Millions of Americans will gather on Thursday to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal. For many, dessert means pie.
Over half of U.S. adults – 54% – plan to indulge in pie as part of their celebration, whether it’s pumpkin or another variety, according to a recent Economist/YouGov poll.
Some will bake their pies from scratch, while others will pick them up from local retailers. One major player in the pie game is Costco Wholesale, which sells millions of pies before Thanksgiving.
In 2023, Costco moved over 4 million pies in the U.S. during the three days leading up to Thanksgiving, then-CFO Richard Galanti shared during the company’s quarterly earnings call in December.
"I’ve gotten more than a few calls in the past few weeks as to how many pies we sold in the U.S. leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday," Galanti remarked.
Of those pies sold in that short timeframe, 2.9 million were Costco’s sought-after pumpkin pies, known for their large size and popularity, Galanti noted.
The remaining 1.3 million pies included apple and pecan varieties, according to Galanti.
Costco’s pre-Thanksgiving pie sales have been impressive in previous years too. In 2019, the retailer sold 2.1 million pumpkin pies ahead of the holiday, as reported by People.
From September through December, Costco customers snap up about 6 million of its pumpkin pies annually, Susan Schwartz, co-author of "The Joy of Costco: A Treasure Hunt from A to Z," said in an October interview with FOX Business.