KEY POINTS

  • The collection was set to be airdropped to existing holders
  • Coca-Cola has so far launched more than 4,000 collectibles
  • The firm recently launched the Pride NFT collection on Polygon as well

American beverage corporation Coca-Cola has launched a new non-fungible token (NFT) collection in celebration of International Friendship Day.

The initiative is said to be the company's way of "thanking fans who've been a part of the brand's journey into the metaverse over the last year," Coca-Cola noted in a news release Sunday.

The firm described the "special digital collectible" as "first-of-a-kind, generative and shareable collectibles on Polygon to celebrate International Friendship Day."

Polygon blockchain is an Ethereum scaling solution that was recently named among the six companies selected for the 2022 Disney Accelerator program.

"International Friendship Day — which launched our metaverse journey in 2021 — is the perfect milestone opportunity to thank and celebrate the people who have joined us," Pratik Thakar, head of global creative strategy at Coca-Cola, said in the news release. "We hope to strengthen and expand our "Real Magic" community by building connections through a variety of physical and virtual Coca-Cola experiences."

The new NFTs are designed after "bubbles inside a Coke bottle" and are based on "themes of connection and unity." The tokens were set to be airdropped or sent to the wallets of the existing Coca-Cola NFT holders on July 30, free of cost.

Recipients would have the opportunity to share a second collectible with their friends, building "the brand's community of fans on the open blockchain."

"We will continue to learn in this fast-moving space through limited-edition collectible launches tied to key cultural moments," Thakar added. The focus would be on building the company's virtual ecosystem by surprising and delighting fans, he added.

The news release confirmed that Coca-Cola has so far created more than 4,000 NFTs. The first collection was released on International Friendship Day 2021 with a "loot box" auction. Since then, the Georgia-based firm has launched digital collectibles to celebrate International Burger Day and International Pride Day.

As previously reported, the Coca-Cola Pride NFT was launched in collaboration with South African fashion designer and LGBTQIA+ advocate Rich Mnisi. It was also built on the Polygon blockchain.

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Coca-Cola reported better-than-expected results on increased pricing despite the drag from the strong dollar GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA via AFP / SCOTT OLSON