Digital delectables. The Foodverse is here

This year brands like Pringles and Taco Bell created quite a buzz of a different kind. While Pringles introduced a new limited edition flavour called CryptoCrisp, Taco Bell launched the Spicy Potato Soft Tacos.

But none of these products were edible. They weren’t even real. They were just digital collectibles or NFT artworks.

At a time when celebrities, sports leagues and brands are jumping on the NFT bandwagon, an Indian start-up OneRare, founded by the husband-wife duo Supreet Raju and Gaurav Gupta, is building the “Foodverse” or the food metaverse, involving the elements of food, gaming and NFTs on the blockchain ecosystem.

Simply put, OneRare is a NFT Economy game that will run on co-operation and trade between play-to-earn gamers and NFT collectors.

Into the Metaverse

First things first. Metaverse is the digital space where NFTs and digital or virtual currencies and assets can be traded. NFTs (non fungible tokens) are a unique digital form of collectibles bought and sold through virtual currencies.

But what has food got to do with the metaverse? “Food is a universal language and everyone easily identifies with it and easily understands it. So we are building the Foodverse, where dishes and cuisines, from all corners of the world, will be featured to offer a gamified and immersive experience. This is also an interesting way to introduce new users to the blockchain,” explains Raju.

The start-up has recently launched its native token called ORARE that can be used to transact and play the game. The start-up said it is currently in the pre-launch stage and the full and the final game will be launched in a month’s time.

The Foodverse is divided into four play areas and includes the farm, farmers market, kitchen and playground for various kinds of gameplays.

“Ingredients and dishes will be available in the form of NFTs. Players will be able to collect the ingredients by following real recipes and claim dishes in the form of NFTs, which can then be used to battle in mini games in the playground,” Raju explained.

So users will be able to grow ingredient crops in the farm, sell and trade these crops in farmers market and then follow the recipes to combine ingredients to mint dishes in the form of NFTs in the kitchen.

The Foodverse features global cuisines, keto and vegan products and signature dishes of celebrity chefs.

Culinary collaboration

“This is the first food project of its kind on the blockchain ecosystem. So we aim to get the F&B industry to the blockchain ecosystem and grow their global reach. We have already started collaborating with chefs to celebrate their culinary journey and tokenising their signature dishes. We recently announced our collaboration with celebrity chefs Saransh Goila, Arnold Poernomo, Reynold Poernomo and Jaimie Van Hejie,” Raju added. Similar partnerships are on the cards with other celebrity chefs, restaurant chains and food brands.

The start-up is also working on collaborating with other Web3 games to create exclusive menus for game characters or host virtual pop-up restaurants.

But that’s not all. OneRare also plans to go one step further and offer the option to consumers to take their dish NFT and swap it for a real meal at a restaurant.

“This is not a far-fetched idea. We would like this to happen by next year,” Raju said.

In November, the start-up raised $2 million in seed-funding. It is backed by investors such as Nischal Shetty from WazirX, Sebastien Borget from The Sandbox, Sandeep Nailwal from Polygon, Edmond Truong from Formation Fi, Shashwat Gupta from Altcoin Buzz and Prakash Somosundram from Enjinstarter among others. While there is a lot of buzz around NFTs, this is also a time when the government is grappling with the cryptocurrency conundrum.

“We would be more than glad if the regulations for this sector come tomorrow and not the day after. I think clarity will be important for the growth of this sector and for the technical and creative talent to know it’s okay to be part of this industry and is crucial at a time when founders like us are building their ventures,” Raju said.

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