How did we get pumpkin spice everything?

Why can’t we escape pumpkin spice?

Nothing says fall like a pumpkin spice latte. And over the past decade, that sentiment now includes baking pumpkin spice muffins, pouring pumpkin spice booze, lighting a pumpkin spice candle, throwing a pumpkin spice dog treat and, yes, even taking out pumpkin spice trash bags and using pumpkin spice wipes. Some find pumpkin spice — and its earlier and earlier introductions — straight-up obnoxious, running the risk of the trend flattening. Others think the flavor, whose fans are often women, is unfairly targeted as “basic.” Regardless, its polarizing position on American taste buds confirms its place as the emblem of fall. Caitlin Covington, whose fall aesthetic of autumn foliage, chunky knitwear and curled tresses has earned her the internet’s affectionate meme “Christian Girl Autumn,” said it brings her back to childhood. “I just think there’s something so comforting about those scents and about those flavors,” Covington said. She said the flavor reminds her of doing her homework at the kitchen table while her mom lights a pumpkin spice candle and bakes cookies. Simply put, pumpkin spice reminds us of warm, fuzzy feelings. And consumers are willing to pay to feel that nostalgia, even if it’s still 90 degrees outside. Americans spend more than $500 million on pumpkin spice products each year, according to data from Nielsen. Nothing is more American than a pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family, Northwestern marketing professor Jacqueline Babb said.