Aviant, a Norwegian tech start-up, is poised to transform food delivery in all of Scandinavia with its innovative drone service. The company aspires to be the region’s first provider of food delivery by drone. It starts on the idyllic Swedish island of Värmdö. This pilot project is in its “beta phase.” It’ll bring citizens newly expanded options—delivering made-to-order burgers from what’s quickly becoming their favorite new Scandinavian chain, Bastard Burgers, directly to their doorstep.
Residents can now order food deliveries by drone. These drones are able to bring their meals in under 10 minutes! Aviant has started by deploying its service on delivery radii as small as six miles. To begin with, they are only doing ten items a week. Aviant’s CEO, Lars Erik Fagernæs, sees a big role for it in places that have not had the benefit of any form of traditional home delivery.
“We have been testing this for three years, and in the beginning, there were a lot of soggy fries,” Fagernæs stated regarding the development of their drone technology. He touted the improvements that have been made to the insulated container used for delivery.
We made the prototype external container for the burger larger, so it no longer opens like a clamshell. Now, in the coldest months, it still comes warm. The low-hanging fruit, he added.
Aviant’s on-demand drone deliveries embody a hopeful option for those who live in areas where food delivery options do not exist. According to Fagernæs, “As you can see on the map, there are 87,000 people who don’t have access to a home delivery service. These people live in what you would call suburbs and would want to order takeaway food, but they just don’t have an option.”
The Norwegian based tech start-up has already pegged an initial 40 possible bases for growth throughout Scandinavia over the next two years. Fagernæs added that the geographical similarities in Canada and the northeastern United States offer even more opportunities for expansion. Each of these regions are dotted with dozens of additional islands that would benefit from a service like this one.
Since 2022, Aviant has been rigorously field testing its drone delivery capabilities. People living beyond Trondheim itself now have Thai, Italian and sushi delivered straight to their doorstep! The overwhelmingly positive reception across the state has emboldened the young start-up to further refine its technology and service offerings.
People go crazy for it. They call their neighbors and their grandma. They think it’s like a UFO delivering their food, “Fagernæs remarked about the public’s response to the service.
Though Aviant’s immediate application through their partnership with Flytrex is food delivery, they see even further use cases for drone logistics. Fagernæs sounded optimistic that their pilot services would not only deliver successful impacts, but the “recipe” for a wider, full-scale rollout across Scandinavia.
Beyond the immediate success of Aviant’s service, all eyes will be on its success as other regions plan their forays into drone deliveries. Many experts agree that the presence of an anchor customer can help bring costs down considerably. This backing would increase greater commercial prospects and diversify the services provided through drone innovation.