Dunkin’ is getting a makeover. Again. About a year after the chain formerly known as Dunkin’ Donuts cut its name in half, a handful of its stores will undergo a autumnal-themed rebrand and become “Pumpkin’” for a limited time.
The change is a fun way for the Massachusetts-based brand to unveil its upcoming fall menu items, which include a mix of returning favorites and new additions. Eight to-be-announced locations across the U.S. will serve free pumpkin-flavored coffees and offer a limited quantity of the chain’s new pumpkin-scented Munchkins lip balm on Wednesday, August 14, to mark the menu’s debut. Said locales will also feature new exterior “Pumpkin’” signage and festive décor.
While it’s not immediately clear which Dunkin’ outposts will become Pumpkin’, the chain did reveal that the initial letters of seven of the cities and towns where the temporarily rebranded Dunkin’s will be located spell out the word “P-U-M-P-K-I-N.”
The fall menu will then launch nationwide a week later on Wednesday, August 21. Newbies include the Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Signature Latte, which is an espresso drink that features pumpkin and cinnamon flavors topped with whipped cream, a caramel drizzle and cinnamon sugar, and Apple Cider Doughnuts and Munchkins. The doughnuts will boast an apple cider cake ring tossed in cinnamon sugar.
Dunkin’s lineup of pumpkin-flavored foods this year also includes the return of the aforementioned gourd-inspired coffee, which can be purchased hot or iced. Additionally, pumpkin coffee is available in Cold Brew form, as espresso drinks, frozen coffee and frozen hot chocolate.
Furthermore, the return of Pumpkin K-Cup pods mean customers can experience pumpkin goodness in their own homes.
On the pastry front, fans of the orange fruit will be happy to learn that the Dunkin’ fall menu will again offer the Pumpkin Doughnut — a glazed pumpkin cake treat that can also be enjoyed as bite-size Munchkins — and the Pumpkin Muffin, a baked good topped with white icing and sweet streusel crumbs.
Though it might seem like America has reached peak pumpkin, consumers’ passion for the food is actually rising. Annual sales of pumpkin-flavored products were up more than 15 percent in 2018, setting an all-time high for the past five years, according to Nielsen.
