Finland’s weather is notorious. But still, the food you order may be delivered by drone.
On a rainy day after the annual Slush conference in Helsinki, Finnish entrepreneur Ville Reppela talks to TechCrunch about the behind-the-scenes story of the three-way partnership between Irish drone delivery company Manna, DoorDash-owned food delivery platform Wolt, and his startup Huuva.
Huuva, whose name means kitchen food, raised a seed round led by General Catalyst in 2022 with the promise of bringing delicious food to the suburbs. Although the company has evolved from its cloud kitchen origins, its business still relies heavily on delivery technology, which now includes drones.
“If possible, we will send your order by drone.” Wolt has been informing customers who have ordered from Huuva’s new Tari store in Espoo, part of the Helsinki metropolitan area, which Leppera believes is particularly suited to the concept.
Europe’s suburbs aren’t as vast as those in the United States, but people who work, study, and live in places like Espoo still don’t have the variety of options found in the capital. With Huuva, you can order popular items from partner restaurant brands, and using drones will help you get your orders to you faster, Leppera said.
Building on Manna’s track record of completing over 50,000 deliveries in Dublin, operations in Finland began as soon as the appropriate permits were secured. After a pilot phase that began in February, the drones have been in full operation in Espoo for the past two months, taking off from a launch pad shared with delivery-only grocery store Walt Market.
For end users, this means they can order different styles of food from Huuva’s partner brands and add on grocery items. Each drone can carry about 4.4 pounds, and Manna can send two at a time.
This not only provides even more convenience, but also speed. Unlike drivers, drones won’t be stuck in traffic during lunch. According to Leppälä, this is the key to ensuring food arrives fresh. It wouldn’t be a bad thing if the unit economics were more sustainable for Huuva.
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Huuva’s team estimates that while regular deliveries currently cost 5-6 euros (about $6-8) per delivery, drone deliveries could be as low as 1 euro (about $1.16). This does not take into account the additional costs that Manna may incur to set up operations in Finland, but the weather has not been too difficult for new entrants.
Mana’s drones from Ireland have already been thoroughly tested against wind and rain, enough to even snow. Freezing poses additional challenges, but Makar Nalimov, head of operations and maintenance at the site, says using chemicals to de-ice is out of the question, especially when food is involved, so in such cases they simply use other delivery methods.
These alternative options highlight how Manna’s drones are part of a rapidly expanding range of last-mile delivery solutions. Wolt itself already uses sidewalk robots from Finland’s Coco and Starship, and its parent company DoorDash also built its own Dot, which began deliveries in Arizona earlier this year.
A direct partnership could be beneficial for companies like Manna and Huuva, as DoorDash is rumored to be building its own drone delivery program in addition to its collaboration with Alphabet’s Wing. The food startup is considering expanding to another store in Espoo that is not covered by Walt Market. That would allow the launch pad to be close enough to the kitchen for deliveries to be passed through the window.
In the current process, the mana launch pads are located at close range. A delivery person on an electric scooter picks up the order from the kitchen in a heated bag and hands it to the Mana operator. Under the supervision of maintenance leader Nalimov, orders are placed on scales, balanced if necessary, and placed in special bags approved by regulatory authorities.
Resistant bags are just one of the many safety measures Mana employs to comply with regulations and proprietary procedures. For example, batteries are systematically replaced so that the drone always flies with a full charge. Nalimov said there is redundancy at all levels and preparation for various incident scenarios, as well as a parachute as a last resort.
Manna has staff on the ground, but its control room is in Ireland. There, the operator evaluates the LiDAR map, confirms the planned flight itinerary, and drops a pin for the drone to deliver within a short radius of the customer’s location. If the conditions are not met, the order will be returned to the courier. If approved, the drone will take images of the landing site for final human verification before unloading the cargo with biodegradable ropes.
This process is now routine for Manna’s local staff and is becoming increasingly busy. According to Nalimov, he and his team are currently processing double-digit deliveries per day and are confidently preparing for their first winter of operations in Finland. As for Huuva, it is ready to double its drone deliveries in Espoo, but another hope is that it will be allowed to put its logo on bags approved by regulators.
