In the foodie news you’d never expect to see, McCain Foods Limited—a Canadian Multinational frozen food company—are entering the metaverse through a number of unexpected partnerships. McCain is the biggest provider worldwide of frozen potato products, and clearly they’re aiming to stay ahead of the curve by branching out into the metaverse.
Sustainable Farming For the Future
As an effort to push towards sustainable farming, McCain has started a new initiative called #SaveOurOil. Aiming for 100% of their acreage worldwide to use regenerative practices by 2030, the frozen-food company recognizes the potential of educating the younger generations about sustainability.
Ideally, the new #SaveOurSoil initiative should target this new audience of consumers through both NFTs and virtual platform Roblox. These days, a lot of Gen Z are spending more time socializing with their friends in virtual experiences on Roblox rather than playing outside—lending credit to the idea that kids will be the early adopters of metaverse technology.
Hence McCain's free-to-play "Farms of the Future" game is now available worldwide, integrating into Roblox game Livetopia. Essentially, Farms of the Future is a gamified educational tool to teach the next generation of consumers about sustainable agriculture.
Bored & Hungry for Fries?
In a continued effort to reach and educate younger consumers, McCain also collaborated with Bored & Hungry, the first crypto-themed restaurant and owned by Food Fighters Universe, the first NFT-themed restaurant group. Bored & Hungry, named after the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection, hosted several pop-ups in London and Toronto last month, serving McCain’s new sustainable “Regen” fries.
According to the Global Head of Innovation Christine Kalvenes, “the Farms of the Future game, and the Bored & Hungry collaboration are an experiential, fun, and effective way to” begin a discussion with new, young consumers, and inform them about sustainability.
While it might seem like an odd fit for a frozen-food franchise to move towards metaverse marketing, it marks the next case in a long line of brands using new branding opportunities to reach a younger, tech-savvy audience.
