Psychologist reveals science behind pumpkin spice’s popularity

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by Jacob Solomon Aug 30, 2022 News
Psychologist reveals science behind pumpkin spice’s popularity

At coffee shops, bakeries and retail locations around the country, autumn is already in full swing due to the presence of pumpkin spice in a plethora of products.

According to Ad Age, at least 500 million dollars is spent on pumpkin spice-flavored items in the US each year.

Why are we so fond of this flavor?

According to psychologists and researchers, we like to be reminded of fall and the warm feelings of family, home and nostalgia.

Matt Johnson, a Boston-based psychologist who specializes in the application of psychology to marketing, shared insights into the neuroscience and the marketing surrounding our love of this particular flavor.

He told Fox News Digital that the flavor is tied to the arrival of fall and the nostalgia of family and leaves.

The author of two books is Johnson. He is a lecturer at Harvard University and a professor at a business school.

At least $500 million is spent on pumpkin spice-flavored items in the U.S. each year.
At least $500 million is spent on pumpkin spice-flavored items in the U.S. each year.
Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

The Pumpkin Spice Latte became the most successful seasonal drink of all time after Starbucks introduced it in 2003 according to Johnson.

The Pumpkin Spice Latte is one of the key elements of its success.

When we look at our love of this particular flavor more closely, we can see how the neuroscience of taste works.

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He said that our sense of taste is one of our weak senses.

The sense of taste is very impressionable.

We almost hallucinate with our taste buds, because we don't taste objectively.

The accuracy of humans' sense of taste has been tested many times. He said that they can't tell wine differences nearly as well as they think they can.

We can think of the brain's "associative network" as the associations between fall and pumpkin Spice. He said that the concepts we've learned are organized in the temporal lobes.

He said that when pumpkin spice or fall is activated, it will cause the other to happen.

Product marketers have successfully associated fall with pumpkin spice, so we can't really have one without the other.

Starbucks originally started the pumpkin spice craze back in 2003.
Starbucks originally started the pumpkin spice craze back in 2003.

Pumpkin Spice doesn't have an actual pumpkin.

A website dedicated to helping the public distinguish between true and false information says there is no pumpkin content in pumpkin Spice.

Frisch said that it is a blend of four to five spices.

One American who doesn't like pumpkin spice told Fox News Digital that she still likes to see the signs for products that contain it.

Even though I don't consume any pumpkin spice products, I love seeing signs that say fall is on the way.

Halloween will be here soon, and after that, Christmas.

The emergence of pumpkin spice is the first sign that fun family times are just around the corner.