Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt Delivers Frozen Yogurt via Drone
Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt, a self-serve snack franchise, announced the success of its first drone delivery test at Hope College in Holland, Mich. The pilot delivery program, titled Project Flying Orange Unicorn, is an experiment with commercial airborne froyo deliveries, working within the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority guidelines. Based on the positive feedback and excitement of Hope College students, Orange Leaf Holland will begin offering drone froyo delivery, by appointment only. The drones will be guided by human pilots and will make deliveries coordinated by Holland's Orange Leaf store, located six blocks from campus.
Project Flying Orange Unicorn was led by Jeremy Latchaw, franchise owner of the Holland and Grandville Orange Leaf locations and president of Mishigami Group, a drone dealership that is currently working with some of Michigan's fire and police departments to develop their unmanned aerial vehicle programs. Latchaw serves as a major in the U.S. Army and was deployed twice during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Mishigami Group, including the drone's expert pilot Matt Rybar, will continue to assist Orange Leaf in further assessing the pilot program, including the potential for expansion into new markets at a later date.
Video recorded of the drone delivery highlights the modified to-go delivery box and frozen packing materials that Orange Leaf Holland developed specifically for this test.
See footage of the drone delivery here.
"We continue to look for ways to grow and foster brand loyalty by reaching our customers in new ways," said Geoff Goodman, president of Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt. "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."
Project Flying Orange Unicorn was led by Jeremy Latchaw, franchise owner of the Holland and Grandville Orange Leaf locations and president of Mishigami Group, a drone dealership that is currently working with some of Michigan's fire and police departments to develop their unmanned aerial vehicle programs. Latchaw serves as a major in the U.S. Army and was deployed twice during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Mishigami Group, including the drone's expert pilot Matt Rybar, will continue to assist Orange Leaf in further assessing the pilot program, including the potential for expansion into new markets at a later date.
Video recorded of the drone delivery highlights the modified to-go delivery box and frozen packing materials that Orange Leaf Holland developed specifically for this test.
See footage of the drone delivery here.
"We continue to look for ways to grow and foster brand loyalty by reaching our customers in new ways," said Geoff Goodman, president of Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt. "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."