Starbucks to launch a loyalty program based on NFT

The company that once attempted to profit from the crumbling CD market is now attempting to build “immersive coffee experiences” into digital communities by leveraging the Web3 marketing infrastructure.

This week, the world’s largest coffee corporation introduced Starbucks Odyssey, which effectively combines the company’s existing rewards program with an NFT platform built on the blockchain. Currently, Starbucks Rewards members can exchange their earned stars for free coffee or other items by making purchases. That clear rewards spiel is turned on its head by Odyssey. Caffeine enthusiasts may now participate in a Starbucks metaverse and earn and buy digital treasures! According to reports, the initiative will function on Polygon’s proof-of-stake blockchain network and has just established a waitlist.

According to Starbucks Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Brady Brewer, Starbucks has traditionally acted as the Third Space, a place between home and work where you feel the warmth of connection over coffee, community, and belonging. The Starbucks Odyssey experience will deepen the connection between Third Place and the online world.

What precisely are these “immersive coffee experiences”? According to Starbucks, Odyssey users can engage in interactive “journeys,” activities with a coffee theme, to collect “journey stamps” NFT. It’s unclear what all of those activities will entail, but some of the excursions seem to have obstacles that are designed to increase the user’s understanding of coffee and, of course, the Starbucks brand.

However, there’s still more! If being questioned about the origins of the beans wasn’t thrilling enough, Starbucks will gladly accept your cash in return for “limited-edition stamps,” each of which has a specifically designated rarity. On Starbucks’ marketplace, customers can buy such stamps or opt to sell them to other customers.

According to reports, Odyssey users will accrue points by accumulating increasing numbers of stamps, much like a conventional rewards card. Odyssey will reward members with less consumable benefits like access to special merch and events or a virtual class on creating espresso martinis. Odyssey customers don’t need to own any cryptocurrency to give Starbucks money, although it is advertised as a Web3 experience. Users will no longer require a cryptocurrency wallet to buy stamps; instead, they can do it directly with a credit card. Using such a broad interpretation of Web3, according to Starbucks, members will be able to “access this new technology and claim an ownership stake in their loyalty to Starbucks.”

Starbucks is approaching the Web3 area differently than any other brand while enhancing its members’ connection to Starbucks by integrating into the Starbucks Rewards ecosystem and basing the experience on coffee, connection, and community.

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We’re backed by leading blockchain institutions including Longhash Ventures, Antler, Oracles Investment Group, and Shima Capital among others. NFT Labs is also the issuer of the MYNE token ($MYNE), a BEP-20 utility token for Itsmyne and partner applications. MYNE serves as the gateway between traditional social media and blockchain-based social economies.