What if we NFT... potato chips?

Jenny goes on a flight of fancy into the potato chip metaverse. Frito Lay, take note.

The KFC x Ruffles Chip NFT

When the Metacommerce team saw the September 7 collaboration between KFC and Ruffles on a savoury chicken-flavoured chip, we couldn’t resist the potential in turning this time limited finger-lickin’ good© product into an NFT! What if the KFC x Ruffles collaboration was launched using NFTs? We’ll summarize the business strategy and benefits below.

Disclaimer: this is a fictitious business strategy and should not be considered financial or investment advice.

 TL;DR

The September 7, 2022 announcement of a collaboration between KFC and Ruffles to create a chicken-flavoured chip for the Canadian market is an opportunity to use NFTs to enhance this product launch. Using NFTs to engage their brands’ biggest fans, KFC and Ruffles can benefit from additional revenue streams, higher engagement with the product and can reward their biggest Canadian fans.

The inspiration

KFC launched a collaboration product with the Ruffles chip brand on September 7, 2022. This limited-edition chip flavour is supposed to taste like KFC’s original chicken recipe with its iconic 11 herbs and spices. The intrigue for KFC’s fried chicken comes from the fact that it’s made with a secret recipe that’s one of the industry’s best kept secrets. KFC Canada’s CMO, Katherine Bond-Debicki, was excited to partner with Ruffles, which she called a powerhouse brand. And to add to the intrigue, these KFC chicken chips are only sold in Canada for a limited time. We couldn’t resist thinking about how this partnership launch could be enhanced using NFTs

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The tools we’ll use

1.      Metacommerce’s NFT Generator: a no-code NFT generator and asset storage solution to craft exceptional NFT product experiences.

2.      Canva: an easy-to-use platform that uses drag-and-drop features to help anyone design professional logos, presentations and graphics.

3.      Metacommerce’s Experience Automation software: easy-to-use software that helps brands to stay relevant with their communities by automating core community engagement

 Business strategy overview

1.      KFC and Ruffles are both traditional, classic and iconic brands. They are both household names and have high brand awareness with consumers as well as long histories. 👉 NFTs are the perfect vehicle for KFC and Ruffles to continue to build a connection with their most loyal customers, in a way that’s only possible using blockchain technology.

2.      These chips will be available across Canada for a limited time period and they are available for sale only at select major retailers. This gives these chips an exclusivity that other chips don’t inherently have. This exclusivity should be celebrated. 👉 NFTs can commemorate the iconic status of these limited-edition chips after they’re eaten.

3.      These chips were available in the UK (although under a different brand) but are still not sold in the US. Given the fact that new products are often launched in the US and bypass the Canadian market, this is an interesting point that KFC and Ruffles can emphasize. 👉 NFTs can specify a location and have cover art that is uniquely Canadian to drive brand loyalty in Canada.

4.     The Ruffles chip shape is a classic and the KFC logo is eye-catching. This aspect should not be understated in web3, where colourful and eye-catching artwork can help to create memorable experiences (ex. Doodles). 👉 NFTs are versatile. KFC and Ruffles can capitalize on this by creating a chip-shaped NFT with the iconic ruffles beside a bucket of chicken wings to emphasize the partnership between two powerful brands.

5.      By launching an NFT project, KFC and Ruffles will be joining the ranks of prominent brands such as Starbucks, which is integrating their Starbucks Rewards ecosystem with digital collectibles as a reward and a way to build a community around their brand. Other brands such as Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Burger King and McDonald’s have already made their foray into web3 using NFTs. 👉 KFC and Ruffles can use NFTs to build a strong online community around their strong name recognition.

How can we NFT the KFC Ruffles chip?

Now, putting all of that together, this is our answer to that million-dollar question of “how can we turn chicken-flavoured chips into an NFT?” And why stop at just a picture when we can turn this NFT into an entire marketing strategy to create an engaging experience for the biggest fans of KFC and Ruffles in Canada? 🍁

1.      Create the cover art image for the KFC x Ruffles NFT using Canva (or if you’re reading this, KFC and/or Ruffles, this step can be done by your in-house design team)

We believe the cover art can be eye-catching by using a chip shape with ruffles to invoke an immediate recognition of Ruffles with KFC’s red branding and iconic fried chicken bucket layered on top of the chip to visually communicate this partnership. Because this chicken-flavoured chip is launching in the Canadian market, we also suggest adding a Canadian icon such as a maple leaf or a cute beaver.

