Wow Bao fans may purchase NFT-based access passes that double as a Wow Bao-branded digital collectible, while also earning access to digital and physical rewards, including monthly giveaways and discounts. Provided
Chicago-based Wow Bao, a fast casual brand available in over 200 locations, is entering the metaverse, announcing Wednesday that it is offering an NFT-based extension of its Bao Bucks rewards program as well as launching “metaverse vending machines,” according to a press release.
Considering that the global metaverse market size was valued at around $210 billion in 2021, and is estimated to grow about $730.5 billion by 2028 (according to Facts and Factors), Wow Bao CEO Geoff Alexander said the platform is an opportunity to attract younger customers. There are over 400 million metaverse monthly users and 51% of them under 14 years old.
“Unlike traditional non-fungible-tokens, these passes do not require a crypto wallet or cryptocurrency and can be purchased and accessed with a credit card and an email address,” Alexander told FastCasual. “The way I think about it is that the NFT is just the technology that enables the platform, it’s in the background.”
Wow Bao fans may purchase NFT-based access passes that double as a Wow Bao-branded digital collectible, while also earning access to digital and physical rewards, including monthly giveaways and discounts exclusive to club members.
Fans may pay an additional monthly membership to unlock increasing levels of rewards and earning power.
Additionally, Wow Bao, which has Just Baked Hot Food kiosks in Georgia, Florida and Las Vegas, will bring the hot-food vending machines to the metaverse in 2023.
“I can’t share many details at this time, but soon consumers will be able to purchase Wow Bao at metaverse events,” Alexander said. “Over the summer, we launched vending machines in real life and as we are always looking for where to go next, we asked ourselves why not launch in the metaverse, too?”
To kick off the initiatives, the company is launching a contest, wowbao.com/metaverse, which allows fans to win digital collectibles and Wow Bao-branded merchandise.
“We’ve always been an early adopter of digital restaurant experiences and this is a natural extension of that leadership stance,” Alexander told FastCasual. “With our unprecedented virtual restaurant growth, we now have the geographic reach to bring Wow Bao to more and more people, and whether they are at the airport, using WowBao.com, visiting one of our vending machines in real life or interacting through a 3D rig in the metaverse, we will continue to seek out new channels.
The company’s metaverse strategy was developed in conjunction with Brightloom, a customer intelligence and advisory services company.
Wow Bao isn’t the first concept to take a chance on NFTs. Quiznos, in partnership with Crypto.com and The NFT Agency, launched them last year, and Fatburger made a similar move when it partnered with Los Angels-based record label, Death Row Records, to create NFTs in honor of the hip-hop label’s 30th anniversary and African American Music Appreciation Month.
Cherryh Cansler is VP of Editorial for Networld Media Group and senior editor of FastCasual.com. She has been covering the restaurant industry since 2012. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine, among many others.
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