PSL
Trademark: PSL
First Used: September 2013
First Registered: March 2015
Current Owner: STARBUCKS CORPORATION [1]
Trademark Type: traditional trademark; word mark
Primarily Associated With: coffee and espresso beverages [2]
Generic Phrase: coffee, as in PSL® Brand coffee
Also A Trademark For: beverages made with a base of coffee and/or espresso, dairy-based food beverages, and soy-based food beverages used as a milk substitute [3]
Brief (and likely incomplete) History [4]:
Today (9/22) is the Fall Equinox and that can only mean one thing: it’s pumpkin spice latte season. To celebrate, this week we are taking a break from our typical posts to focus on the creator of our favorite pumpkin spice latte, Starbucks®. Each day this week we will highlight a different Starbucks trademark (post 1/5!). To kick things off, you guessed it, let’s talk PSL®.
In the early 2000s, Starbucks was riding high on its first hit seasonal drink: the Peppermint Mocha. Eager to create a new hit for the fall season, Peter Dukes, leader of the espresso team, gathered with a small group in Starbucks secure research and development lab nicknamed the “Liquid Lab.” To capture the essence of the fall season, they sampled a variety of flavors including a forkful of pumpkin pie followed by a sip of hot espresso. After a few months of testing, they landed on a winning recipe of pumpkin spice sauce with cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg, mixed with espresso and steamed milk, and topped off with whipped cream and a dash of pumpkin pie topping.
The Pumpkin Spice Latte name was chosen to highlight the important role the spices played in bringing out the pumpkin flavor, while also bringing to mind the espresso in the cup. The new drink, nicknamed PSL, was a massive hit and was quickly released in Starbucks stores around the world. With the arrival of social media in the mid-2000s and early 2010s, the PSL Brand took on a life of its own and has now become a cultural signifier that fall has come.
Interested in more PSL-fueled Starbucks posts? Check out our posts on DOUBLESHOT, Starbucks Cup Trade Dress, Frappuccino, and Venti.
Copyright © 2024 by Illustrated IP, LLC. All rights reserved.
[1] Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte around the world, STARBUCKS® STORIES & NEWS, posted September 21, 2023, and available at https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2023/starbucks-pumpkin-spice-latte-around-the-world/.
[2] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 4,704,364, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=85888022&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[3] Id.
[4] The Surprising History of Pumpkin Spice, FOOD & WINE, posted on August 21, 2021, and available at https://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/pumpkin-spice-history; The Spicy History of the Pumpkin Spice Latte, ONE WORLD COFFEE ROASTERS, available at https://www.oneworldroasters.com/pumpkin-spice-latte-history.html#/; The Unlikely History of the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte, FOOD NETWORK CA, posted August 1, 2023, and available at https://www.foodnetwork.ca/article/history-of-starbucks-pumpkin-spice-latte/; Pumpkin Spice Latte, STARBUCKS, available at https://archive.starbucks.com/record/pumpkin-spice-latte; PSL turns 20: The story behind Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte, STARBUCKS, posted on August 23, 2023, and available at https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2023/psl-turns-20-the-story-behind-starbucks-pumpkin-spice-latte/.