The American multinational fast-food chain McDonald’s is preparing to launch its new stores in the metaverse. With this, you will be able to order your burger in the virtual world and it will deliver to your real-world address.
McDonald’s has filed 10 trademarks to build a virtual restaurant to sell real and virtual goods. According to trademark attorney Josh Gerbon, the applications include trademarks for “virtual food and beverage products; downloadable multimedia files containing artwork, text, audio and video files and NFTs.” In addition, McDonald’s is also planning on creating “virtual concerts and other virtual events” and virtual restaurants “featuring actual and virtual goods.” Physical products will reportedly be available via home delivery.
While the idea of ordering real food in a virtual space sounds foreign, Gerben explains that this would be a way for hungry virtual reality users to purchase food without having to “put down your headset.”
The news comes after McDonald’s teamed up with Opening ceremony to celebrate Lunar New year in the metaverse. Stay tuned as we learn more about the company’s virtual restaurant launch.
McDonald’s is entering the metaverse to offer patrons another way to order food (real food) for delivery online, to its customers’ real homes. The seemingly mundane move is smart, and business owners who want to stay on the cutting edge should pay attention. Here are three guideposts that can help inform a savvy strategy to enter–and make money in–the metaverse.
The genius of McDonald’s entry into the metaverse is that it proves you can stay in your own lane while exploring new paths. For businesses, the metaverse is just another platform to reach customers and make sales. And you don’t have to make up new products to be a part of it.
So forge a strong value proposition, and use it to your advantage. It doesn’t matter whether you’re operating a business in the real world or in a virtual world, you need to provide real-world value. And to do that, you need to give people what they want, where they are. Because unless you’re Andy Warhol, odds are the average person isn’t going to be too wild about that NFT of burgers and fries, or a ketchup packet.
Trademark lawyer, Josh Gerben tweeted on 9th February that, “McDonald’s is headed to the metaverse. The company has filed 10 (TEN!) trademark applications indicating it plans to offer “a virtual restaurant featuring actual and virtual goods” and “operating a virtual restaurant featuring home delivery.”
He further added that, “‘You are hanging out in the metaverse and get hungry. You don’t have to put down your headset. You walk into a McDonald’s and place an order. It arrives at your door a little while later.”