南瓜香料拿铁也不会过时。Technomic消费者研究高级总监罗伯特·伯恩在给CNN的一封信中写道，大约四分之一的消费者表示，他们觉得南瓜味的咖啡很有吸引力。

麦当劳推出焦糖苹果派拿铁，似乎已经找到了自己的市场定位。毕竟，星巴克已经垄断了南瓜香料拿铁市场，咨询公司Menu Matters总裁梅芙·韦伯斯特告诉CNN。

韦伯斯特说：“麦当劳为什么要试图成为别人拥有的东西的第二名呢？”

此次推出咖啡产品符合麦当劳近期的整体战略。这家快餐巨头近期公布了自2025年以来最慢的增长速度，第二季度美国销售额仅增长0.8%。麦当劳将客流量下降的部分原因归咎于大量超值产品导致服务速度变慢，并表示计划重新评估其菜单选择。

Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images

受促销疲劳影响，麦当劳在美国的销售增速放缓。

首席执行官克里斯·肯普钦斯基在上个月的财报电话会议上表示，美国业务在第二季度“明显放缓”，业绩“低于预期”。

焦糖苹果派早已是麦当劳的招牌甜点。该公司去年表示，将把饮品作为其三大核心菜单类别之一。麦当劳对其饮品菜单进行了大幅调整，例如新增了草莓西瓜和芒果菠萝口味的清爽饮品——而秋季咖啡则是其最新的产品更新。

苹果焦糖系列饮品的发布在社交媒体上引发了截然不同的反应。这款饮品融合了多种元素，完美诠释了秋季甜点的风格：咸焦糖鲜奶油、苹果派酥粒和焦糖苹果派糖浆。

一位TikTok用户评论说：“这饮料得卖相好看我才会喜欢。”他收到的饮料没有奶油顶。另一位用户则把这饮料的味道比作“蜡烛”。

尽管各方反应不一，但评论似乎都集中在回归基本原则上。

“请愿让他们重新推出南瓜香料口味！”有人这样呼吁道。