For decades, the relationship between consumers and products has remained fundamentally unchanged. A customer purchases a product, uses it, and keeps it on a shelf where it remains forever static. This pattern has defined countless physical products across industries, from luxury goods to collectibles, where the moment of purchase marks both the beginning and the end of meaningful brand engagement.
Yet in San Francisco, a technology company is quietly dismantling this centuries-old paradigm. Jellybean is proving that physical products need not remain frozen in time. Instead, they can evolve, respond, and surprise long after leaving store shelves.
How does Jellybean make products more engaging?
Making Things Digital
The challenges of traditional product manufacturers have intensified as digital transformation fundamentally reshapes consumer expectations across multiple dimensions, creating unprecedented pressure for operational transformation and strategic adaptation.
Modern consumers demand far more than quality products. They expect sustainability, customization, transparency, and seamless digital experiences. This represents a shift from traditional mass production models, where manufacturers could rely on standardized products and predictable demand patterns.
Consumers now want to connect more with brands. However, most physical products cannot capitalize on these preferences. This is where Jellybean’s model steps in.
The company’s approach centers on seamlessly integrating digital layers–either through NFC (Near-field communication) chips, physical, or digital code–onto physical products without compromising their core functionality or aesthetic appeal.
The Jellybean technology works through a simple scan or tap of embedded quick response codes or near-field communication chips, instantly unlocking what the company describes as “endless possibilities and a direct connection to your end customers.”
This approach enables manufacturers to deliver personalized experiences, exclusive content, and ongoing value creation that extend far beyond traditional product lifecycles. They can also adapt content based on seasonal changes, emerging customer trends, or new product launches, creating subscription-like engagement models within traditional purchasing frameworks.
Jellybean CEO and co-founder Bart Lipski mentions, “Most people think innovation means adding more features, but the real breakthrough is making products that can surprise you months or even years after you buy them. We’re not just adding digital elements — we’re creating products that have a memory and a future.”
The Callaway Partnership As a Blueprint for Industry Transformation
Jellybean’s recent launch of what it claims is the world’s first blockchain-enhanced memoir represents more than publishing innovation. The collaboration between Jellybean and Callaway Arts & Entertainment on The Unconquerable Game: My Life in Golf & Business serves as a comprehensive demonstration of how traditional industries can embrace phygital technology without alienating existing customers.
The memoir, which chronicles the life of Callaway Golf Company founder Ely Callaway, integrates artificial intelligence-narrated audiobooks, previously unreleased archival videos, and interactive content that updates regularly through a simple scan-activated system.
Nicholas Callaway, founder and chief executive officer of Callaway Arts & Entertainment, positioned the project as deliberately ambitious rather than experimental. The memoir functions as a daily interactive portal, designed to encourage repeated engagement through rotating content and exclusive materials that extend far beyond the printed pages.
This approach transforms the traditional publishing model from a single transaction to an ongoing subscription-like relationship, potentially revolutionizing how publishers monetize content and maintain reader engagement.
The technical infrastructure supporting the memoir demonstrates Jellybean’s enterprise-focused approach to blockchain integration. Built on the Aptos blockchain, the system provides enterprise-grade security and scalability while abstracting complex cryptocurrency mechanics behind familiar user interfaces.
This design philosophy addresses traditional barriers to blockchain adoption by ensuring customers can access enhanced experiences without requiring technical knowledge or cryptocurrency holdings.
Lipski shares, “At Jellybean, we are proving that physical products don’t have to be static. They can evolve, respond, and surprise. With Callaway, we’ve built something that keeps the conversation going long after the last page.”
Creating a Whole New Digital Experience
Since its founding, Jellybean has integrated its technology into over 200,000 products. In addition to publishing, it also secured early partnerships with toy manufacturers, collectible creators, luxury goods manufacturers, and fashion enthusiasts, suggesting the technology platform’s broad applicability.
The company’s position as “the Shopify for product digitization” reflects ambitious plans to establish industry-standard infrastructure across diverse sectors. Its strategic investment from Aptos Labs, designating Aptos as the preferred blockchain for all future product launches, highlights enterprise confidence in the platform’s scalability and security capabilities.
Lipski believes this reflects the company’s success in bringing new life to different products. This fundamentally alters how brands approach customer relationship management, transforming occasional purchasers into ongoing community members through sustained digital engagement and value creation.
For brands, Jellybean opens up new possibilities, from solving declining engagement metrics to providing new revenue opportunities through sustained customer relationships rather than one-time sales.
“The future belongs to those who see the possibilities before they become obvious,” Lipski observed. “For us at Jellybean, we refuse to stop, but rather, always move forward to unlock ways to provide better and better digital experiences.”
You can visit Jellybean’s website for more information on its digital experience.
Spencer Hulse is the Editorial Director at Grit Daily. He is responsible for overseeing other editors and writers, day-to-day operations, and covering breaking news.
