Starbucks menu changes on Aug. 25 bring back the Pumpkin Spice Latte. The company is also adding new fall drinks, food items and PSL Society merchandise.
Brian Niccol, the CEO overseeing the Back to Starbucks turnaround, is pushing a simpler menu and shorter wait times while the company says it has four straight quarters of comparable sales growth. Starbucks tied the latest rollout to third-quarter results reported last week.
Starbucks fall drinks
The seasonal lineup extends beyond the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Starbucks will add the Iced Pumpkin Cream Shaken Espresso, Pumpkin Spice Chai and Iced Pumpkin Cream Matcha, and it is bringing back the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai and Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino blended beverage.
Starbucks is also adding a new iced banana bread-flavored latte and chai drink. The Chaider joins the menu as a blend of chai and cider-inspired flavors, giving the fall lineup one more limited-time option for customers who want something outside the usual pumpkin range.
Chicken Bacon Protein Pocket
Food items are part of the rollout too. Starbucks will add a new Chicken Bacon Protein Pocket and a Hedgehog Cake Pop, and the Chicken Bacon Protein Pocket contains 20 grams of protein.
The company is also offering new drinkware and a hat through its PSL Society collection. For customers, the practical takeaway is simple: the fall menu arrives Aug. 25, and the pumpkin items, new drinks and merchandise will appear together rather than as separate launches.
Brian Niccol and Starbucks
The rollout comes as Niccol continues to manage the company’s turnaround plan while Starbucks tries to keep its sales momentum. He said Wednesday, “We have more work to do,” and Cathy Smith described the environment as a “dynamic operating environment.”
For customers deciding whether to try the fall lineup, Aug. 25 is the date to watch. The company has laid out the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte and the new seasonal items, but it has not set a public end date for the fall assortment.
