Kyochon, Pablo Air to collaborate for commercializing drone delivery

South Korea's fried chicken chain Kyochon F&B announced on Wednesday that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the drone logistics delivery startup Pablo Air to develop and collaborate on the industry's first smart logistics delivery service utilizing drones.

Through this agreement, Kyochon aims to establish a system for developing and cooperating on a drone-based smart logistics delivery service and to undertake various joint business ventures.

Currently, Kyochon Chicken's drone delivery service is available at its Cheongpyeong branch in Gyeonggi Province, and it can also deliver to some resorts in Gapyeong.

"The distance between our store and some resorts is too far, especially during peak seasons when there are many vehicles traveling on the road, making delivery difficult or time-consuming in many areas," said Lim Sumi, the owner of Kyochon Chicken's Cheongpyeong branch in Gyeonggi Province. "Through drone delivery, more customers will be able to enjoy our fried chicken."

"Based on the latest agreement, we plan to build a strategic network for the commercialization of drone delivery," a Kyochon F&B source said.

In December last year, Kyochon conducted a test flight of chicken drone delivery with Pablo Air, covering the entire process from ordering to delivery. During the test, the drone successfully completed a 7 km non-visual line-of-sight flight along a pre-set route, confirming the advantages and potential of drone delivery.

Write to Ji-Yoon Yang at yang@hankyung.com