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Drones May One Day Deliver Your Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream

A Japanese drone startup said on Tuesday it was partnering with Unilever, the owner of Ben & Jerry's, to explore developing an ice cream drone-delivery service in New York.

 & Michael Kan Principal Reporter

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Move over ice cream truck. The parent company of Ben & Jerry's is looking at using drones to deliver ice cream.

On Tuesday, a Japanese drone startup announced it was partnering with Unilever, the owner of Ben & Jerry's, to explore developing an ice cream drone-delivery service in New York.

Unilever drone

The startup, Terra Drone Corporation, said it showed off the concept during a recent Unilever's investor event by using a drone to deliver a package of Ben & Jerry's ice cream cups to a pre-determined location. The drone flew and landed, carrying three 72 gram-ice cream containers in a delivery box that said "Open Me."

"With regulations around future drone flights expected to become more flexible, the consumer goods company is preparing for a drone logistics service that will deliver products to more customers faster," Terra Drone said in the press release.

UniLever Drone

Unilever and Ben & Jerry's didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. So it remains unclear when the companies plan on debuting the ice cream drone-delivery service. But in recent years, Unilever has been investing in a "Ice Cream Now" program so that consumers can get Ben & Jerry's ice cream delivered to them over apps such as Uber Eats.

The company isn't alone in exploring drone deliveries. Both Amazon and Google's sister company, Wing, have also been developing drones that can fly through the air to deliver packages. Currently, the drones from Wing are delivering Fedex and Walgreen packages for select residents in Virginia as part of an ongoing trial.

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

  • My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
  • I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
  • The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
  • Xbox 360 FTW
  • The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
  • The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

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