Starbucks particulars its blockchain-based loyalty platform and NFT neighborhood, Starbucks Odyssey • TechCrunch

Starbucks is right this moment formally introducing Starbucks Odyssey, launching later this yr — the espresso chain’s first foray into constructing with web3 know-how. The brand new expertise combines the corporate’s profitable Starbucks Rewards loyalty program with an NFT platform, permitting its prospects to each earn and buy digital belongings that unlock unique experiences and rewards.

The corporate had earlier teased its web3 plans to investors, saying it believed this new expertise would construct on the present Starbucks Rewards mannequin the place prospects right this moment earn “stars” which might be exchanged for perks, like free drinks. It envisions Starbucks Odyssey as a means for its most loyal prospects to earn a broader set of rewards whereas additionally constructing neighborhood.

To develop the mission, Starbucks introduced in Adam Brotman, the architect of its Cell Order & Pay system and the Starbucks app, to assist function a particular advisor. Now the co-founder of Forum3, a web3 loyalty startup, Brotman’s staff labored on Starbucks Odyssey alongside the Seattle espresso chain’s personal advertising and marketing, loyalty, and know-how groups.

Whereas Starbucks had been investigating blockchain applied sciences for a few years, it has solely been concerned on this specific mission for round six months, Starbucks CMO Brady Brewer instructed TechCrunch. He says the corporate needed to speculate on this space, however not as a “stunt” aspect mission, as many corporations are doing. Slightly, it needed to discover a means to make use of the know-how to boost its enterprise and develop its current loyalty program.

It opted to make NFTs the passes that permit entry to this digital neighborhood, however it’s deliberately obscuring the character of the know-how underpinning the expertise in an effort to carry in additional customers — together with non-technical folks — to the web3 platform.

“It occurs to be constructed on blockchain and web3 applied sciences, however the buyer — to be trustworthy — could very effectively not even know that what they’re doing is interacting with blockchain know-how. It’s simply the enabler,” Brewer explains.

To have interaction with the Starbucks Odyssey expertise, Starbucks Rewards members will log in to the online app utilizing their current loyalty program credentials.

As soon as there, they’ll have the ability to interact with numerous actions, which Starbucks referred to as “journeys” — like taking part in interactive video games or taking up challenges designed to deepen their information of the Starbucks model or espresso basically. As they full these journeys, members can early digital collectibles within the type of NFTs (non-fungible tokens). Starbucks Odyssey, nevertheless, does away with the tech lingo and calls these NFT collectibles “journey stamps” as an alternative.

Moreover, a set of limited-edition NFTs can be out there to buy within the Starbucks Odyessy net app, which additionally works on cellular gadgets. Although hosted on the Polygon blockchain, these NFTs can be purchased utilizing a credit score or debit card — a crypto pockets just isn’t required. The corporate believes it will make it simpler for customers to interact with the web3 expertise by reducing the barrier to entry. It additionally received’t complicate customers’ transactions with issues like “gasoline charges,” preferring to supply a bundled value.

The corporate just isn’t but able to share what its NFTs will value or what number of can be out there at launch, saying these are choices which can be nonetheless being ironed out.

Nonetheless, the varied “stamps” (NFTs) will embody some extent worth primarily based on their rarity and might be purchased or bought amongst Starbucks Odyessy members within the market, with the possession secured on the blockchain. The paintings on the NFTs is being co-created by Starbucks and out of doors artists, and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the limited-edition collectibles can be donated to assist causes chosen by Starbucks workers and prospects.

By amassing the stamps, members will acquire factors that may unlock unique advantages.

These perks transcend these you’ll be able to earn with a standard Starbucks Rewards account and its “stars.” Whereas right this moment, members can earn issues like free espresso, free meals, or choose merchandise, the factors earned in Starbucks Odyessy will translate into experiences and different advantages.

On the decrease finish, that might be a digital espresso martini-making class or entry to distinctive merchandise and artist collaborations. As you acquire extra factors, chances are you’ll earn invitations to particular occasions hosted at Starbucks Reserve Roasteries, and even earn a visit to the Starbucks Hacienda Alsacia coffee farm in Costa Rica. It’s anticipated the very largest perks can be reserved for many who buy NFTs, although lesser variations could also be supplied to those that earn their means up.

For example, a paid NFT may provide the total journey bundle and farm tour, whereas an earned NFT may provide the tour alone with flights and motels left as much as the consumer. The corporate hasn’t made any formal choices on this entrance, nevertheless.

However what the corporate can say is that it needs to deeply combine this system with its current loyalty rewards, past merely utilizing the identical consumer account credentials for each applications.

Brewer says Starbucks is already imagining how among the actions that earn NFTs can be linked to real-world Starbucks purchases, for example.

In Odyssey, customers earn NFTs by doing challenges, which could additionally embody a real-world exercise like “attempt three issues on the espresso menu.” This may require the consumer to indicate their barcode at checkout — as they’d if incomes stars — to have their transaction counted in the direction of the Starbuck Odyssey problem. The corporate continues to be figuring out what mixture of video games, challenges, and quests it should embody at launch.

“However we’ll have experiences that do hyperlink on to prospects’ habits in our shops,” Brewer stresses. Most significantly, the corporate needs to make gaining NFTs one thing anybody can do — not simply these with cash to blow on digital collectibles, as is usually the case with present NFT communities, which value out the typical consumer.

“There can be a variety of methods for folks to earn [rewards] with out having to spend some huge cash,” says Brewer. “We wish to make this tremendous straightforward and accessible. There can be loads of on a regular basis experiences prospects can earn like digital courses or entry to restricted version merchandise, for example. “The vary of experiences can be fairly huge and really accessible,” he provides.

Starbucks says it explored all of the totally different blockchains for the mission however landed on the “proof-of-stake” blockchain know-how constructed by Polygon for this effort as a result of it makes use of much less vitality than first-generation “proof-of-work” blockchains, which is extra consistent with its dialog targets.

Picture Credit: Starbucks (opens in a new window)

The concept to enter into the world of web3 is sensible for an organization recognized for benefiting from rising applied sciences and making them extra approachable and simple for customers to entry. In years previous, Starbucks launched Wi-Fi in its shops to encourage prospects to spend extra time throughout visits. It additionally pushed the thought of cellular wallets lengthy earlier than Apple Pay grew to become ubiquitous. And it made cellular ordering the norm effectively forward of the Covid pandemic, when different restaurant chains picked it up.

However one criticism leveraged in opposition to many conventional companies after they enter the web3 market is that they’re approaching it as a advertising and marketing stunt, not an actual endeavor. Starbucks, after all, argues that’s the case right here — however solely time will inform how critical its curiosity could also be.

“We’re bullish on the way forward for these applied sciences enabling experiences that weren’t doable earlier than,” Brewer claims. The intention is to be versatile and transfer with the shoppers because the web3 market adjustments, he explains. “It’s actually vital that we’re taking a look at it for the long-term,” he continues. “However, provided that we’re plugging it into our industry-leading, huge scale rewards program — we’re dedicated,” he says.

The corporate says its web3 platform will open its waitlist (waitlist.starbucks.com) on September 12 and can launch later within the yr. It should take away the waitlist and open the platform extra broadly someday subsequent yr.