Finland’s climate is famously harsh; however, there’s a chance that a drone will bring your food order to you.

During a rainy day following Helsinki’s yearly Slush conference, Finnish entrepreneur Ville Leppälä provided TechCrunch with an inside look at a three-way collaboration involving Irish drone delivery company Manna, DoorDash’s food delivery service Wolt, and his startup, Huuva.

Huuva, which translates to kitchen hood, secured a seed funding round led by General Catalyst in 2022, aiming to deliver quality food to suburban areas. Despite evolving from its cloud kitchen beginnings, it still heavily depends on delivery technology — now featuring drones.

“If feasible, we’ll dispatch your order via drone.” This is the message Wolt has been sending to customers placing orders from Huuva’s Niittari site in Espoo, located in the Helsinki metropolitan area, which Leppälä believes is particularly suited for this model.

Leveraging Manna’s experience of completing more than 50,000 deliveries in Dublin, operations in Finland commenced swiftly once the necessary licenses were acquired. Following a pilot phase in February, the drones have been fully operational for the last couple of months in Espoo, launching from a platform that’s shared with the delivery-only grocery outlet Wolt Market.

For customers, this indicates that they can request various food types from Huuva’s partner brands and also order some groceries — each drone is capable of carrying approximately 4.4 lb, and Manna can deploy two simultaneously. 

This provides an additional level of convenience and swiftness. Unlike drivers, drones aren’t delayed by traffic during peak hours. Leppälä emphasized that this is crucial for ensuring the food remains fresh; it also benefits Huuva by making the unit economics more viable. 

Huuva’s team estimates that standard deliveries now cost approximately €5-6 each (around $6-8), while drone deliveries could reduce that to €1 ($1.16). This figure does not factor in the additional expenses that Manna might be encountering while establishing its operations in Finland, which, despite possible challenges, were less daunting than for new entrants.

Having originated from Ireland, Manna’s drones have undergone comprehensive testing for wind and rain, including conditions where snow is a factor. Although icing complicates matters, Makar Nalimov, who oversees local operations and maintenance, mentioned that in such scenarios, they simply resort to alternative delivery methods, especially as the use of de-icing chemicals isn’t feasible when food is involved.

These alternative provisions underscore that Manna’s drones form part of an expanding suite of last-mile delivery options. Wolt is already utilizing sidewalk robots from Coco and Starship in Finland, while its parent firm DoorDash has developed its own robot, Dot, which began making deliveries in Arizona earlier this year.

As rumors circulate regarding DoorDash potentially creating its own drone delivery initiative, alongside its partnership with Alphabet-owned Wing, direct collaborations could offer advantages to companies like Manna and Huuva. The food startup is contemplating an extension to another location in Espoo where Wolt Market wouldn’t be in play, allowing the launchpad to be sufficiently close to the kitchen for deliveries to be handed directly through a window.

Currently, Manna’s launchpad is in close proximity; delivery personnel on e-scooters retrieve orders from the kitchen in an insulated bag, then transport them to Manna’s operators. Under Nalimov’s supervision, they weigh the orders and make adjustments as required before placing them in specialized bags that meet regulatory approval.

These durable bags are among numerous safety protocols that Manna adheres to in order to comply with regulations and its internal procedures. For example, battery swaps are routinely performed to ensure drones always operate at full capacity. Nalimov indicated that redundancy is incorporated at every level, along with readiness for various incident scenarios — including a parachute for emergency situations.

Although Manna has personnel present on the ground, Mission Control is located in Ireland. From there, operators evaluate the LiDAR maps, review the intended flight path, and drop a pin for the drone to deliver within a defined area surrounding the customer’s address. If conditions don’t meet the criteria, the order reverts to a courier. If authorized, the drone takes a photograph of the landing area for a final human check before lowering the package using biodegradable rope. 

This has become a standard procedure for Manna’s local staff, which is experiencing an increase in activity. Nalimov reported that he and his team now manage multiple deliveries daily and are confidently preparing for their inaugural winter season in Finland. Meanwhile, Huuva is set to intensify its drone delivery efforts in Espoo, with one additional desire: permission to emblazon its logo on those regulator-approved bags.