On Wednesday, Starbucks SBUX,
the famous coffee chain, released 5,000 non-fungible tokens, called The First Store Collection. It is a series of images that look like stamps. The company launched them on Nifty Gateway, an online digital art platform, and minted them on the Ethereum Polygon scale network.
Non-fungible tokens are priced at $100 each. This is roughly the same price as their previous NFT drop in March which offered only 2,000 NFT and sold out within minutes.
Purchasing an NFT also earns users 1,500 points toward rewards within the Starbucks Odyssey app, which was launched by Starbucks in the fall of 2022.
Broader interest in collecting, trading and manufacturing NFTs appears to have waned since its peak in 2021 and 2022, but big brands are still moving forward with plans to launch them. Earlier this week, Nike NKE,
announced the launch of its first NFT release on .Swoosh, the brand’s Web3 community marked as a place to co-create “the future of Nike” with its fans.
One of the reasons brands are pushing the launch of NFT is because it seems to be working for their bottom line.
“Starbucks is venturing into web3 technology because they recognize its potential and want to tap into new user segments and revenue streams. Their first NFT release, The Siren Collection Stamp, launched on March 1, 2023, sold out in just 18 minutes at a price of $100 each,” said Sara Gherghelas, blockchain analyst at DappRadar.
“In the last 30 days, a trading volume of $195,000 was recorded and a total trading volume of $561,000. The minimum price of the collection is $450, which represents an appreciation of 350% from the mint.
Gherghelas said it’s worth noting that only 17.1% of the collection is currently for sale, indicating that token holders aren’t just looking to flip the collection or buy with the goal of selling at a higher price.
“About the second drop coming, it’s expected to have a similar impact, especially since they’re also releasing a series of benefits for beta users on April 24,” Gherghelas said.
Brands use NFTs, which serve as both a certificate of authenticity and a collectible, as a way to build loyalty with their fan bases.
“The introduction of NFTs to their loyalty program has the potential to build a deeper relationship between the brand and customers, providing them with a new way to engage with the brand and earn rewards,” said Gherghelas.
However, the overall NFT market has slowed down, with trading volume approaching $1 billion and 2.96 million sales, DappRadar shared. That’s a far cry from a peak of $17 billion in January 2022.
Starbucks did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
