Greggs are the first major retailer to release their highly-anticipated pumpkin spice latte, which costs just 9% more than it did last year – which is lower than expert’s predictions.
For many, the dawn of autumn is synonymous with the highly-anticipated return of the pumpkin spice latte. The fall-flavoured drink, typically involving cinnamon, sugar and pumpkin puree, has become hugely popular in the UK, and Brits tend to start Google searching for the drink as early as July according to Google trends.
Little-Loans.com have analysed the costs of pumpkin spice lattes in the UK, to predict how more much the drinks will cost in 2023 compared to last autumn.
Five major UK coffee chains were investigated, of which just three offered pumpkin spice lattes in 2022: Starbucks, Greggs and Pret A Manger.
Greggs is the first chain to release their pumpkin spice latte this year, retailing at £2.40 for the smallest option. This is an increase of 20p, or 9% compared to 2022.
Researchers at Little-Loans.com had previously predicted that the drink would cost around £2.53, based on the latest Consumer Prices Index statistics, which state that costs of food and non-alcoholic drinks increased by 14.9% in July 2023 compared to the year prior. Greggs have defied expectations, and have increased the cost of the drink by less than the current rate of inflation.
| Increase in costs of Greggs’ pumpkin spice lattes | |||
| 2022 pumpkin spice latte cost | 2023 pumpkin spice latte cost | Cost increase | % increase |
| £2.20 | £2.40 | 20p | 9% |
Pret a Manger have yet to release their pumpkin spice latte and reveal their price for Autumn 2023, although based on the 14.9% inflation statistic, researchers estimate that customers can expect to pay roughly £3.73 for a 12oz pumpkin spice latte, based on their 2022 cost of £3.25 – a 48p increase.
The release date of Pret a Manger’s pumpkin spice latte is currently unknown.
Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte is expected to launch around the 1st September in the UK, based on last year’s release date. Researchers predict that the beverage will set customers back around £4.12 – a 54p increase since 2022.
| Predicted increase in costs of pumpkin spice lattes | |||
| Coffee shop | 2022 pumpkin spice latte cost | Predicted 2023 pumpkin spice latte cost | Predicted cost increase |
| Pret a Manger | £3.25 | £3.73 | £0.43 |
| Starbucks | £3.65 | £4.19 | £0.54 |
Commenting on the findings, Personal Finance Expert from Little-Loans.com, Dan Whittaker, said:
“The popularity of pumpkin spice lattes appears to increase each year; and so too do the prices. The recent launch of Greggs’ pumpkin spice latte confirms that a small drink will cost £2.40 this year. This is an increase of just 20p, meaning that the drink will cost 9% more than it did last year.”
“Recent findings suggest that the inflation rate for non-alcoholic beverages is 14.9%, so we estimated that Greggs would retail their pumpkin spice latte at around £2.40. However their increase of just 9% has exceeded expectations, with a below inflation price rise.”
“Pret a Manger and Starbucks are yet to launch their pumpkin spice lattes in the UK, but it will be interesting to see how their costs compare to the Greggs’ 9% increase. In light of the estimated 14.9% inflation rate, we estimate that can expect customers will likely pay around £3.73 at Pret a Manger and £4.19 at Starbucks for the smallest pumpkin spice latte.”
