Quick take:
- Starbucks plans to build its own NFT collection, building a community on an environmentally sustainable Web3 platform
- The company will start by launching its first NFT collection based on coffee art and storytelling later this year
- Starbucks is potentially looking for a new CEO who understands the potential of NFTs and Web3
Starbucks, the American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery, has announced plans to enter the Web3 space by launching its own NFT collection later this year. Furthermore, the individual NFTs will provide their owners with access to exclusive content experiences and benefits. The company said:
We plan to create a series of branded NFT collections, the ownership of which initiates community membership, and allows for access to exclusive experiences and perks.
The themes of these collections will be born of Starbucks artistic expressions, both heritage and newly created, as well as through world-class collaborations with other innovators and like-minded brands…
We plan to start with our first NFT collection, membership and community later this year, based on coffee art and storytelling.
NFTs Will Give People a Sense of Belonging Over Coffee
The company made public its plans to Starbucks investors during its Q2 2022 earning call and explained how NFTs could benefit the brand in expanding into the ‘third place’ – a place between home and work where people can feel ‘a sense of belonging over coffee’.
Starbucks Chief Marketing Officer Brady Brewer explained to investors that emerging technologies such as Web3 and NFTs could enable the company to extend its vision. He said:
Emerging technologies associated with web3, and specifically NFTs, now enable this aspiration and allow us to extend who Starbucks has always been at our core.
We are creating the digital third place. To achieve this, we will broaden our framework of what it means for people to be a member of the Starbucks community, adding new concepts such as ownership and community-based membership models that we see developing in the web3 space.
Starbucks to Build its NFT Community On an Environmentally Sustainable Web3 Platform
Starbucks plans to build its NFT collection and community on an environmentally sustainable Web3 platform that is yet to be announced.
Starbucks is Looking for a New CEO Who Understands the Potential of Web3 and NFTs
Additionally, and according to Techcrunch, Starbucks is looking for a new CEO who understands the potential of Web3 and NFT technologies as they could help the company better connect with younger people. NFTs have the potential to increase Starbucks’ revenue and traffic.
Starbucks’ interim CEO, Howard Schultz, predicted that the new CEO will most likely be a creative person who understands the equity of the Starbucks brand, its real legitimacy, and its relevance outside its stores. Furthermore, ‘the new CEO, obviously, needs to have an understanding and a grasp and a conviction on the fact that we can play in multiple theaters that could be accretive on their own merit and complementary to our retail business.’