Deliveroo, the on-demand delivery platform, has today launched drone deliveries in Dublin, Ireland. Through a new partnership with Manna, an established global drone delivery operator, the service is designed to support Deliveroo’s continuous mission to improve the customer experience.
The innovative service is based in Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, with Deliveroo conducting a test phase over the coming weeks. Deliveroo will use the initial weeks to assess how drones can help serve suburban and harder to reach locations, with the ultimate aim of unlocking new customers through super-fast deliveries, complementing its extensive rider network.
Over the coming days, customers in a 3km radius of Blanchardstown will be able to order from leading local restaurants including Musashi, WOWBurger, Boojum and Elephant & Castle – flown to customers in as little as three minutes*. Deliveroo is aiming to expand the service to more restaurants and launch grocery and retail deliveries within the next six months.
In new imagery and a video released by Deliveroo today, a teal drone is seen making one of the first deliveries to a customer, with sushi from Musashi in tow. Whether it’s sushi for lunch, a Friday treat or a family gathering, the ambition is for Deliveroo’s drones to ensure orders arrive at peak freshness.
By bypassing road traffic, drone deliveries can significantly cut wait times and reduce emissions, offering a faster and more sustainable alternative to traditional delivery methods, particularly suited to suburban locations where Deliveroo is looking to increase its presence. The objective is also for Deliveroo drone deliveries to support participating merchants in growing their sales by appealing to and reaching new customers, complementing Deliveroo’s existing delivery network.
Drones will be deployed from Manna’s local delivery hub, flying at speeds of up to 80 km/h with a flight time of as little as three minutes. Upon arrival, the drone hovers and gently lowers the food to the ground via a secure, biodegradable tether, ensuring a seamless and contact-free delivery experience.
Deliveroo is excited by the prospect of expanding the service to its other markets, subject to the benefits to consumer experience, following the launch in Ireland, alongside regulatory evolution in other markets. The company welcomes the UK Government’s £20 million investment to advance commercial drone operations and bring this technology closer to reality for UK consumers.
Carlo Mocci, Chief Business Officer at Deliveroo said: “Our mission is to bring local neighbourhood favourites to as many people’s doors as possible, and constantly raise the bar on the experience and service we provide – so I’m thrilled to launch drone deliveries in Dublin today.
“We’re excited to explore how drones can help us reach new customers, complementing our existing rider model and if successful, the prospect of expanding drone deliveries across Ireland and into other markets.”
Bobby Healy, CEO and Founder of Manna Air Delivery said: “Air delivery is fast, clean, and safe, offering a new avenue for local businesses to reach more consumers. Manna Air Delivery is proud to partner with Deliveroo, a platform trusted by top local restaurants and eateries, to bring this innovative delivery experience to customers.”
Bill Lang, owner of Musashi said: “We have been serving up authentic sushi for years but never thought we’d see it in the sky, delivered to peoples’ doorsteps by drone. Musashi is delighted to extend our partnership with Deliveroo to drone deliveries, helping us to reach even more customers in the Blanchardstown area.”
Manna, which has already completed over 170,000 delivery flights in Dublin 15 and holds full regulatory approvals, will operate the drones. Each drone is equipped with advanced safety features, including backup systems and a parachute, and is continuously monitored by a dedicated dispatcher throughout its flight.
Eligible customers within the correct radius will need to validate their address via the app before it confirms a suitable pin location for a safe drop off, typically a driveway, front or back garden. Once an order is placed, they will be able to track the delivery as usual and will be notified when the drone is nearby so they can receive the order.
Welcome to the future of food delivery and enjoyment in 2040. From desktop to dining table, bench to beach, Deliveroo has launched a SNACK TO THE FUTURE report, bringing together leading futurists and experts from the worlds of food, science, technology and innovation to create a forward-looking view of how the nation will be eating by 2040 and how our dinner tables are set to revolutionise.
