TL;DR
Orange Leaf is testing drone delivery of frozen yogurt at Hope College in Michigan as part of a program called Project Flying Orange Unicorn. The company is refining its business model based on data and customer feedback from the test.
Drone food delivery is one step closer to becoming a reality. According to a recent Nation’s Restaurant News article, Orange Leaf is testing out drone delivery for their frozen yogurt at Hope College in Michigan.
The Oklahoma City-based chain put the idea into action on Tuesday in a program called, “Project Flying Orange Unicorn.” The drone delivery service is on an appointment basis for parties and events.
“Now that we have some data and know the effort and commitment it takes, we can refine the business model,” said Geoff Goodman, president of Orange Leaf.
Local franchisee, Jeremy Latchew, made the idea possible as president of local drone dealership Mishigami Group. Orange Leaf is working with Matt Rybar of Mishigami to create the pilot program.
The price of a drone delivery is still unknown. Goodman see it more for events and parties than one single cup delivery. The price will most likely depend on the distance of the delivery.
“We’re still waiting for the FAA to approve guidelines,” he said. “But we do think drone delivery is viable. The technology exists today to send a drone out to a specific location and have it return unmanned. It’s in the not-too-distant future.”
In this story
This story was originally published in 1851 Franchise on October 7, 2016. Burnaze summarizes and links to the original reporting.
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