Dominique Ansel Is Whipping Up a Batch of Cronut NFTs

Society has generations for a reason: What works for one age group won't necessarily seem sensible to another. Think back to the year 2013: Dominique Ansel released the Cronut, and while pastry traditionalists were still trying to wrap their head around this unexpected hybrid, the combo of croissant and donut was already becoming a phenomenon.

Fast-forward to present day. This month, the Cronut is turning nine years old, and to celebrate, the Dominique Ansel Bakery is launching its first NFT collection: a series of limited-edition Cronut digital art in some of the product's most popular flavors. And if you already considered the Cronut some sort of modern witchcraft, be prepared to truly be left behind.

Set to start selling at 9 a.m. ET on May 4 on the OpenSea marketplace, the Cronut collection will offer 60 different non-fungible Cronut tokens (in ten batches of six). They include five former Cronut flavors along with a collage of all of the Cronut flavors the bakery has released in the month of May over the past nine years.

The flavors were determined after the bakery asked fans to vote on some of their favorite previous varieties (since the bakery prides itself on never releasing the same flavor twice). The winners — Salted Dulce de Leche (from November 2013), Burnt Vanilla & Smoked Caramel (from April 2016), Strawberry & Lemon Verbena (from June 2017), Meyer Lemon & Wildflower Honey (from July 2019), and Guava & Orange Blossom (from May 2021) — aren't only returning as NFTs, but will also be re-released in Cronut Hole form for one weekend only (May 13 to 15) at the Soho bakery as part of the annual Cronut birthday celebration.

Meanwhile, the bakery says the owners of the NFTs will also be eligible for special perks, including things like a pass to skip the Cronut line, early access to new launches and events, and personalized greetings from Chef Ansel.

"We've always been excited to try new things that we thought are worthwhile — whether it's regularly changing our menu or, in this case, developing our very first collection of NFTs," Chef Ansel stated. "For us, it's about creating something that builds a long-term relationship with our guests; food is perishable and can be fleeting, and once you've eaten it, it's gone. But with an NFT, it lives on and we can keep building and growing that community… This will be a new way to keep in touch and give our guests that extra bit of hospitality."

So what should Cronut lovers expect to pay for one of these NFTs? Well, you may want to have your OpenSea account set up and ready to go: Amazingly, the bakery says all 60 NFT will start at an initial price tag of the Etherium equivalent of just $50. A spokesperson said the pricing is meant to make the NFTs approachable — but knowing the cult followings that Cronuts and NFTs have garnered, they seem likely to be snagged up faster than, well, a fresh batch of Cronuts.