Humans know their way around many different things, but there is nothing we know better than growing on a consistent basis. This piece of knowledge has already enabled us in regards to achieving some huge milestones, with technology appearing as a major member of the stated group. Technology’s credentials are so notable mainly because of its unprecedented skill-set, which introduced us to all those possibilities that we could have never imagined otherwise. Beyond that, however, an equally important determinant was how we applied the stated skills in a real-world setting. The latter component, in particular, was what gave the creation a spectrum-wide presence, and consequentially, started a tech revolution. This revolution, as we know, will go on to scale up our lives in every imaginable regard, but even after doing so much, it will continue to get bigger and better in one capacity or the other. The same pattern has turned increasingly evident over the recent past, and going by Starbucks’ latest initiative, it should only hope to get more solid moving forward.
Starbucks is officially set to launch a new program called Starbucks Odyssey, which combines the company’s successful Starbucks Rewards loyalty program with an NFT platform, and thus allows the customers to both earn and purchase digital assets that unlock exclusive experiences and rewards. Talk about how the customers can engage with the program, Starbucks Rewards members can log into the Starbucks Odyssey app using their existing loyalty program credentials. Once they do it, they’ll come across various different activities that are, by the way, dubbed as journeys. From playing interactive games or taking on challenges created to deepen their knowledge of the Starbucks brand or coffee in general, these journeys are designed to offer you a wholly comprehensive experience, and as you get deeper into this experience, you’ll be able to collect early digital collectibles in the form of NFTs.
According to certain reports, the program will have a set of limited-edition NFTs that you can purchase either through a credit or debit card. Notably, a crypto wallet will not be required at any step so to simplify the picture for people who don’t know the Web3 technology inside out.
“It happens to be built on blockchain and web3 technologies, but the customer — to be honest — may very well not even know that what they’re doing is interacting with blockchain technology. It’s just the enabler,” said Brady Brewer, CMO of Starbucks.
While the NFT prices remain undisclosed at the moment, what we do know is that various NFTs will include point value based on their rarity and can be bought or sold among Starbucks Odyssey members in the marketplace, with the ownership secured on the blockchain. Of course, the company will incentivize such transactions and wider collection of NFTs with myriad of benefits like a virtual espresso martini-making class, access to unique merchandise, invites to special events hosted at Starbucks Reserve Roasteries, and even a trip to the famous Starbucks Hacienda Alsacia coffee farm in Costa Rica.
“We’re bullish on the future of these technologies enabling experiences that were not possible before,” Brewer claims. “The intention is to be flexible and move with the customers as the web3 market changes. It’s really important that we’re looking at it for the long-term. But, given that we’re plugging it into our industry-leading, massive scale rewards program — we’re committed,”
The Starbucks’ web3 platform is slated to open the waitlist on 12th September 2022, and as for the official launch, it will likely happen towards the end of this year.