According to Starbucks, its ‘Starlight’ NFT initiative in South Korea has been a success. In two weeks, the environmental campaign that encouraged customers to use personal tumblers for purchased beverages has saved around 600,000 single-use cups.
Overall, there was a 49% increase in the number of customers using tumblers when they placed orders through Siren Order, Starbuck’s mobile order system. When considering customers who made orders in-person or online, that number still jumped 32%.
The Starbucks campaign went into place on January 16th and was a significant upgrade to the mobile rewards system in South Korea.
Before the campaign, Starbucks rewarded customers with beverage vouchers when they used personal cups. Through the Starlight initiative, customers could receive up to three eco-stamps per day. Customers could then eventually redeem the stamps for limited edition non-fungible tokens, created in partnership with Korean artist DADAZ and art platform Print Bakery.
Starbucks Korea said 260,000 customers participated in the campaign, collecting 600,000 eco-stamps. The company made specific note that the NFTs associated with the initiative are not “tendering payment or investment.” Rather, they are Starbucks’ way of certifying the customers who engage in “environmental activities in their daily lives.”
Rarity Sniper has reached out to Starbucks for comment.
Starbucks’ NFT Loyalty Program Explained
That Starbucks would create an environmental initiative using NFTs is perhaps no surprise. It chose Polygon for its NFT loyalty program, which is a blockchain that uses a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. As such, it is much less energy intensive than others and, in fact, has been carbon neutral since June 2022.
Although many mainstream companies have struggled entering Web3, Starbucks has experienced some success. Its NFT collections, issued through its loyalty program, have retained some of their value. And the company is starting to make good on its promises for the loyalty rewards, including the trip for users to the Starbucks Hacienda in Costa Rica.
The loyalty program, called “Odyssey,” works like this:
Users receive rewards for participating in quests and games on the app. Those rewards, called “Stamps,” come in the form of non-fungible tokens. Starbucks Odyssey members can then redeem those Stamps for experiences, such as visiting the Hacienda, or for invitations to Starbucks events.
A quick look at the Starbucks Odyssey page on Nifty Gateway shows 29 different NFT stamps from the company’s premium collections, all with ranging edition sizes. Floor prices vary.
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