A host of restaurant chains are now in the metaverse, leveraging the virtual world to improve brand engagement.
In 2022 most major U.S. brands moved to protect their brand rights and applied for metaverse trademarks. Not all of them followed through with products. Here are the restaurants that made good on their intention to enter the virtual plane, offering everything from loyalty bonuses to virtually hosted wedding ceremonies.
Wendy’s
In April this year, Wendy’s was among the first eateries to jump into the metaverse. The Wendyverse features a communal town square and a basketball court where players can shoot burgers instead of basketballs. In April, the company doubled down on its Wendyverse and added a new location; Sunrise City.
“In the metaverse, you can’t just slap a logo on something and call it a day,” said Carl Loredo, Wendy’s chief marketing officer. “You need to give consumers an immersive opportunity to interact with the brand, so they want to come back for more.”
The Wendyverse is part of Meta’s Horizon Worlds.
Chipotle
Chipotle is another early adopter of the metaverse, establishing a presence in Roblox in October 2021. The company now has its own burrito-building game. The first 100,000 players to roll up a fat one earned a free entree as a reward.
Jimmy John’s
Sandwich chain Jimmy John’s has also gone virtual, joining the well-established virtual community of Decentraland. Once inside, customers can build their own virtual sandwich. The best virtual sandwich became an ordering option on Jimmy John’s menu.
Taco Bell
Taco Bell is another restaurant chain that opted to enter the metaverse via Decentraland. The restaurant invited couples to tie the knot in Taco Bell’s Metaverse Wedding Chapel in August. If that sounds good to you, MetaNews regrets to report that a lucky winning couple has already been found.
Starbucks
When there’s no more room for Starbucks in the real world, the coffee shop chain will conquer the metaverse. The brand launched Starbucks Odyssey in September, allowing Starbucks reward members to buy and trade non-fungible tokens (NFTs). To lower the barriers to entry, the Starbucks Odyssey is available to anyone via the Starbucks rewards app on their phone.
Wow Bao
Rounding up the list is Wow Bao, offering a metaverse experience and an NFT membership program via its app. The restaurant chain will also provide a virtual ordering experience through its metaverse, with food delivered to your home address in the real world.
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