We've only just tip-toed into August, but the marketing departments behind every big-name brand have already catapulted themselves into September. Dust off your chunkiest, coziest knits because Pumpkin Spice Season is back, baby.
If you think I'm getting ahead of myself, allow me to give you a glimpse into my inbox, where Cup Noodles has just announced a new pumpkin spice flavor (really), Thomas' is peddling its pumpkin spice english muffins and bagels, and Pepperidge Farms is infusing its Milano cookies with pumpkin spice flavor. And that's not all: Tim Hortons, Jamba Juice, Nestle and Coffee Mate are all jumping on the cinnamon-scented bandwagon, too.
Elsewhere on the internet, sleuths are predicting the release date for Starbucks' hotly anticipated Pumpkin Spice Latte (early signs point to August 24) and publications are resurfacing their best pumpkin recipes.
If you're thinking to yourself that it all feels a bit too early this year, you're not totally wrong – at least, not according to my inbox. Last year, most brands waited until the second or third week of August to start teasing pumpkin spice products. And in 2019, they held off until the final week of August. So while it's not uncommon to dive headfirst into fall before summer's even wrapped, it does seem like pumpkin spice products are debuting a little earlier this year.
I'm certainly not above indulging in a good PSL on September 1, but after missing out on most of last summer, I'll happily cling to my frozen daiquiri until then.