By Clark 
The Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) is the most recognizable limited-edition beverage that Starbucks has ever released. For twenty years, the drink has been a fall classic at Starbucks, and according to Placer.ai statistics, it often drives big jumps in consumer visits when it returns each year.
But a new menu item at Starbucks has also become a major sensation, so the PSL’s enormous popularity isn’t going anywhere soon.
In early March, Starbucks debuted its first-ever lavender beverages to commemorate the arrival of spring this year. Drinks in the flowery flavor line include a 310-calorie Iced Lavender Oatmilk Latte, a 370-calorie Light Purple Lavender Crème Frappuccino, and a 360-calorie Iced Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha topped with lavender cream cold foam. Lavender flavor and lavender cream cold foam are also available as add-ons for other drinks on the menu.
We gave the lavender drinks a good assessment in our taste test, and since then, they’ve been making waves on social media. Laxman Narasimhan, CEO of Starbucks, said on an earnings call on April 30 that the lavender premiere “compares to some of the most successful launches we’ve ever had.”
Beverages “performed nearly as well this past quarter as the PSL,” Narasimhan added, a testament to how popular they have been. When you realize that hundreds of millions of PSLs have been sold by Starbucks since they were introduced in 2003, you can see how significant it is.
Pumpkin drinks also saw “record global demand” at Starbucks in November, when the company debuted its fall menu.
In order to recover from the revenue and consumer traffic drops that hurt the company last quarter, Starbucks intends to keep coming up with creative new menu items. In addition to releasing a new premium blueberry muffin (330 calories) and a range of Spicy Lemonade Refreshers, the restaurant made headlines in January for their contentious olive oil coffees.
“Pearls,” a “zero- to low-calorie handcrafted energy beverage,” and an egg, pesto, and mozzarella sandwich are shortly to be unveiled, according to Narasimhan. They are boba spinoffs. Later this year, Starbucks will also increase the number of sugar-free drink customization options to five and introduce more vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and kid-friendly options to its grab-and-go menu.
“Looking to our innovation pipeline for the second half of the year, I’m excited by the number and types of products we’re bringing to market,” he added.