McDonald’s in the Metaverse? I’m Lovin’ It

Another Corporate Giant Embraces the Future of the Internet 

Hungry?  

How about a digital hamburger? 

Yep. Digital food. The granddaddy of fast-food chains, McDonald’s, has announced that it is going into the metaverse. The burger behemoth has filed patents for a host of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for everything from digital food and drinks, to virtual concerts. 

And it’s not alone in diving into the metaverse. 

Wall Street banking juggernaut JPMorgan announced it is building an Onyx Lounge in Decentraland, one of the largest metaverses on the Ethereum network. JPMorgan made its announcement as part of a larger report on the rise of the metaverse, where the bank sees huge opportunities emerging. Other household names already in the metaverse in some fashion: Walmart, Nike, Gap, Hulu, Adidas, Verizon…the list goes on. 

But back to digital food… 

That one seems like a headscratcher. 

Who’s ordering a digital quarter pounder and a Coke Zero NFT? What would you even do with it? I mean, it’s not like digital avatars actually eat. 

Well, there’s actually a much bigger trend at play here—a trend you very likely already participate in. 

Food delivery. 

I’ve been talking to the lead developer for a metaverse project for more than a month now. He and I have regular conversations regarding developments taking place inside the metaverse his team is building, but I can see exactly how his developments will cross over into metaverses writ large. 

To wit: He’s been in talks with former executives of a well-known food-delivery app about building a digital ramen shop. Gamers and players in that universe would be able to wander into that shop, peruse the menu, order what they want, and then a real-world food delivery service will deliver that exact meal to their real-world home. 

This is where online food delivery is headed. 

This is why McDonald’s is patenting digital food NFTs. 

In the very near future (closer than you might imagine), you’re going to find 3D food outlets online. You will be shopping at a digital mall and you will see a digital food court, and you will head over there and place your order by touching the items you want. You will pay for it with digital currency in your wallet, which you can see on the screen, and your real food will arrive wherever you are. 

McDonald’s sees that this is the world we’re heading into. 

Soon, the internet isn’t going to be me and you and billions of people sitting in front of a two-dimensional screen. It’s going to be an immersive, three-dimensional space that we’ll exist inside of. We will move around in that space just as we move around in a house. Or better yet, a mall or a street. 

Virtual shopping malls are already shaping up. Virtual High Streets are taking shape too in some of the major metaverses.  

Instead of heading to Nike.com to buy a pair of sneakers, we’re going to head into a metaverse, and we’re going to walk along the shopping street, or around a shopping mall, and we’re going to see dozens of stores. And we’re going to walk in, and look at all the different clothes, and try them on (on avatars that mimic what we look like) and we can order what we like for delivery. 

And when we get hungry…boom! McDonald’s is there for order and delivery. 

Whether you ever set foot in a metaverse, whether you ever order a digital double cheeseburger, the undeniable fact is that this is where the internet is headed. Which means this is where the next gargantuan opportunity exists to turn a little money into a lot of money. 

Don’t overlook this news that McDonald’s is heading into the metaverse. It’s big. 

And, to steal from McDonald’s own tag line…I’m lovin’ it.