Pumpkin Spice drink has more sugar than three jam doughnuts - Starbucks, Costa & more analysed

The drink contained more than 50 grams of sugar per serving.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

One of the United Kingdom’s most popular seasonal drinks contains more sugar than what is in three jam doughnuts, a study has found.

In a study conducted by Exante, Starbucks’ s Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino drink was found to contain more sugar than three jam doughnuts (for the purpose of the study, Exante only looked at regular and large-sized drinks).

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino contains 53.6 grams of sugar - which is equivalent to just over three and a half jam doughnuts from Greggs.

It’s also considerably more than what is in a 330ml can of Coca-Cola - which only contains 35 grams of sugar.

Furthermore, it also contains more calories than a cheeseburger from McDonald’s.

A McDonald’s cheeseburger has 298kcal, while a Pumpkin Spice Frappucino contains 379kcal.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It’s not the only sugar-filled caffeinated beverage on the market - Costa’s Maple Hazel Hot Chocolate and Light Dairy Swirl contains 48.9 grams of sugar and 393kcal.

A drink from Costa was found to contain almost 400 calories per serving.A drink from Costa was found to contain almost 400 calories per serving.
A drink from Costa was found to contain almost 400 calories per serving.

One of the most popular seasonal drinks, the Pumpkin Spice Latte, also contains a lot of sugar. Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte has 39.3 grams of sugar in it, Greggs’ version has 28 grams, while Pret-A-Manger’s contains 23.4 grams.

Starbucks also do an iced version of their Pumpkin Spice Latte, which has 38.9 grams of sugar.

The standard daily intake of sugar for an adult is 90 grams - meaning that drinking two of Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Frappuccinos would push you well past this recommended limit.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Exante recently conducted another study in which they found that almost half of people in Britain (41%) are only ‘somewhat aware’ of their daily sugar intake.

Lujain Alhassan, Exante’s in-house expert nutritionist, said: “Excess consumption of sugar can have a detrimental effect on our health. Research shows it can contribute to weight gain, lead to tooth decay and higher blood pressure, and is associated with diet-related diseases, including an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

“Over-consumption may also lead to a hormone imbalance, which can affect your mood and may increase your risk of depression.

“I don’t think enough people are aware of the amount of sugar in these seasonal drinks. It’s easy to switch our daily morning coffee to an autumn favourite, they’re appealing because we know they won’t be around for long, and they’re delicious and sweet which makes them addictive - but I’d advise people to go for the low-sugar, low-calorie options, or avoid consuming them regularly.”

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.