IHOP Fakes NFT Launch With New French Toast Marketing Campaign

IHOP recently announced that it was release an NFT on Twitter last week. Today is the mark revealed that it was not a non-fungible token, but rather the company’s New French Toast. While the move was initially hailed by many in the crypto community, the company has clarified that it is not involved in the business of non-fungible tokens despite its marketing campaign based on NFTs.

IHOP Teases NFT Drop

Pancake House restaurant chain IHOP teased the crypto community with the announcement of an NFT drop. However, this decline is completely unrelated to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as we know them, but rather refers to the company’s New French Toast.

“Although the NFT is not a non-fungible token, you can taste and sample the new Thick ‘N Fluffy French Toast for yourself when you dine in or to-go at participating IHOP locations. The new Thick ‘N Fluffy French Toast has two slices of thick and fluffy bread dipped in a vanilla, cinnamon batter and cooked on the IHOP griddle, available in classic, strawberry banana and lemon ricotta mix flavors.

IHOP® releases a NFT (New French Toast)

IHOP said customers can try the new Thick ‘N Fluffy French Toast for just 10 PanCoins during the first two weeks of its launch. PanCoins are IHOP’s digital tokens that were unveiled as part of the company’s new “International Bank of Pancakes” loyalty program, launched earlier this year.

IHOP’s new NFT comes as the company looks to offer more menu choices to its customers and explore new ways to get them to enjoy the restaurant experience.

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What are PanCoins?

IHOP unveiled its digitally enabled loyalty program in March 2022 to attract more customers who have become more digitally reliant in the past two years following the coronavirus outbreak.

The program allows IHOP customers to join the program through the official website or mobile app and earn tokens, called PanCoins, by purchasing the restaurant’s food or merchandise. Guests can earn PanCoins by paying directly from the app or using a QR code, entering a code or scanning a barcode on a physical receipt, or placing a delivery or to-go order using the website or app.

IHOP’s “NFT drop” comes amid a notable crisis in the non-fungible token market. NFT sales fell nearly 70% year-on-year in Q3 2022 as investors steer clear of risk assets this year. The world’s two largest cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum lost 50% in the last 6 months.

Have you had a chance to participate in the IHOP loyalty program and spend PanCoins? Let us know in the comments below.

About the author

Tim Fries is the co-founder of The Tokenist. He has a B. Sc. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Tim served as a Senior Associate in the investment team at RW Baird’s US Private Equity division and is also a co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm specializing in sensing, protection and control solutions.