Food Entrepreneur - May 10, 2022 - 12

necessarily know what to do with them.
My goal is to create interest in the space
and get more women involved. "
Chocolate maker Mid-Day Squares
took a creative approach to its first NFT
project, using digital images to mark an
important moment in the brand's journey.
After declining a takeover offer from
The Hershey Co. last summer, Mid-Day
Squares was served a cease-and-desist over
the use of the color orange on its packaging.
Co-founders Nick Saltarelli, Lezlie
Karls and Jake Karls responded with a diss
track (a song with the purpose of disparaing
another individual (or company)) and
an accompanying music video.
" We knew we needed to put effort
into the distribution of the music video,
because it would be a shame to see it
just sizzle away, " Mr. Saltarelli said. " Our
community was already asking for NFT
projects. They were constantly dropping
requests in our comments. Then it clicked
and we said, 'Why don't we allow our fans
to really own this music video with us?' "
Mid-Day Squares converted 600 moments
from the video into unique images
to be sold as NFTs. It also included some
exlusive behind-the-scenes shots.
" One aspect that has been proven as a
clear use case for NFTs is memorabilia and
the ability to collect things, " Mr. Saltarelli
said. " People collect Coca-Cola cans from
the 1950s or memorabilia from their favorite
chocolate companies growing up. NFTs
provide some really cool opportunities to
create things like that for our consumers. "
There's no set playbook for CPG brands
looking to get into the NFT space, said David
Greenfeld, founder and CEO of Dream
Pops. The company last year launched a
virtual ice cream shop featuring digital
artwork inspired by its frozen desserts.
" I don't know if I I've seen what I believe
is the 'correct' application for CPGs, " Mr.
Greenfeld said. " When we minted our
first collection, I just wanted to
make sure we were getting
our hands wet and that
we knew how to do it. "
Opportunities
exist to attach utility
to NFTs through
discounts, product
giveaways or other perks,
he said.
" We're working on
developing something
that is more applicable to
our passionate customers,
the people who want
that next level of community
or want access to limited-time
offers and new
products, " Mr. Greenfeld
said. " You could do a
discount code or loyalty
program with NFTs. "
Love + Chew is
Dream Pops
last year launched a
virtual ice cream shop
featuring digital artwork
launch in Q2. Whoever buys that entity will
be the very first person to try that product.
They'll get the first cookie from the first
production run. A couple of entities will
attach a year's subscription, where you'll get
our cookies in the mail every month. "
The project could help determine
the flavors Love + Chew
pursues next, she added.
" This might allow me to
inspired by its plant-based
frozen desserts.
do some market research, "
Ms. Chew said. " I'm launching
a bunch of flavors that don't
exist yet, so I'm going to be really
interested to see which ones are
more popular than others. "
Mid-Day Squares is tying
physical memorabilia to its NFTs
in the form of video cassette
tapes. Fans who purchase or win
an NFT will receive a tape featuring
a copy of the music video and
the NFT artwork on the cover.
" We didn't want this to just
DREAM POPS
working with a platform that allows companies
to generate NFTs as rewards. Fans
can complete challenges like following the
brand on TikTok or uploading a selfie with
a cookie to earn points and eventually
receive a free NFT.
Ms. Chew also is attaching utility to
the digital cookies available on OpenSea.
" Some of the NFTs are actual cookie
flavors that we offer, and some of them are
future flavors or potential flavors in the
pipeline, " she said. " One of those flavors,
peanut butter chocolate chip, is going to
be digital, " Mr. Saltarelli said. " If
we fast forward 20 years from
now, and Mid-Day Squares has
succeeded in becoming what we'd
like to be, that is going to be an incredible
piece of memorabilia for people to have. "
The company will use proceeds from
the project to fund future experiences for
its community. One idea is to pay for trips
to gather NFT holders in one destination.
" Where I see this developing and what
I'm really excited about is this race to create
currency among brands, " Mr. Saltarelli said.
" You can create a source of treasury for your
business to be able to finance a lot of incredible
value-added services or experiences
back to your consumers. " ▪
48
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May 10, 2022
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