Image Source: Oreo / POPSUGAR
Fall is coming early for dessert-lovers, as Oreo announced it's bringing back its seasonal pumpkin-spice–flavored cookies. Starting Aug. 15, Pumpkin Spice Oreos will hit shelves after taking a four-year hiatus. The limited-edition flavor is made with two golden Oreo wafers and an orange-colored pumpkin-spice-flavored creme sandwiched between.
The brand "first brought limited-edition Oreo Pumpkin Spice Sandwich Cookies to shelves in 2014 and they were last available in 2017," an Oreo spokesperson tells POPSUGAR, and they're "excited to bring back a fan favorite."
The pumpkin-spice boom started when Starbucks unveiled the Pumpkin Spice Latte in 2003 [1], and it slowly built momentum into the 2010s. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and pumpkin seasonings had an absolute chokehold on the autumn American palate [2]. Google searches for "pumpkin spice" [3] spike every September and increased each year until hitting a peak in 2016. The trend has been on a slow decline since then, but the pumpkin-spice hype is still very real, gracing everything from Bud Light [4] to english muffins [5].
Pumpkin spice hasn't been Oreo's only experiment with fall flavors; last year, it released Apple Cider Donut–flavored Oreos [7] with a cider creme filling. The cookie brand, originally launched by Nabisco in 1912, has released over 65 new limited-edition flavors (and counting) since 2012. The seasonal specialties are reportedly important to the cookie's prominence and marketing strategy; in an interview with The New York Times [8], senior director of the Oreo brand Justin Parnell said the influx of new flavors actually keeps customers coming back to the original Oreo cookie.
Since celebrating the cookie's 100-year anniversary in 2012 [9] with the Birthday Cake Oreo, the brand has also launched Firework Oreos [10] with popping candies, fudge-covered holiday Oreos [11], Ultimate Chocolate Oreos [12], and dozens of other flavors. Lady Gaga [13] has even collaborated with the cookie brand and launched monster-inspired, bright-orange Oreos [14] to celebrate the release of her 2020 "Chromatica" album [15].
The pumpkin-spice launch is great news for fans of the flavor, which has a near total dominance of the autumn culinary season. If you found yourself mourning the discontinuation of the Choco Taco [16], another classic, feel-good treat, it might be time to enjoy an Oreo instead.