Recently, there’s been a rather interesting case: Starbucks has actually jumped into the NFT space. Speaking of it, it’s not really new for major brands to enter the blockchain ecosystem, but Starbucks’ approach is still a bit different.

They launched a platform called Starbucks Odyssey. Its core logic is to combine the existing loyalty program with NFTs. You know Starbucks Rewards, right? Customers earn “stars” when they buy coffee, and they can use them to redeem drinks or discounts. Now, the concept of Starbucks NFTs is to upgrade this mechanism—so the most loyal customers can not only exchange for coffee, but also unlock more exclusive experiences and rewards through digital assets.

What’s interesting is that when they chose the public chain, they considered various options and ultimately decided to use Polygon to build it. This choice is quite pragmatic: as a Layer 2 solution, Polygon has low transaction costs and fast speeds, which makes it more suitable for applications aimed at everyday consumers.

However, at the time, the company had not yet publicly disclosed the specific costs and the NFT issuance quantities—those details were still being planned. To be honest, when you look at this move, you can see that traditional large enterprises’ attitudes toward Web3 really are changing. Although the Starbucks NFT project still mainly revolves around a loyalty program, it shows how a brand can implement blockchain technology into real business operations rather than just talking up concepts. This way of thinking should also inspire other brands.