Seafood company Get Maine Lobster is getting into the NFT market. The company, which delivers lobsters through online orders, plans to create a membership club which is based on nonfungible tokens or NFTs.
The membership club offers four different levels with different perks. The lowest tier, called Green or Crew+, offers bonus points and discounts. The highest Diamond tier is only eligible for five paying members. In addition to further discounts, Diamond members will receive 100 lbs of live caught lobsters delivered throughout the year with a total value of $1,250.
A New Trend in Restaurants
Get Maine is hardly the first company in the culinary industry to partner with NFTs. Celebrities like Tom Brady, Steph Curry, and Gwyneth Paltrow have all championed NFTs at various points, as well as restaurant owners and celebrity chefs.
A NFT at its core is a “smart contract”, often connected to an image, which cannot be tampered with or stolen by outside parties. Smart contracts could be used for all sorts of business applications.
Of course, no one uses a contract to dine out at a restaurant. But there are still multiple ways that restaurants could use NFTs and smart contracts. First, it is possible that just as customers may line up and pay money to get a rare dish, they might be willing to pay for a NFT of said dish to show off the experience. Second, NFTs can be used to grant owners exclusive access to special privileges, which is exactly what Get Maine is doing. Instead of owning a membership card, you can own a NFT and not have to worry about losing said card.
A Fad or a Long-term Project?
But while this may offer potential, NFTs and blockchain have taken a beating over the past few months and sales have crashed throughout 2022. This is partially due to rising inflation making investors more sceptical about speculative assets, as well as the general crash in the cryptocurrency market. The recent scandal around cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has also harmed the reputation of these technological projects.
Consequently, the fact that Get Maine Lobster has chosen now to enter into a NFT partnership may seem peculiar. But NFT proponents would argue that their technology is not merely a speculative asset, but a way to encourage exclusivity and demand.
Whether NFTs will be the new membership card or a passing speculative fad remains to be seen. But whether we are talking about celebrity chefs or one of the best seafood restaurants, it is clear that some in the culinary industry are interested in the potential of NFTs.