“Everyone is doing pumpkin this fall”, said Gordon, a restaurant franchisee advisor from a consulting group.1 Starbucks’ seasonal product pumpkin spice lattes had been introduced for ten years till now, and has been favored by the customers. The fact that it is only available for a limited period of time raises its demand.
This fall, McDonald’s is catching up with the seasonal coffee market and will be launching the product of McCafe pumpkin latte that costs almost half of that of Starbucks’. McDonald’s targets at Starbucks’ crowd, hoping to lure the customers into purchasing its pumpkin spice latte and grab some of the success through imitation.
McDonald’s is not the only one going with the pumpkin trend. Tim Hortons, Dunkin’ Donuts and Krispy Kreme also joins the craze of the pumpkin seasonal marketing. However, the success of these imitations is not ensured, as consumers are given a greater choice with various substitute products; this tests Starbucks’ brand loyalty especially in its pumpkin latte. What will be the consumer’s preferences? And will the popularity of pumpkin continue?
Sources:
1http://business.financialpost.com/2013/09/24/mcdonalds-pumpkin-spice-lattes-target-starbucks-crowd/