17 jul. 2023
One of the biggest retail trends right now is ‘phygital disruption’: a next level experience integrating the physical and the digital world. One of the aspects arising from this trend is food NFT’s. Find out more about food NFT’s and their impact on the bakery, patisserie and chocolate industries and discover 5 cool inspiring examples.
The trend: phygital disruption
To shed light on influential trends in the world of bakery, patisserie and chocolate, Taste Tomorrow conducts ongoing global consumer research. The latest research involves trendwatching and -forecasting, consumer surveys and AI. This brings some very interesting insights and outlooks for the future. Whereas 69% of global consumers would not like to see the end of stores in the street (a decrease of 8 percentage points versus 2021), 42% would like stores to be far more automated. Just as many people would like food delivery to be automated without human intervention. Consumers want a seamless integration of physical and digital shopping experiences, offering them more convenience and more personalized options.
Some examples of phygital retail experiences are:
Online-to-Offline (O2O) Integration (click-and-collect; buy online and return in-store)
In-store digital enhancements (interactive displays, smart mirrors, VR or AR applications)
Personalized recommendations with online and offline gathered customer data
Mobile and online connectivity by mobile apps and location-based services
Seamless and consistent omni-channel experience
Food NFT’s
Another aspect of the phygital disruption is the rise of NFT’s. Being a digital asset representing value in both the online and offline world, NFT’s illustrate the phygital bridge between physical and digital extremely well.
An NFT, or Non-Fungible Token, is a unique digital ownership certificate that is secured and stored on the blockchain. When you buy an NFT, you gain ownership of the digital asset that the NFT represents.
NFT’s can be created for a wide variety of digital assets, including art, music, video games, fashion… and food!
Food & beverage is no longer just about dining, eating out or drinking at a bar. Many food companies seek to differentiate themselves by offering more than an ordinary dining experience. They enrich their concept by offering an immersive experience, by adding scents, sounds, videos or AR, or by handing out food NFT’s.
Food NFT’s combine food, NFT’s and gaming on the blockchain. They can be special food images, secret recipes by famous chefs or celebrities, personal videos or insider tips as bonus material. Food NFT’s are increasingly popular for companies that want to offer a richer, phygital experience. Prominent companies like McDonalds, Taco Bell, Pringles and Coca-Cola are already creating digital content to sell as NFT’s and giving NFT food away at promotional events.
NFT’s in bakery
The world’s biggest fast-food companies already embraced NFT’s. And some even have their own blockchain-based digital currencies. But NFT’s are certainly not only relevant for the big corporations. NFT can also be used outside of foodservice. The bakery world can create stronger consumer relations by using an NFT to share:
Recipes for cakes, cookies and (sourdough) breads
Images of baked goods
Signature recipes from famous pastry chefs and bakers
Memberships to exclusive groups or bakers and chefs, with the NFT functioning as your entry pass to a physical meeting point
Still confused about the function and relevance of food NFT’s?
Get inspired by these 5 examples:
Award-winning pastry chef Dominique Ansel launched his 'Cronut(R)’. This limited edition cronut to celebrate his bakery's ninth birthday was online available online. It was an NFT, a digital piece of art, which was available in iconic ‘flavors’ like Burnt Vanilla & Smoked Caramel, Salted Dulce de Leche and Guava & Orange Blossom. The cronut NFT isn’t just a digital asset though. Owners of a Cronut(R) can visit the physical bakery, where they will receive a free real-life version of their NFT donut. They also get access to new pastry launches and receive a pass to skip the long waiting lines. That makes them the perfect example of the new ‘phygital’ shopping experience.
Two celebrity chefs and gastronomy experts published a collection of NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. The collection includes 2777 unique NFTs, featuring cartoon-like image of a pizza slice. Owners of the CHFTY Pizzas NFT’s received access to cooking classes, kitchenware giveaways, pizza parties with celebrity chefs and other benefits.
OneRare is the first food Metaverse (or the Foodverse, as they say). This NFT gaming zone for foodies works with celebrity chefs, restaurants and food brands to mint non-fungible tokens for their dishes. Experience farm life in the first NFT farm, trade your ingredients at the farm market, compete with other farms, shop ingredients to make your favorite (virtual) dish, and earn tokens to battle in several (mini-)games. Curious? See the trailer on YouTube.
The menu at the Bored & Hungry restaurant includes smash burgers, plant-based burgers, fries, and soft drinks. This fast food restaurants is marketed around one of the most popular NFT collections: Bored Ape Yacht Club. The collection includes 10,000 unique cartoon images of monkeys depicted with various accessories and features. Guests can pay not only with U.S. dollars, but also with two cryptocurrencies: Ethereum and ApeCoin (the currency developed by Bored Ape Yacht Club).
BurgerDAO, the world’s first decentralized burger franchise, offers hamburger-themed NFTs that provide the token-holder with many benefits:
creating and voting on proposals that directly impact the brand
naming rights for franchise locations
a monthly code for free burgers
access to members-only Discord channels
Why would restaurants and bakeries sell NFT’s?
After reading this article and seeing the examples, you might think: what’s the use of these food NFT’s? Why would I sell or buy these crypto-assets?
Well, there are actually strategic reasons behind this. For example:
Marketing: Using NFT’s is an innovative, attention-grabbing way to stand out from the crowd, increase brand awareness and establish your company as a trendsetter
Building brand loyalty: engage on a different level with your customers by offering NFT’s as a reward or part of a loyalty program
Exclusivity: by offering special perks like exclusive recipes, personalized experiences or voting rights, you create a sense of exclusivity and extra value for customers
Extra revenue: diversify your revenue stream beyond traditional sales and generate extra revenue by selling them for a high price
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