USA – The British-Dutch consumer goods giant, Unilever has joined forces with Terra Drone Europe, a group company of Japan-headquartered Terra Drone Corporation to explore drone-delivery of ice creams in New York.
Unilever conducted the delivery-trial in a program undertaken at it’s recent annual investor event, in which Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cups were delivered to a pre-decided destination by drone.
During the pilot, a multi-copter drone was fitted with a delivery box designed to carry three Ben & Jerry’s mini cups (72 g each) and a flight path was set beforehand to allow the drone to carry the ice cream cups inside the Unilever’s US facility.
The pilot was part of Unilever’s ice cream delivery service, ‘Ice Cream Now’, an ice cream delivery service the company launched in 2017. According to the company, this service has already grown into a huge business worldwide.
As regulations around future drone flights are expected to become more flexible, the consumer goods company is preparing for a drone logistics service that will deliver products to more customers faster.
Terra Drone and Unilever said that they will continue to cooperate in the field of logistics services.
Yuki Ueno, Director of Terra Drone Europe, says, “We want to solve serious problems in the logistics field, such as carbon dioxide emissions, with drones. As deregulation progresses worldwide, drone delivery services will also increase.”
Established in 2016, Terra Drone Corporation has quickly become one of the world’s largest industrial drone solution companies employing over 550 drone industry professionals.
The company’s head office is located in Tokyo, Japan, and more than 25 branches are spread globally throughout Asia, Europe, Americas, Africa, and Oceania.
