How Trader Joe's got pumpkin spiced

One of the best parts of an editor’s job is having a pressing question — like, say, “Why does Trader Joe’s appear to be the nexus of the pumpkin spice craze?” — and getting to commission brilliant writers to go out and answer it. Such was the case with Dan Nosowitz’s story this week, investigating exactly how the erstwhile purveyor of reasonably priced groceries also became the nation’s premier supplier of pumpkin spice face masks. It’s owing to a potent combination of familiarity, frugality, and fall vibes, and while I likely won’t be treating my pores with gourds any time soon, over the course of the piece I did start to powerfully crave pumpkin spice waffles. —[Alanna Okun](, deputy editor for The Goods Pumpkin spice has taken over Trader Joe’s. Here’s why. [pumpkin spice ginger brew]( Sarah Lawrence for Vox/Trader Joe's On a recent visit to my local Trader Joe’s, I counted 42 pumpkin or pumpkin-spice products, including actual pumpkins. “I’m surprised it’s so little,” says Phil Lempert, a grocery store analyst and the editor of SupermarketGuru. Pumpkin spice — generally made up of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, often with cloves or allspice or both — has become a mass-marketed marker of the onset of fall, and a [widely mocked one to boot](. To publicly embrace this spice blend is to brand yourself as [“basic”]( (if a person), as [pandering]( (if a brand), or as contrarian (if also acknowledging the status of pumpkin spice in the culture). Trader Joe’s might be the largest and most diverse purveyor of pumpkin spice products in the country, as if a giant stood atop a packaged-food facility with a two-story shaker of the spice blend, just drenching everything in brown powder. This year, the company is selling pumpkin spice bagels, pumpkin-spiced O-shaped cereal which has no relation to a more famous cereal, pumpkin spice face masks, pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls, granola, oatmeal, caramel corn, Greek yogurt, rooibos tea, tortilla chips, and pumpkin-spiced pumpkin seeds. Among many more. [Read the full story on Vox ]( The best $1.75 I ever spent: Hand sanitizer that allows me to exist in public As someone with cerebral palsy, moving through the world by myself means I have to make a lot of contact with less-than-clean surfaces. [Read the story here ]( Meet the Instagrammers who try on clothes so you don’t have to Want to know how a Target top or some Everlane pants will fit? They’ll tell you. [Read the story here ]( More good stuff to read today - [Meghan and Harry are taking a break from their royal duties. This isn’t surprising.]( - [Airlines don’t usually hold connecting flights for delayed passengers. That could be changing.]( - [Skin care brand Sunday Riley got in trouble for writing fake reviews. It just settled with the FTC.]( - [Travel has never been "authentic"]( - [The quest for the perfect closet]( Manage your [email preferences](, or [unsubscribe]( to stop receiving emails from Vox Media. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2018. All rights reserved.