Food delivery is looking up

Evolution in food delivery systems escalated during the pandemic, with people moving in droves to online shopping, curbside pickup, and contactless home delivery. Now an Australian supermarket is aiming even higher when it comes to bringing food to its customers: Coles is set to become the first grocery chain to offer food delivery via drone.

The supermarket will roll out this delivery service in Canberra, and will allow customers to choose from 250 of its most popular products with no minimum purchase and no delivery fee. According to the article, this will be same day delivery via Wing, a global on-demand drone delivery service. Wings will operate from 8am to 4.30pm Monday through Saturday and 9am to 4pm on Sunday.

Coles chief executive eCommerce Ben Hassing explained that in addition to being convenient for consumers, drone delivery “will support Coles’ ambition to be Australia’s most sustainable supermarket by reducing the number of trucks on the road.” If any EYB Members living in Canberra try out the service, please let me know how well it works. After receiving squished bread and less than ideal produce through regular home delivery, I can imagine a drone dropping a dozen eggs all over my porch. Perhaps it’s a good idea to test the service with something less fragile.