2.      Create your NFT collection using Metacommerce’s NFT generator. Without needing to code, you can create and release your new NFTs in a few clicks.

Upload your cover art into the Metacommerce NFT generator and choose the number of NFTs that you want to create and make available for sale at a chosen price (ex. affordable at 0.05 ETH). Since we want to have many people purchase this special NFT, it should have more than one copy. Each NFT will have the same functionality – within a period of time, all NFT holders can redeem one KFC x Ruffles chip in stores per day, while quantities last, which can be done through a custom app that merchants can use to keep track of the NFTs used in each redeem. This doesn’t limit non-NFT holders from purchasing these chips. This NFT adds the ability for KFC and Ruffles to reward their biggest fans, who will want to buy this NFT to engage with this gamified purchase experience.

It’s recommended that the number of NFTs available is capped. This will reduce the chance that someone who buys the NFT can’t find a chip bag in stores, which can happen if the supply of NFTs outstrips the supply of chip bags.

3.      Continue to engage with NFT holders using Metacommerce’s Experience Automation software on social media accounts.

Even after the KFC x Ruffles chip is no longer available for sale in Canada, these NFTs can still be used to engage with this community of fans. Metacommerce’s Experience Automation tool allows brands to serve their NFT holders without a line of code. This enables marketing teams to directly manage this intimate relationship with NFT holders. Social media platforms like Twitter, Discord and Mailchimp can be integrated with the NFT holders list. Marketing messages can be directly targeted at this community of NFT holders (see screenshot below). Without Metacommerce’s Experience Automation tool, even if brands know the wallet address of their NFT holders, they have no way of linking this to their fan’s social media accounts.

Benefits of NFTs for the KFC x Ruffles chip

✨ Cash flow upfront, without needing to sell bags of chips.

✨ Commemorate this unique partnership at a snapshot in time, using a technology that can’t be altered or hacked. This commemoration will continue into perpetuity after the chips are no longer available in stores.

✨ Create a secondary revenue stream. Anyone can buy the NFT without needing to eat a bag of chips, if they don’t want to, and are still invited to engage with this product.

✨ Extend the interactive potential of this product launch through IRL gamification.

✨ Identify and track KFC and Ruffles’ biggest fans in Canada. These are the consumers who will line up outside a store for your product and who will track down these chips in store. They are also the customers that you want to reward and engage.

What other creative games can we build into this NFT?

🙊 Only NFT holders can access a secret recipe that’s built into each NFT, using ingredients that include KFC’s fried chicken and Ruffles chips. This plays off KFC’s secret recipe and gives fans an extra incentive to purchase an NFT.

👑 One lucky person will find a QR code inside a bag of KFC x Ruffles chips that will let them mint a Golden Chicken Chip NFT that will let them redeem free KFC and Ruffles products for one year. Not only is this name unique and aligned with the KFC and Ruffles brand, this lucky NFT holder can also sell this NFT with secondary profits going to KFC and Ruffles each time the NFT changes hands.

🥳 How can we celebrate the biggest KFC and Ruffles fans? All NFT holders will be invited to a launch party at the house of Colonel Sanders. Gather your brands’ biggest fans to celebrate them, let them test new products before the public market, brainstorm new product suggestions and increase your social media engagement with this exclusive party.

How does this apply to other brands?

Other brands shouldn’t feel left out. 👋 The KFC x Ruffles NFT will be an opportunity for future collaborations. Maybe a burger restaurant will want to offer a meal package to all KFC x Ruffles NFT holders, which is a meal that includes their burgers but also Ruffles chips. Or maybe a movie theatre chain will partner with KFC x Ruffles to reward their NFT holders with a movie night served with KFC chicken and Ruffles chips. The possibilities are endless and will certainly not run a-fowl of KFC and Ruffles fans (although that pun might)!