How many years has pumpkin spice been a thing? I still remember when I first noticed that pumpkin beer was a thing. It was the fall of 2006. I was at a bar with some friends, and they had Shipyard Pumpkinhead beer on tap, And it was awesome!

Now, 10 years later, we've run into pumpkin spice EVERYTHING when autumn comes around. And we might now be at the peak of the pumpkin spice craze, with the season letting us know if the fad has jumped the shark, or if it's around to stay.

According to MarketWatch and number provided by 1010Data:

“Brands are putting pumpkin spice into everything from cereal to yogurt to coffee,” said Samir Bhavnani, area vice president at 1010data. “We may be at peak spice, and we’ll quickly know whether pumpkin spice has jumped the shark as this season’s sales roll in.”

While pumpkin spice will probably never fully go away, there are signs that companies are trying to get out in front of the next big flavor fad. That flavor? MAPLE.

Maple, which is showing up in its fair share of yogurts, coffee, and other items, is poised to put up a challenge. It’s up about 85% in nonalcoholic beverages between the second quarter of 2016 and the second quarter of 2017, according to the Technomic MenuMonitor, and up 14.6% in alcoholic beverages for that period.

Which flavor will rule this fall season? We won't know until it's over. But for now, you can clearly get pumpkin spice whateverthehellyouwant, and wash that down with something maple flavored.

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