Starbucks is sneaking into the world of NFT.
As part of Tuesday’s quarterly earnings report, the Seattle coffee giant revealed plans to use blockchain based technology to create a digital community and provide exclusive privileges.
NFT or irreplaceable token is an emerging technology that allows people to protect the sole ownership of works of art, videos, photos and other digital content on the blockchain.
Starbucks is trying to extend its concept of “third place” – a place between home and work – to the digital world. Customers can buy unique NFTs from Starbucks and use them to get Starbucks related experiences and discounts.
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What if Starbucks could create a new, global digital community – a community defined by collaboration, experiences, and shared ownership – all centered around coffee to start, and then perhaps expanded into the many of the areas Starbucks has played in over the years as a coffeehouse; art, music, books and beyond?
The company said it was a natural imitation of its other technology driven initiatives, such as mobile ordering, in store WiFi and Starbucks rewards.
The new platform, which will be launched later this year, is called “Starbucks digital community Web3”
Brady brewer, Starbucks’ chief marketing officer, said at the company’s earnings conference on Tuesday: “this community will further strengthen Starbucks’s brand and attract our partners. We hope it can promote our business growth.”.
Brewer added that Starbucks is “carefully choosing to build a community on an environmentally sustainable Web3 platform”
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who recently returned to lead the company, hinted at the NFT business at an internal town hall meeting last month.
“If you look at the companies, brands, celebrities and influencers trying to create a digital NFT platform and business, I can’t find one with the valuable assets owned by Starbucks, from collections to the company’s heritage,” Schultz said at the meeting.
Other consumer brands, including Taco Bell and Papa Johns, are also experimenting with NFT. Iheartmedia is creating a new NFT based podcast network. Time magazine released its first full issue in the form of NFT.
Starbucks has more than 30000 stores and more than 400000 employees. The company is facing a growing trade union movement.
In the past year, Starbucks’ share price has fallen by more than 20%. After the company released its second quarter results, the stock rose in after hours trading on Tuesday, with net income up 15% year-on-year to $7.6 billion.