Starbucks is getting into the ‘NFT business,’ according to Howard Schultz

Frappuccinos, pumpkin spice lattes, and now … NFTs?

Of course, Starbucks is seemingly getting into the entire world of NFTs.

That is the phrase from Howard Schultz, who is managing the Seattle espresso giant as interim CEO immediately after Kevin Johnson officially transitioned from the major role Monday.

Schultz, who led the enterprise for more than two decades right before handing the CEO reins to Johnson in 2017, held a town hall conference Monday wherever he reportedly reported that Starbucks was “going to be in the NFT business” by the end of this yr. Online video of his opinions at the assembly were leaked to Jordan Zakarin, a reporter at Extra Excellent Union.

Schultz admitted he is not a “digital native” but has been finding out NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, a burgeoning engineering that make it possible for persons to protected distinctive ownership of artwork, films, photographs, and other digital content material on the blockchain. Income on OpenSea, a NFT marketplace, were at $2.5 billion in March, down from $5 billion in January, Reuters noted.

Other providers and brand names which includes Taco Bell and Papa Johns are dipping their toes in NFTs. iHeartMedia is creating a new NFT-based mostly podcast community, Axios claimed Tuesday. Last month TIME produced the to start with-at any time full magazine problem as an NFT.

“If you glimpse at the companies, the models, the celebs, the influencers that are trying to produce a digital NFT platform and enterprise, I just cannot locate just one of them that has the treasure trove of property that Starbucks has, from collectibles to the full heritage of the organization,” Schultz stated at the city corridor assembly, known as “Partner Open Discussion boards.”

We reached out to Starbucks for more details and will update if we listen to back.

Starbucks on Monday also declared that it is suspending its inventory repurchasing method. Schultz, who has rejoined the company’s board, at the assembly Monday also reportedly tackled the soaring unionization endeavours amid Starbucks employees.

Starbucks has extra than 30,000 suppliers and employs more than 400,000 people today. Its stock is down much more than 20% in excess of the past 12 months.

The company’s board has shaped a doing work committee to carry out an ongoing research for Johnson’s lasting replacement. A selection is envisioned by this drop.