What it had to solve
PSL season 2025 for Starbucks Romania. A year earlier the agency had hidden a secret PSL pop-up in a cornfield outside Bucharest, so this one had to go further — and prove itself in Rewards sign-ups.
The idea
Fashion houses launch fragrances, so the PSL got one: a real Eau de Parfum, unbranded, never for sale — 'Accessorize with Pumpkin Spice'.
How it works
Swiss house LUZI and perfumer Anton Jimmy Studer worked 30+ variations to an 18%-oil gourmand; a fashion-drop tease with Nicole Cherry, a mall launch night, then 10,000 free 10 ml minis for Rewards members across 60+ stores.
What it did
First run sold out in 2 days, the full run in 2 weeks against a 1–2 month plan; +300% new Rewards members per day at launch; 1.9M paid TikTok impressions on ~RON 3,000; press in Romania, the US, Italy and Poland.
Background
For PSL season 2025, Starbucks Romania and agency Tuio made the Pumpkin Spice Latte a fashion accessory — and did what fashion houses do: launched a fragrance. EAU de PSL, billed as the world's first Eau de Parfum inspired by the PSL, was unbranded and never for sale. The whole campaign ran through Starbucks Rewards, so the hype would show up as sign-ups the business could count.
Swiss perfume house LUZI — the quickest and keenest of about ten approached — took the taste-to-smell problem. Master Perfumer Anton Jimmy Studer worked through 30+ variations to a unisex gourmand at 18% oil: coffee, tea leaves and condensed milk on top, cinnamon, nutmeg and cotton candy in the heart, vanilla, tonka bean and musk at the base. The scent locked on 11 August; 35 kg of fragrance oil was filled into bottles in Romania, CPNP notification and dermatological patch test included.
The rollout copied a fragrance launch beat for beat. Nicole Cherry teased the PSL as the fall accessory without naming the scent; an Instagram contest, 'Complete the look with Pumpkin Spice', ran 11–15 September with prizes described only as 'a cosmetic product from a new range'. The reveal came at a launch night on 15 September at the renovated Promenada Mall store. From 16 September a free 10 ml mini went to Rewards members spending 50 lei or more in 60+ stores; an animated DOOH truck carried the key visual around Bucharest on 26 September, and the activation ran in Bulgaria too.
The first run sold out in two days; topped-up batches lasted two weeks against a one-to-two-month plan. New Starbucks Rewards members ran +300% per day in the first days, and stores ran out of first-week allocations within hours. The paid TikTok key visual drew 1.9M impressions and 42,148 six-second views on about RON 3,000 of media. Muse by Clios, Ad Age Creativity and other outlets in Romania, the US, Italy and Poland covered it, and Parfumo and Fragrantica now list EAU de PSL next to real perfumes, under Starbucks.
Why it lands
The PSL is a seasonal ritual with its own fandom, so the brand treated it like a fashion drop rather than a menu item.
Unbranded and never for sale, the bottle made news as an object; the commerce ran quietly through Rewards receipts.
Scarcity did the media plan: 10,000 minis across 60+ stores sold out in days, and people phoned ahead to 'reserve' a free gift.
Measuring the stunt in Rewards sign-ups tied an absurd idea to a number the business actually cares about.
What you can take
Turn a seasonal ritual into an object the fandom can hold: if people already queue for the drink, they will empty the shelves of its perfume.
Since then
Parfumo and Fragrantica list EAU de PSL next to real perfumes under the Starbucks name. The campaign press ran from Muse by Clios and Roastbrief in the US to Ads of the World, Indie Agency News, IQads and Revista BIZ; a Polish trade outlet picked the story up a year later, in September 2026. It was Tuio's second straight PSL season stunt for Starbucks Romania, after 2024's cornfield pop-up.
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