Many Starbucks fans can hardly wait for the beginning of autumn year after year. Why? Because that’s when the Pumpkin Spice Latte finally comes back. For two decades, the pumpkin in liquid form has been gaining in popularity, the pumpkin spice latte has its own Instagram page and has long been a cult status.

Starbucks has sold 600 million pieces in the last 20 years. At an average price of $5, the in-drink has thus brought in about 3 billion dollars to the Seattle company’s coffers. A nice sum that sounds almost modest in terms of total sales, because: last year alone Starbucks (WKN: 884437) made around $32 billion in sales. That’s twice as much as ten years ago. In addition, the company works extremely profitably. Since the IPO 30 years ago, Starbucks has never made a loss.

Due to the rapid growth, it is worth a look for you as an investor and you may be wondering what the company’s recipe for success is. After all, Starbucks is just a coffee shop.

Personal coffee creations are popular Not quite right, because Starbucks scores with perfection when it comes to personalization. According to Bloomberg, there are 383 billion possible combinations to order a drink at Starbucks. No other coffee shop offers such a variety – here everyone really gets their money’s worth. Except for the employees, because the high degree of individualization is associated with a lot of work.

The dissatisfaction of the staff was growing, so the management reacted. An optimization of the store design and the introduction of new devices are supposed to improve the working environment and speed up the processes. It is probably not only about relieving the employees, but also about increasing sales.

Calculations show that only five additional customers per day in each store worldwide could lead to an annual increase in sales of 900 million US dollars.

House App and loyalty program bind customers Compared to other coffee shops, Starbucks also impresses with technical finesse. This includes the in-house app, which simplifies the ordering and payment process. Customers can place their orders even before they come to the store. Drinks can be conveniently adapted via the app. In addition, Starbucks has an innovative loyalty program that now has over 31 million members who regularly go to Starbucks and generate sales there.

Both the personalization options and the modern technology set Starbucks apart from the competition, strengthen the brand, and turn customers into fans.

Is further growth possible? Starbucks is certainly interesting for you as an investor. The share, however, is not quite cheap, analogous to the coffee. With a current market value of 105 billion US dollars, the expected P/E ratio is 23. If the company continues to grow as it has so far, which can certainly happen through the conquest of the Chinese market, the share could still have potential.

Check for yourself whether the share would be something for your portfolio.