Cookie deliveries via drone Daily News (via HT Media Ltd.)
A Virginia Girl Scout council is offering a unique spin on contact-free cookie delivery by having the boxes distributed via drone.
The Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council teamed up with Wing, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet Inc., to offer drone delivery for Girl Scout cookies in Christiansburg.
“Even with loosening COVID restrictions, the traditional method of selling cookies outside of grocery stores or shops is difficult this year, and sales are down about 50% from prior years,” Lia Reich, Wing global communications lead, told USA Today. “It was a natural fit to partner with the Girl Scouts to help out in this situation.”
Virginia Girls Scouts making cookie deliveries via drone
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April 28 (UPI) A Virginia Girl Scout council is offering a unique spin on contact-free cookie delivery by having the boxes distributed via drone.
The Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council teamed up with Wing, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet Inc., to offer drone delivery for Girl Scout cookies in Christiansburg.
Advertisement Even with loosening COVID restrictions, the traditional method of selling cookies outside of grocery stores or shops is difficult this year, and sales are down about 50% from prior years, Lia Reich, Wing global communications lead, told USA Today. It was a natural fit to partner with the Girl Scouts to help out in this situation.
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Girl Scouts Alice Goerlich (right) and Gracie Walker (left) pose with a Wing delivery drone in Christiansburg, Va. on April 14, 2021. (Sam Dean / Wing LLC via AP) prev
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The Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council and Wing LLC are testing cookie delivery via drones in Christiansburg, Va. (Sam Dean / Wing LLC via AP)
The new delivery method was first discussed by the tech brand and youth organization about a month ago, a media representative for Wing told Fox News. The partnership allows Wing to facilitate deliveries by air, so local Girl Scouts don’t have to be exposed to the novel coronavirus.
Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council CEO Nikki Williams said there have been challenges to selling cookies in traditional ways and the partnership with Wing has helped local troops in getting cookies delivered. While the girls don t fly the drones themselves, they help prepare the orders and learn about the technology. We re seeing a nice response as people are learning about it,” Williams said, adding that following national sale trends, Thin Mints are the most popular drone cookie order followed by Samoas, also known as Caramel deLites in some parts of the country.
Virginia Girl Scouts weren’t the only troops handling cookie sales differently. Some girls did contactless delivery for their neighbors, dropping off boxes on doorsteps.
Girl Scout cookies delivered by drone? A Virginia troop teamed up with Google Wing amid COVID-19 Kelly Tyko, USA TODAY
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In Christiansburg, Virginia, Girl Scout cookies are falling from the heavens.
Well, not exactly. They are being delivered not by young girls in uniform but by Google-developed Wing drones, a futuristic twist on how to get your fill of Thin Mints.
Wing, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc., reached out to the Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline about making cookie drops to help boost cookie sales, which are still being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.