Gatorade, a manufacturer of sports drinks, has launched into the Web3 market for the first time with the introduction of its NFT line. The collection partnered with sports charity Good Sports, Web3 consultants VaynerX, and Vayner3.
The collection features the 12 National 2021–2022 Gatorade Players of the Year, as suggested by the collection’s name, “Gatorade PoY Game Changers.” These include Gradey Dick (boys basketball), Kiki Rice (girls basketball), Keagan Rothrock (softball), Averi Carlson (volleyball), Nick Singleton (American football), Natalie Cook (girls cross country), Colin Sahlman (boys cross country), Keagan Rothrock (girls cross country), Jacob Jackson (boys soccer), Riley Jackson (girls soccer), Juliette Whittaker (girls track and field), and Cade Flatt (boys track and field).
The Pillars Behind the Gatorade Initiative
The NFT initiative had two pillars, the first of which was a three-day open edition mint of the NFT collection that began on July 18. Three-card NFT packs featuring the 12 National 2021–2022 Gatorade Players of the Year were sold throughout the tournament. Each sold for the same amount as $5 in ETH.
The mint reportedly donates 8% of secondary sales and 100% of primary sales to Good Sports, a nonprofit organization that works to give poor kids access to sports and physical activity.
The second pillar of the NFTs was less democratizing because its goal was to support the 12 athletes who are the subject of the collection. Every Gatorade National Player of the Year athlete received 10 Athlete Original custom copies of their card as well as a special edition Athlete Original that had a distinguishing border or sticker to designate it as a 1/1 as part of the airdrop of NFTs.
Where Is Gatorade Heading?
Based on paperwork submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Stokely-Van Camp submitted two trademark applications on April 27 for the use of the phrase “Gatorade”, and the sports drink’s “G” emblem in connection with virtual beverage items and NFTs.
However, for the time being, this fresh filing only denotes Van Camp’s upcoming actions with the Gatorade name. However, the Gatorades Web3 launch is imminent as other major brands make their metaverse advances.
The exact date the organization will examine Van Camp’s applications is still unknown. The Web3 boom, dubbed the “new age gold rush,” helped make most of her founders famous today. Although, fear permeates the atmosphere as our Web3 ecosystem transforms into what we consciously intended to avoid as franchise brands make their way into the metaverse.
How well will the Virtual Beverage Perform
Gatorade, which is now a Pepsi Co. brand, had a remarkable year in 2021, selling around $2.6 billion worth of products at American retail locations. Not to mention dominating the global sports drinks market by over 45%. Therefore, one can only speculate as Gatorade prepares to bring its beverage to the virtual shelves about what this company has up its sleeve.
Nevertheless, the trademark review procedure can take up to six months, so don’t anticipate your virtual quenchers any time soon.