The SNACK TO THE FUTURE report from Deliveroo and guest experts including Georgie Barrat (Technology Journalist and TV Presenter) and Tom Cheesewright (applied Futurist), reveals key predictions and technological advancements by 2040 that are set to rock consumers’ worlds, including:
BREATH-PRINTS: Find out how breath-prints will make our future food decisions for us. Expect personal tech devices to be enabled with BreathTech, meaning you can breathe on your device and get a deep level of insight into what foods you should be eating to have optimal impact on your individual health and wellbeing
ME-GANSIM: Move over Keto, the predicted next big thing in dieting and set to be the mainstream diet of the future, is the Me-gan diet (Me-ganism); a hyper-personalised diet which is fully bespoke to your individual nutritional needs, powered by AI technology
PERSONAL AIs: Underpinning the Me-gan diet and lifestyle, AI technology will offer you your own personal AI (a life long AI buddy) which will help automate and tailor what you are eating based on preferences and needs at any given time
FOODGASMS: Food that makes you feel… food delivery services will be using additional digital audio and visual content to elevate the meal enjoyment experience, so much so that it could take food pleasure to the next level with ‘foodgasms’ (braingasms via what you eat)
EDIBLE BEAUTY: Get ready to see the food and beauty industry become more integrated than ever with a rise in edible beauty products like anti-aging ice-cream and the chance to dine from hormone-balancing and dopamine driving menus
3D PRINTED MEAL PLANS: From packed lunches to printed lunches, food prep is about to become a lot easier with advances in 3D printing technology helping you create perfectly portioned and nutritionally balanced meals, of your choice, at home
VR DINNER PARTIES: Dine with celebrities, royals and late loved ones in your favourite holiday destination, or recreate food moments from famous movies thanks to VR technology, which will simulate dining experiences from the comfort of your home – think: enjoying a delightful breakfast at Tiffany’s, while you’re tucking into a bacon sandwich on the sofa
FAREWELL FUSSY EATERS: Thanks to VR and AR technology, your brains could be tricked into thinking you are eating something you are not, for example, if you are a fussy eater who doesn’t want to eat vegetables, you could put on smart glasses and think you are eating chocolate or sweets
RESTORATIVE RESTAURANTS: New restaurant concepts will remove outside world distractions, with personal tech devices banned at entry and a rise in the popularity of silent cafés and restaurants, ONLY offering tables for one to encourage mindful eating
PASS THE AMARANTH: Whole grain staples, such as corn or maize, are about to look very different with alternatives such as amaranth, fonio, sorghum, teff, khorasan, einkorn and emmer, all likely to be mainstream in 2040
ALT-OHOL: As the nation increasingly seeks alcohol alternatives, we can expect to see a rise in popularity of ‘wine’ cordials that mimic the taste and flavour profile of real wine, without the negatives
SNACK TO THE FUTURE: 2040 is commissioned by Deliveroo and written by Avansere with contributions from Will Shu (CEO and founder at Deliveroo) and;
Carlo Mocci (Chief Business Officer UK & Ireland at Deliveroo)
Devesh Mishra (Chief Product and Technology Officer at Deliveroo)
Georgie Barrat (Technology Journalist and TV Presenter)
Sarah DaVanzo (Quantitative data-driven Futurist, experienced start-up Entrepreneur, Agency Leader and F500 Corporate Executive)
Tom Cheesewright (applied Futurist helping people and organisations to see, share, and respond to a clearer vision of tomorrow)
Kaave Pour (Co-Founder of Space10, IKEA’s independent research and design lab)
Tracey Pollard (Managing Director of Bruce Gillingham Pollard)
QUOTE FROM WILL SHU, FOUNDER AND CEO OF DELIVEROO:
“I started Deliveroo in 2013 with a mission to connect people to the best quality food from local restaurants and deliver it directly to people’s doors. It has been an incredible ride over the past ten years and I am really proud of what we have built. As we look towards the next decade and beyond, Deliveroo will continue to create exciting new innovations in food delivery, build new and better consumer experiences and take Deliveroo beyond functionality and convenience to really capture the passion and emotion of food.”
Three of the expert predictions have been brought to life in incredibly detailed renders, showcasing how the future of food and food ordering could look by 2040.
Deliveroo’s SNACK TO THE FUTURE report predicts that in 2040, your diet could become fully bespoke thanks to AI technology, and food delivery services could synchronise meal options with your Personal AI and provide recommendations based on your physiological state at any given time.
Deliveroo’s SNACK TO THE FUTURE report predicts in 2040, you could desire a deeper connection with your food and visit ‘restorants’ to restore your mind, as well as your body. Smart glasses will be left at the door and ‘flavour concentration booths’ could fully immerse you in the look, sound, aroma and taste of a meal by simulating natural environments like forests, seasides and even being in the clouds.
Deliveroo’s SNACK TO THE FUTURE report predicts that in 2040, you could use augmented and virtual reality technologies to create multi-sensory food experiences and simulate dining somewhere else in the world or eating with others elsewhere in the world from the comfort of your home.
More takeaways from the report below with standout quotes:
The ground-breaking SNACK TO THE FUTURE report, from Deliveroo, forecasts everything from what you’ll be eating, how you’ll be eating and who you’ll be eating with, in three chapters:
CHAPTER 1: Your personal food experiences are set to be heightened. Get ready for ‘ME-GANISM’ — diets that are bespoke to your individual biological, physical and mental needs. With the development of PERSONAL AI’s (a life-long AI buddy), this technology could be adopted to predict your unique nutritional needs and deliver personalised meal bundles that benefit your body and mind. Smart cooking, cleaning and food circulation devices (to recycle and reuse food) could redefine how you eat at home. Meanwhile, advances in 3D FOOD PRINTING could enable you to customise the shape, density, look and feel of food to suit your desires
Tom Cheesewright (Applied Futurist):
“I can imagine that a rite of passage for someone in 2040 might not be about getting their first phone or first car. It could be getting their first, and only, Personal AI, who could then become a lifelong partner. And it could be these Personal AI’s that could advise and manage people’s personalised diets.”
