Autumn officially starts Tuesday, Sept. 22. Krispy Kreme put pumpkin spice on the menu Aug. 11, and holiday snacks start hitting shelves next month.
Fall does not actually begin until Tuesday, Sept. 22, when the autumn equinox arrives.
Krispy Kreme started selling pumpkin spice on Aug. 11.
That is a six-week head start on the season the menu is named after. Dunkin’ followed on Aug. 19, and Starbucks brought back the Pumpkin Spice Latte on Aug. 25, a full twelve days before Labor Day.
By the time fall legally shows up this week, pumpkin spice has been on sale for 42 days.
What’s on the Starbucks fall menu for 2026?
More than most people realize, because the pumpkin drinks get the attention and the rest of the menu is bigger than it has been in years.
Returning: the Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai, the Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino, plus the pecan lineup with the Pecan Cortado, the Pecan Crunch Latte and its iced version.
New this year: the Chaider, a cider-inspired chai with cinnamon and sweet spice, along with an Iced Pumpkin Cream Shaken Espresso, a Pumpkin Spice Chai, an Iced Pumpkin Cream Matcha, and both an Iced Banana Bread Latte and an Iced Banana Bread Chai.
On the food side there is a new Chicken Bacon Protein Pocket with 20 grams of protein and a Hedgehog Cake Pop, with the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin back again. There is also a PSL Society merchandise collection with drinkware and a hat, which tells you how the company thinks about this season.
What fall doughnuts does Krispy Kreme have right now?
Four, and two of them are new.
The Maple Cheesecake Doughnut is an unglazed shell filled with cheesecake kreme, dipped in maple icing and topped with graham crunch and a maple drizzle. The Cafe Mocha Doughnut takes an Original Glazed, adds chocolate icing, a coffee buttercreme swirl and a mocha bean on top.
Back again: the Biscoff Cookie Butter Doughnut and the Pumpkin Spice Cake Doughnut.
Krispy Kreme also added an Apple Crisp Latte to go with its returning Pumpkin Spice Latte. Chief product and brand officer Alison Holder said “nobody welcomes fall quite like Krispy Kreme,” which is a fair claim for a company that welcomed it in the second week of August.
The Halloween doughnuts, including the Jack-O-Lantern, run separately later in the season.
What is Dunkin’s fall menu this year?
Pumpkin spice across drinks and food, plus new Tiramisu Sips and a collaboration with Flipz on pumpkin spice donut-flavored covered pretzels.
Dunkin’ also spent September on marketing rather than new menu items. On Sept. 8 it brought in Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell-Horner, Baby Spice and Ginger Spice, with comedian Rachel Dratch playing “Pumpkin Spice” as the long-lost sixth Spice Girl. A week earlier, on Sept. 1, it launched a scent collection with Febreze based on its own drinks and baked goods.
A coffee chain selling air freshener is either brilliant or a sign the seasonal menu has run out of room to grow. Possibly both.
When does pumpkin spice season actually end?
Earlier than the calendar suggests, because the next season is already loading.
Holiday snacks are set to reach major stores by late October, according to snack industry accounts that track store shipments. Hostess is reportedly bringing Snickerdoodle Twinkies, Sno Balls and Hot Cocoa and Marshmallow Donettes by the end of next month. Pepsi has a Vanilla and Cream soda coming in regular and zero sugar for late October into November.
Reese’s is said to have a Reindeer Mix heading to Walmart and other major stores in the same window, alongside a Sour Patch Kids build-your-own snowman kit. Ocean Spray has a Cranberry Cider listed for October and already up for preorder.
Those reports come from snack-tracking accounts rather than company announcements, so treat the dates as approximate until the brands confirm them.
Line it up and the math is unkind to autumn. Pumpkin spice arrives in mid-August. Christmas products arrive in late October. Halloween is Oct. 31, which means the reindeer candy beats the trick-or-treaters to the shelf.
Fall gets about ten weeks of undisputed run, and it has to share the last of them.
None of which stops anybody from buying it. Pumpkin spice has been Starbucks’ most successful seasonal product for more than twenty years, and the reason it keeps moving earlier is that it keeps working when it does.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Hat Tips:
Starbucks Stories (Aug. 2026), the full fall 2026 beverage and food lineup and the Aug. 25 launch date
Krispy Kreme investor newsroom (Aug. 7, 2026), the autumn collection, the Aug. 11 launch and Alison Holder’s comment
Dunkin’ newsroom (Sept. 1 and Sept. 8, 2026), the Febreze collection and the Spice Girls pumpkin spice campaign
Markie Devo and Snackolator (September 2026), early holiday product sightings and shipping windows
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