qiibee to power foodchains’ gamification-based rewards system and bring loyalty on the blockchain to China

qiibee, the Swiss loyalty token protocol which helps brands around the world run their loyalty programs on the blockchain, has announced a partnership with Chinese restaurant loyalty rewards program foodchains, creating a blockchain-based cryptocurrency in the process.

Customers who download the foodchains app will earn FAN tokens each time they make a purchase at participating foodchains restaurants simply by scanning a QR code, writing reviews about their dining experience, and other community-related actions.

“Small to medium-sized restaurants often struggle with traditional loyalty programs and reward systems as a result of their limited size and high integration costs. Blockchain technology allows us to streamline the execution and administration of our loyalty program with near real-time transparency, resulting in cost savings that can be realized in the medium term,” said Clement Lee, Co-founder and CEO of foodchains.

Partner restaurants will be issuing and accepting FAN tokens, which are interchangeable across all participating locations on foodchains’ network.

foodchains plans to roll out its tokenized loyalty rewards program to Wheelys Cafe, a Y Combinator-backed bicycle cafe chain with more than 900 cafes in 73 countries, as well as to more than 60 independent Shanghai-based restaurants, with beta testing due to begin in India.

foodchains foresees a long-term collaboration with qiibee, with Lee aiming to achieve “viral adoption” of the loyalty program in China.

“Things are moving at a fast and furious pace in the cryptosphere. We believe that our experience in the restaurant sector and qiibee’s already proven expertise and proof-of-concept will allow us to rapidly deploy the platform on a global scale,” he continued.

Co-founder and CEO of qiibee, Gabriele Giancola, said:“foodchains’ business model is a perfect use case of the qiibee infrastructure, whereby a loyalty program is built from scratch. We want to help brands such as foodchains engage with blockchain technology without the need for cost-intensive integration, and by making the loyalty landscape more efficient and user-friendly, we aim to make it a better and more seamless experience for both brands and their customers.”

foodchains’ loyalty program is due to be rolled out in early 2019.