Aviant launches drone food delivery to remote Scandinavian islands

Meal delivery is often viewed as a luxury enjoyed by city dwellers, but new options are emerging for residents in non-urban areas, particularly in Scandinavia. With nearly 700,000 islands, Sweden, Norway, and Finland boast the highest number of islands in the world, yet many of these island communities face significant challenges when it comes to accessing hot food delivery.

While some islands are connected to urban centers by ferry or bridge, the option for hot food delivery is often lacking. This gap is what Aviant, a Norwegian start-up, aims to fill by introducing the region's first drone-based food delivery service, beginning on the Swedish island of Värmdö.

Located just eight miles from Stockholm, Värmdö has a population of around 46,000, which swells to 100,000 in the summer. Despite its proximity to the capital, residents have limited options for hot food delivery. During a video call, Aviant co-founder and CEO Lars Erik Fagernæs displayed a map showing the areas where delivery services like Foodora and Wolt operate. "As you can see, there are 87,000 people who don’t have access to a home delivery service," he explained, illustrating the demand for such a service.

Since February, Gustavsberg, Värmdö's main town, has been able to order freshly made burgers from the Scandinavian chain Bastard Burgers directly to their doors via drone. The delivery costs are on par with traditional car or bike services, as drones eliminate the need for drivers.

Currently, Aviant is in a "beta phase," delivering only 10 items per week while they fine-tune their operations. However, they plan to scale up as the year progresses. The company is also set to launch a similar service on Nesodden, a Norwegian peninsula just four miles from Oslo but requiring a 29-mile road journey to access.

Fagernæs acknowledged that perfecting the drone delivery process has required extensive testing. "We have been testing this for three years," he said. "In the beginning, there were a lot of soggy fries." Improvements to the insulated containers have ensured that food arrives warm, even during winter months. "People go crazy for it. They think it's like a UFO delivering their food," he added, highlighting the novelty of the service.

Aviant hopes to use these pilot services as a model for broader implementation across Scandinavia, where many communities straddle the line between urban and rural living. Fagernæs pointed out that while there are no large cities, these suburban and rural areas are ideal for drone delivery due to their geographic challenges.