Food delivery, a common luxury in large cities, is still a missing service for rural areas. Norwegian-based startup Aviant has launched Scandinavia’s first drone food delivery service to fill this gap. First stop: Värmdö island, 13 km from Stockholm.
On the island, home to approximately 46,000 people, whose population swells to 100,000 in the summer months, hot food delivery was previously almost non-existent.
Since February, residents of the region have been able to order hamburgers to their doors via drone. Moreover, the cost is almost the same as traditional delivery. The company is currently in beta, delivering only 10 orders per week. However, it aims to rapidly scale up within the year and then launch the service on the Nesodden peninsula near Oslo. There, approximately 100,000 people will experience hot home delivery for the first time. CEO Lars Erik Fagernæs says that during the three-year trial period, they solved the “soggy fries” problem, ensuring the food arrives hot even in winter thanks to specially insulated boxes. “People see the drone like a UFO, they go crazy,” he says.Aviant plans to offer service in 40 different locations within the next two years, then expand to Canada and the northeastern United States. While acknowledging that drones can be affected by weather conditions, the company still promises 90% service uptime.
Given the scattered geography of Scandinavia, drone delivery appears to have the potential to transform rural life.