CHAPTER 2: The desire for healthy, local and sustainable foods will increase existentially, but will use powerful, everyday technologies to understand where meals come from, how they are made, and what they consist of. New forms of nutrition could be available and affordable, and there could be a growing emphasis on MINDFUL MUNCHING experiences as you and the nation seek peace of mind. Meanwhile, the food and beauty industry will become more integrated than ever, promoting beauty and wellness from the inside out through the creation of EDIBLE BEAUTY PRODUCTS – say goodbye to anti-ageing cream and hello to anti-ageing ice cream
Georgie Barrat (Technology Journalist and TV Presenter):
“I can see people having a simulation of someone that has got the same genetic makeup as them and then they can see the impact of different eating choices over a long period of time. So someone could check to see what they look like if they stick to a vegan diet, how their body could respond, and what their health condition could be like in 10 or 20 year’s time.”
CHAPTER 3: The development in AI, TECHNOLOGY, AUGMENTED AND VIRTUAL REALITIES will begin to drastically change the way you dine, enhancing where, how and what you eat and drink – your digital and physical engagement with food will fully converge. Virtual reality could get so sophisticated that you will feel like you are sitting and eating with others from around the world or having Breakfast at Tiffany’s while you eat a bacon sandwich on the sofa at home! VIRTUAL FOOD TOURISM means you could be able to discover local restaurant specialties or fine-dine in whichever location you dream of. In addition, DIGITAL GAME-INFUSED DINING could create playful, immersive and meditative meal-time experiences and FOOD-GASMS could become a reality!
Devesh Mishra (Chief Product and Technology Officer at Deliveroo):
“It may not replace the real thing, but I can imagine being able to experience a simulation of a top holiday destination like Thailand, and enjoying the world’s best Pad Thai dish, with my family, from the comfort of our home. That would be amazing.”
Personalised and convenient. Augmented and virtual — the future of food delivery and enjoyment is set to be an intriguing, immersive and innovative space to see emerge. With many new and exciting opportunities to eat anywhere, anytime and with anyone, the future of meal delivery is most certainly going to be a transformative space.
Deliveroo Ireland has today announced a year-long partnership with FoodCloud – which will see the food delivery company fundraise on behalf of the food waste and food security social enterprise who were recently named Charity of The Year for their work redistributing surplus food to their network of charities across the country.
As part of its Full Life campaign, Deliveroo is enabling customers to add a round-up donation to their in-app food orders, with all proceeds going to FoodCloud to tackle the twin issues of food waste and food insecurity. Deliveroo, with their customers, will raise funds to provide up to 500,000 meals, which will be distributed to FoodCloud’s network of more than 600 charities and community groups over the course of 2023.
This partnership comes as new research from Deliveroo reveals that people in Ireland remain generous givers to charity despite the cost of living crisis – only 22% would consider cutting back on charitable giving to save money. The Irish public are more likely to spend less on clothing (49%), leisure activities (40%) and travelling by car (32%) to save money. In addition, 1 in 3 (33%) of the Irish public would be more likely to donate to charity if they were presented with a simpler, more convenient, way to make a donation. Donating through the Deliveroo app couldn’t be easier – Deliveroo customers need only to round-up their order to the nearest euro when paying for their takeaway or groceries. For every €1 raised, 3.2 meals will be provided to people facing food insecurity.
Through the partnership, Deliveroo is aiming to save 210 million tonnes of food from going to waste, which will prevent 675 tonnes of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere and damaging the environment in the process. With sustainability being a priority at Deliveroo, the company is committed to playing a role in reducing food waste.
Working with Deliveroo to raise awareness of the partnership, TV presenter and food influencer, James Kavanagh commented: It’s no secret that I’m pretty obsessed with food, so I am really pleased to play a role in raising awareness of the amazing partnership between FoodCloud and Deliveroo. This campaign will stop good quality surplus food from going to waste and help so many people who are struggling, which has never been more important. It’s so easy to support through the Deliveroo app – just a few cents will make such a difference, so next time you place an order, remember to round-up to make a donation!
Partnering with FoodCloud marks the next phase of Deliveroo’s Full Life campaign and its longstanding commitment to supporting local communities, following the company providing thousands of meals to people in need through a partnership with the Dublin Simon Community last year and its work to raise awareness of the Women’s Aid helpline working with the Deliveroo rider fleet.
Paddy Quinlan, Senior Regional Manager, Deliveroo Ireland commented: “Since we launched in 2015, Deliveroo Ireland has worked hard to make a positive contribution to the communities in which we operate. We are proud to be building on what’s been achieved so far and our partnership with FoodCloud, one of the most impactful charities around, will provide thousands of meals to those in need across Ireland.”
Iseult Ward, CEO & Co-Founder, FoodCloud said: “We are delighted to partner with Deliveroo on its Full Life Campaign, an initiative on their platform to raise awareness on the twin issues of food waste and food insecurity that enables customers to make a donation to support our work. Investing in our work to redistribute food that might otherwise go to waste, ensures good food gets to people and families at a time when they are facing unprecedented levels or economic hardship while protecting our planet and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
The round-up charity function in the Deliveroo app can be found when customers go to pay for their order. Customers can round-up their order to the nearest euro. For more information on the round-up function and the Deliveroo Full Life campaign, head to: https://deliveroo.ie/more/full-life-ireland.
