News

Raining froyo: Orange Leaf makes first delivery by drone

October 5, 2016

Frozen food delivery via drone might have started with junk food — a la 7-Eleven's Slurpee delivery — but better-for-you food is jumping on the drone-wagon now that Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt has completed its first drone delivery test in Michigan. Fittingly, the initial froyo flight was to one of those centers of the froyo frenzy, a college campus, specifically, Hope College in Holland, Michigan.

Also fittingly, the chain used the opportunity to burnish its brand, calling the flight Project Flying Orange Unicorn, which a press release said was a successful "experiment with commercial airborne froyo deliveries, working within the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority guidelines."

Following its first successful delivery, Orange Leaf in Holland has begun offering drone froyo delivery to customers, though only by appointment and only from its store about six blocks from the school’s campus, according to a news release. 

Why Holland?
According to a company news release, the first froyo flight took place in Holland because a franchise owner there, Jeremy Latchaw, is also president of a drone dealership working with the state’s fire and police squads to develop their drone programs. The dealership and drone pilot Matt Rybar are assessing whether the project can expand to other markets. 

Here’s a video of the drone delivery, which included specially developed frozen food packing materials to keep the froyo at just the right temperature during the flight. 

Drone deliveries have been made previously by chains such as Domino's, but aside from the Slurpee flight, Orange Leaf is the only chain known by this site to offer frozen food delivery. 

"We continue to lead the innovation taking place in the frozen yogurt category, and we continue to look for ways to grow and foster brand loyalty by reaching our customers in new ways," Orange Leaf President Geoff Goodman said in the release. "Millennials are an important target audience for Orange Leaf and because we know they are interested in emerging technologies that also offer convenience, we selected a college campus for our first-ever drone delivery test. The test exceeded expectations and we look forward to further exploring drone deliveries and other unexpected ways to get our froyo into the hands of fans across the country."