LTOs Popular This Fall for Restaurants

Limited-time offerings (LTOs) are popular with restaurants this fall.

Starbucks brought back its Pumpkin Spice Latte on August 25th. It is part of their seasonal fall menu. This marks 23 years since Starbucks added it to its fall menu.

Little Caesars partnered with Sony Pictures on the new film—Spider-Man: Brand New Day to create their Webberoni pizza. This pizza includes a “web” pattern made of shredded pepperoni.

Chick-fil-A has an LTO chicken and waffle sandwich on its fall menu.

Several restaurants are going with a throwback theme and bringing back old menu items. Buffalo Wild Wings has a Y2K-themed throwback menu that includes Weck sliders, mini-corn dogs, and Buffalo Chips. Taco Bell has added items from its 2016 menu, including Beefy Crunch Burrito, Naked Chicken Chalupa, Meximelt, and Caramel Apple Empanada. McDonald’s brought back its fried apple pie.

Video Spotlight:  

• There’s Only One PSL | The Starbucks Coffee Company (Aug 25, 2026, Starbucks Coffee)
• Webberoni Saves The Day (Jun 27, 2026, Little Caesars Pizza)
• 2026 Taco Bell 2016 Throwbacks Commercial (Aug 30, 2026, TV Nostalgia And More)

This post is based on the Content Grip article, Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s $309M Brand Push Shows How Ads Moved into Movies, by Zoe Park, August 3, 2026; the ABC News article, Little Caesars Debuts ‘Webberoni Pizza’ In Collaboration With ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’, by Mason Leib, June 23, 2026; the USA Today article, Chick-Fil-A Is Bringing Waffles, S’mores to Its Menu This Fall, by Saman Shafiq, August 12, 2026; the Starbucks.com article, Starbucks Announces the Return of Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) Aug. 25, New Chaider and More Fall Favorites, August 3, 2026; the Restaurant Dive article, Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte broke records. Is that enough?, by Aneurin Canham-Clyne, September 8, 2025; and the YouTube videos in the Spotlight. Image source: Aleksandr_Lysenko/Shutterstock

Discussion Questions:

1. Why are LTOs important to restaurants?

Guidance: LTOs matter because they drive sales by creating excitement around a new, limited-time offering. For example, last year (2025), introducing the Pumpkin Spice Latte increased Tuesday sales by 27% at Starbucks.

Other benefits include helping the restaurant gauge demand for the product. Many successful products have moved from LTOs to permanent menu items. The most famous one is Popeyes’ chicken sandwich.

It also provides an opportunity to test the supply chain and the restaurant’s operations with this new product.

2. What are the different types of LTOs?

Guidance: There are several different types of LTOS. They include seasonal or holiday (some return every year), brand collaboration, celebrity-based, event-based, and new-product LTOs.

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte is an example of a seasonal LTO. It is offered every year on the fall menu. They have no plans to make it a year-round item.

An example of a brand collaboration is McDonald’s Grinch meal. 

Little Caesars introduced its Webberoni pizza, tied to the opening of the Spider-Man movie.

Taco Bell uses a variety of LTO types. Some of their LTOs became permanent menu items, including nacho fries and Mexican pizza. They are also using a nostalgia theme to bring back 4 items from their 2016 menu. 

3. How do LTOs impact operations?

Guidance: LTOs impact the supply chain. Introducing temporary items disrupts normal operations. Forecasting is harder because historical data is limited. New ingredients may require new suppliers and a new inventory policy. Employees must be trained to produce the item using new methods. Technology, such as POS (point-of-sale) systems, must be updated. Packaging, such as containers, labels, and bags, must be changed.

4. What type of management technique should be used for LTOs?

Guidance: Project management is the obvious choice. This approach works well for unique, one-time events with specific objectives over a limited time period. This technique provides benefits for events such as LTOs.