Sweden’s first food delivery by drone takes place in rural Stockholm County

For two weeks, as an experiment, the residents of Gräddö and Tjockö are getting their groceries brought in by the flying devices

The start of this week also saw the start of a pioneering project in Sweden – grocery deliveries by drone. In this case, however, the context is not a dense urban area but quite the opposite – sparsely populated rural areas located in the north of Stockholm Country.

For two weeks in December, residents of Gräddö and Tjockö outside Norrtälje Municipality are able to order groceries with drone delivery. These are small towns located on islands in the so-called Northern Archipelago, 90 kilometres from the Swedish capital.

“This can change lives if you live in the archipelago and can get deliveries home instead of going to the mainland,” explains David Mattsson from Gräddö, as quoted by SVT.

Rural shopping is a short flight away

The drone can handle a load of two kilograms and during the test period, the area has been demarcated to a radius of six kilometres from the grocery store in Gräddö where the goods are packaged and sent.

The purpose of the test is to eventually achieve climate-neutral logistics and at the same time invest in services that contribute to a vibrant countryside. But before large-scale deliveries with drones can become a reality, both the cargo capacity and the range must improve.

“It is a few years away. We think this is exciting from the perspective of how we can make customers' lives a little easier,” says Emma Lindahl at ICA Gruppen's innovation hub ICAx, which is behind the project.

Other entities taking part in the project are the startup company Aerit, Rise and Norrtälje municipality. Finances are provided by the Swedish Innovation Agency Vinnova.