Fresh off its public listing in a $725 million SPAC deal, esports organization FaZe Clan (trading under Nasdaq ticker FAZE) is continuing to explore ways to monetize and expand its reach beyond pure gaming and esports. One of the company’s most recent deals is with leading food delivery service DoorDash. The two entities partnered to launch a brand-new range of sandwiches called FaZe Subs, which are inspired by the tastes of various members of FaZe Clan and will be sold exclusively via DoorDash.
“FaZe Subs marks our first foray into a virtual food brand. This ghost kitchen venture is an example of leveraging the FaZe platform into new revenue streams,” explained Lee Trink, CEO of FaZe Clan, who added that it’s a good example of the company’s pursuit of “more scalable product-based revenue.“
FaZe’s content creation team leveraged the culinary expertise of Eric Greenspan, chef and Culinary Director at Virtual Dining Concepts, for the FaZe Subs initiative – Virtual Dining Concepts has previously worked with celebrities like MrBeast and Mariah Carey. The sandwiches went on sale in 23 states on July 26th and will later become available in more states as well as Canada. Additionally, FaZe will collaborate with DoorDash to launch a content series called “DashDays,” enabling viewers to win rewards.
The partnership not only gives FaZe Clan an opportunity to tap into the sizable DoorDash user base (roughly 18 million users) who may not yet be familiar with the lifestyle brand, but for DoorDash, the FaZe Subs deal represents a chance to better connect with the mostly Gen Z and Millennial demographic that has been following FaZe Clan since its formation in 2010. FaZe Clan currently boasts around 500 million followers across social platforms, and its roster includes celebrities from traditional sports and music such as NFL star Kyler “FaZe K1” Murray and Snoop Dogg.
According to Interpret’s New Media Measure®, esports viewers over-index on using food delivery services compared to the general US population, and DoorDash in particular has been a top choice for the esports audience with nearly one-third ordering from the service in the past three months. It would appear that DoorDash’s efforts in the esports space have been paying off. The company has previously partnered with Riot Games in 2021 on a naming rights deal with the League of Legends Circuit Oceania (LCO), and in 2020 it entered into a multi-year sponsorship with the NBA 2K League.
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