LatAm List – iFood, a Brazilian on-demand food delivery startup that became a unicorn in November 2018, has been testing new ways to deliver food to its 12.6 million users in Brazil.
The company is considering testing electric scooters as a new delivery format that could improve logistics and increase the number of orders.
“The scooter is an option for those who want an extra income and do not know how to drive a motorcycle,” says Fernando Martins, iFood’s Innovation and Logistics Manager.
Scoo, a new Brazilian scooter rental startup, has partnered with iFood, who will initially subsidize part of the rental fee. They intend to have about 1000 scooters running in São Paulo and Campinas by the end of the year.
The food delivery startup is also testing out the iFood Box system which involves placing thermal cabinets at the entrance of highly transited commercial and residential buildings. These cabinets will keep orders warm or cold until customers pick them up using a given password that will unlock the box. There are already 50 cabinets being used across São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Campinas.
iFood is also looking to incorporate drones and robots to take food from a restaurant to the deliverer, but is currently on standby as they require government regulation.
Read more on Estadão.