Tipsy Collective launches Singapore’s first F&B NFTs on Christmas Day

SINGAPORE — Few things capture the zeitgeist of this time succinctly and accurately—safe distancing, checking-in to places, quarantine, dining-in limits, and most recently, NFTs. Well, at least after an insurgence of interest in cryptocurrency, of course.

In fact, the world of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) is closer to Singapore than most think. In March this year, Singapore-based entrepreneur, coder, and angel investor in blockchain technologies, Vignesh Sundaresan, aka Metakovan, made international waves after it was revealed that he was the buyer of Beeple’s ‘Everydays: The First 5,000 Days’ in a Christie’s auction.

It is little surprise then that the world of NFTs and Singapore’s vibrant F&B scene would eventually find itself at an opportunistic intersectionality. The first to this space is none other than the folks at Tipsy Collective, who are launching Singapore’s first F&B NFTs on 25th December 2021.

If you’re new to NFTs, perhaps an explainer is in order. While NFTs are more commonly sold in the form of artwork, music or collectables, the philosophy behind it, regardless of its manifestation, is the same. Essentially, when you buy an NFT, you are the only person who owns the original token. That ownership cannot be copied or replicated, which is the very thing that makes the purchase so enticing to collectors. Tipsy Collective takes that philosophy and has adapted it to the industry they know best: F&B.

“We constantly challenge ourselves to be innovative with our restaurant concepts and menus,” co-founder and group CEO Derek Ong shares over email. “This year, Tipsy Collective is entering the metaverse. We are proud to pioneer the bridging of Digital Assets to Brick & Mortar businesses by having our very own NFT.”

At launch, Tipsy Collective’s NFT will match Ethereum based on their current selling point on the launch date. The genesis NFT set will then be deployed on the MATIC network, so people keen to purchase do not have to worry about high gas fees. Currently, Tipsy’s NFT can only be minted on OpenSea, although they’re already in talks to partner with a centralized secondary exchange of other NFT platforms and marketplaces.

In a way, Tipsy’s NFT is a form of direct investment from consumers who are confident and sure about the viability of the Tipsy Collective brand. “The fund raised would be used to finance the growth of Tipsy Collective,” Derek says in agreement. “This would allow our NFT holders to become synonymous with being our tertiary shareholders. In return, they will receive gifts that would be above and beyond their initial investment.”

Beyond owning a digital piece of Tipsy Collective, buyers of the NFT would effectively become a part of the Tipsy Family where they can, amongst other perks, vote on colours and designs of logos and participate in choosing the name of their Tipsy animals. There are also plans to reward NFT holders with new seasonal perks.

For their inaugural launch, Tipsy Collective will be releasing one .gif NFT under the awning of Lady Wu, portioned into 50 different serial numbers which individual buyers can buy. Come 2022, Tipsy Collective will also be offering NFTs from its other brands—Tipsy Penguin, Tipsy Bird, Tipsy Bunny, Tipsy Panda, Tipsy Flamingo, Takeshi Noodle Bar, O/T Bar, and Hadouken! Singapore.

“Tipsy Collective hopes to be the leading F&B to bridge Digital Assets to Brick & Mortar businesses in Singapore,” Derek adds. “Building a strong marketing strategy will allow us to pave the way for other F&Bs as well, and we hope that the industry will continually see growth through innovation and taking a leap of faith to try things we’ve never done before.”

The Tipsy Collective Lady Wu NFT will launch at midnight on Saturday, 25th December 2021.