Starbucks wants you to have an “immersive coffee experience” with its web3 and NFT rewards program, Starbucks Odyssey

Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee chain, is joining the Web3 and NFT craze with the launch of Starbucks Odyssey, a new web3 and NFT rewards program that offers Starbucks Rewards members and Starbucks partners (employees) in the United States.

The program appears to have been in the making for a couple of months. In April, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz first announced during an employee town hall meeting that the coffee giant was looking to get into NFTs. “We are going to be in the NFT business,” Schultz said during the meeting. In an address today aimed at unionizing workers, Schultz revealed that Starbucks is going to get into the NFT business “sometime before the end of this calendar year.”

Starting September 12, customers and partners can join the waitlist for a chance to be among the first to receive access to the Starbucks Odyssey experience. The program will fully launch later this year, the company said in a news release.

According to the announcement, the new Starbucks Odyssey experience will offer group members the ability to earn and buy digital collectible stamps (NFTs) that will unlock access to new, immersive coffee experiences.

In addition, members will also be able to purchase ‘limited-edition stamps’ (NFTs) through a built-in marketplace within the Starbucks Odyssey web app experience. Starbucks also added that limited-edition stamps will be available for all members to purchase directly with a credit card. “No crypto wallet or cryptocurrency will be required – making the Starbucks Odyssey experience a fun and easy way for members to access this new technology and claim an ownership stake in their loyalty to Starbucks,” the company said.

“Starbucks has always served as the Third Place, a place between home and work where you feel the warmth of connection over coffee, community and belonging. The Starbucks Odyssey experience will extend the Third Place connection to the digital world,” said Brady Brewer, Starbucks executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “For the first time we are connecting our Starbucks Rewards loyalty program members not just to Starbucks, but to each other.”

“Leveraging Web3 technology will allow our members to access experiences and ownership that was not possible before. Starbucks Odyssey will transcend the foundational benefits that our Starbucks Rewards members have come to love, and unlock digital, physical and experiential benefits that are uniquely Starbucks,” continued Brewer. “By integrating into the Starbucks Rewards ecosystem and grounding the experience in coffee, connection and community, we are entering the Web3 space differently than any other brand, while deepening our members’ connection to Starbucks. Our vision is to create a place where our digital community can come together over coffee, engage in immersive experiences, and celebrate the heritage and future of Starbucks.”

Starbucks is one of the first companies to integrate non-fungible tokens (NFTs) with an industry-leading loyalty program at scale, while creating a digital community that will enable new ways for Starbucks to engage with its members and its partners.

Meanwhile, Starbucks is not the only major company joining the Web3 and NFT train. In March, Visa unveiled an NFT-focused program to help small businesses and creatives. According to Visa, the one-year immersion program will bring together a global cohort of creators interested in building their businesses with NFTs.