It seems that fall menus come earlier each year, as operators are looking to add fresh flavours to the menu and diners are excited to welcome their favourites back. While the majority of operators are still celebrating summer on the menu – and restaurants like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts are keeping official launch dates under wraps for now – fall flavours have already started arriving in some restaurants.
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Denny’s has announced the return of their Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes, arriving on menus on August 21st. Launching in 2016, nearly one million of these fan favourites were sold in 2023.
A new Pumpkin Spice Slurpee was recently introduced at select 7-Eleven locations, along with a Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, Pumpkin Spice Coffee, and Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Dairy Queen has also announced that the Pumpkin Pie Blizzard will be featured in its newest fall flavours, hitting stores on August 26.
Second Cup has released its seasonal lineup, adding hot and cold pumpkin spice lattes and a Pumpkin Nut FroCho to the menu, available now through the fall season.
Tim Horton’s has announced a list of the pumpkin-flavoured beverages to be featured on their fall menu, including a cappuccino, latte, cold brew, and iced latte, available on August 21.
Krispy Kreme has also revealed its fall pumpkin lineup, which features a hot or cold latte, pumpkin spice coffee, and a pumpkin spice cake donut. These seasonal items will be available in stores through November 28.
While pumpkin spice has certainly dominated fall flavour profiles in the past, research shows that consumer preferences are changing. 45 per cent of people feel that there are better options than pumpkin spice, citing cinnamon (39 per cent), salted caramel (37 per cent), and apple (36 per cent) as their fall flavours of choice.
As more and more fall flavours hit menus, operators will need to attract guests with seasonal LTOs to stand out. Rather than focusing on adding pumpkin to everything this season, operators can get creative with their fall menus to appeal to broader tastes and changing consumer preferences.
