Starbucks is unveiling a new drink that cashes in on fall's hottest trend - and it could be bigger than the Pumpkin Spice Latte
On Thursday, Starbucks announced that it would debut the new Maple Pecan Latte on Friday to celebrate the first day of fall.
The beverage is "inspired by classic fall flavors," according to Starbucks, and it will feature notes of maple syrup, pecan, and brown sugar.
Maple has been on the rise this fall. Dunkin' Donuts launched Maple Pecan-flavored coffee in August. Overall, Technomic data indicates maple flavoring's presence is up roughly 85% in nonalcoholic beverages between the second quarter of 2016 and the second quarter of 2017, MarketWatch reported.
The beverage launch is being accompanied by the debut of Starbucks' new fall cups. While Starbucks' red winter cups have become an iconic - and at times controversial - sign of the holiday season, recently the coffee chain has attempted to provide seasonal cups for different parts of the calendar.
The fall cups look pretty similar to the chain's spring cups, but with warmer, more autumnal colors compared to the March cups' springy pastels.
The reaction to the spring cups was muted compared to the anticipation and occasional backlash to winter's red cups, though some felt the white circles looked a little bit too much like Twitter's default profile picture.