9-21-2026 4:38am

McCormick's Season

McCormick survey finds how consumers feel about pumpkin pie spice

The spices that we often associate with pumpkins and pumpkin pie — and much later with this pumpkin spice latte that I’m sipping right now — were first put together in the 1600s, when those spices were united.

Soon after the first supermarkets opened in the U.S., McCormick came out with a pumpkin spice flavor in 1934 as an easy way to incorporate all these ingredients together as a mix. Those ingredients typically are going to be cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, cloves, and sometimes allspice. There’s no pumpkin in there, but those are the pumpkin-related spices that are often put together.

At that point McCormick was saying, try this mix in pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie, obviously. And since we’re in North Carolina, traditional sweet potato pie recipes often follow similar recipes and use similar pumpkin spice mixes.

Pumpkin spice lattes are back across the country, remaining one of the iconic symbols of fall. This year, McCormick, experts on all things pumpkin pie spice after introducing the flavor in 1934 and recently releasing a limited time Pumpkin Spice Finishing Sugar, conducted a survey to see how consumers really feel about this seasonal flavor.

The study reveals findings about when pumpkin pie spice season hits its peak and how pumpkin pie spice is the top seasonal flavor consumers look forward to the most throughout the year.

Some noteworthy findings from the survey:

Pumpkin pie spice is the top seasonal flavor consumers look forward to the most throughout the year (15%), beating out seasonal flavors like cinnamon, peppermint, eggnog and more.
According to consumers surveyed, the ‘golden hour’ for pumpkin pie spice season hits its peak in September and slows down mid-November. That said, from 2022-2024, interest in the flavor starts in August and goes through December with 90% of the total year sales occurring during that timeframe.
Pumpkin pie spice is a staple during the fall, with frequent usage across households.
- 72% use it at least once a week (25% of respondents use it daily, 32% of respondents use it multiple times per week and 15% use it weekly).
The strangest or most unusual dish respondents used pumpkin pie spice in include pizza, pasta, salads and meatloaf.
Pumpkin pie spice is for more than just coffee and pastries, with dinner usage emerging as the most popular – 66% of respondents using the spice in that meal.
McCormick is the leading brand for pumpkin pie spice, with 72% of consumers choosing it over competitors, demonstrating strong trust and reputational standing.