Starbucks suspends its NFT beta program Odyssey to prepare for program evolution and upcoming developments. By Bhushan Akolkar 4 hours ago Updated 59 mins ago
Story Highlights
- Starbucks confirms dropping its NFT program while preparing for upcoming developments.
- Starbucks Odyssey explains how NFTs could be game changer for community building.
- It will be interesting to see what measures Starbucks takes to navigate the evolving Web3 space.
After a two-year stint, Starbucks has decided to end its NFT Program Odyssey by the end of this month. This announcement first came through Steve Kaczynski, the community lead for Starbucks Odyssey. The development comes at a time when the NFT market is going through a rough phase with NFT prices dropping significantly over the past few weeks.
Starbucks Discontinues NFT Program Odyssey
On Friday, Steve Kaczynski tweeted that his future was uncertain while leading Starbucks Odyssey. “Starbucks has decided to sunset Odyssey. There’s a ton of uncertainty about my future now because I just lost my full-time job, but I’m doing my best to look at the positives. I’m incredibly grateful for Starbucks and the opportunity they provided me. In the last 15 months, I had the chance to work with one of my favorite brands on the planet,” he wrote.
Later on Friday, on its FAQ page, Starbucks revealed its decision to halt its NFT program, which was in the beta phase, in order to “prepare for upcoming developments as the program evolves”.
NFTs Are Powerful for Community Building
In a podcast with TechCrunch last month, Steve Kaczynski emphasized that despite the decline in the NFT market from its peak, there are still opportunities for brands and loyalty programs to engage with their audience in innovative ways.
He predicts that in 2024, companies will further develop “brand anchors” within gated spaces like reward programs, emphasizing community-based brand building. Starbucks introduced Starbucks Odyssey in 2022, marking its entry into the web3 space. This initiative integrated the Starbucks Rewards loyalty program with NFTs to enrich customer interactions. Kaczynski said:
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“We’re able to help people find their tribe.I’ve seen that people who live in California in the Starbucks Odyssey community are really good friends with people in Chicago and they have met up in real life at times. This never would have happened if not for web3.”
According to Kaczynski, the common perception of NFTs typically revolves around expensive digital artworks like those from the Bored Ape Yacht Club. However, he suggests that NFT ownership holds broader value beyond just artwork.
He emphasizes the potential for developing “third-party utilities” associated with NFTs, not limited to large corporations like Starbucks or Nike. Local businesses can also leverage NFTs to create loyalty programs or use tickets as assets to incentivize and engage customers.
