Pumpkin recipes and tailgating treats are all over everyone’s feed right now, which can only mean one thing: fall is here! There’s a chill in the air, the holidays are round the corner, and there are plenty of seasonal topics to include in your content calendar as we kick off Q4. Here’s what topics we predict to take off during the spookiest month of the year. 

Notable Dates

  • Indigenous Peoples’ Day – October 10th
  • Halloween – October 31st

Trending Topics

  • Candy – Halloween is right around the corner, so it’s no surprise that searches for sweet treats are starting to pick up as we head into October. We predict that topics such as “Homemade candy”, “recipes using candy”, and “what to do with leftover candy” are going to be popular with consumers next month. 

  • Comfort food – Comfort food has been a trend all year long, but consumers are seeking it out even more now that the temperatures have started to dip. Searches for mac and cheese recipes, hearty stews, slow simmered curries, and homemade bread are on the rise, says Pinterest Trends. Non-traditional comfort foods, such as tinned fish and chili crunch are also increasing in popularity as consumers crave familiar global flavors.

  • Fall baking – It’s finally cool enough to use the oven again and consumers are wasting no time. Searches for “fall baking” are picking up speed according to Google Trends. Easy baking recipes (both savory and sweet!) using seasonal ingredients like squash, pumpkin, and apples are increasing in popularity every day. We suggest hopping on this trend the sooner the better!

  • Warm drinks – PSLs aren’t the only beverage consumers are interested in this fall. Hot toddies, mulled wine, apple cider, and hot chocolate are trending upwards in popularity. According to the Exploding Topics tool, searches for “chocolate bombs” are at an all time high. 

  • Holiday prep – With Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, (and dare we say New Years?) approaching fast, consumers are in full holiday prep mode. They are on the hunt for classic holiday recipes made easy with modern appliances, like the air fryer, instant pot, or slow cooker.