Forget Drones, Domino's Wants to Deliver Pizza via Reindeer

Domino’s is unquestionably on the forefront of delivery technology: The chain has invested in autonomous pizza robots, drone delivery, “zero-click” ordering apps, and satellite tracking. For its latest trick, though, Domino’s is taking a cue from Santa Claus himself: It’s training reindeer to deliver pizza.

RocketNews24 reports reindeer delivery is part of Domino’s Japan’s contingency plan to get pizza to its customers in the face of what’s being forecast as an especially brutal winter. (Said plan also includes the use of snowmobiles.)

Per RocketNews, the company is currently in the midst of “a trial period for performing training exercises in the city of Ishikari in icy Hokkaido,” to figure out if its reindeer delivery initiative — which seemingly involves insulated pizza containers strapped on the animals’ backs — is feasible to actually roll out to customers. (And lest this endeavor attract the attention of animal welfare groups, Domino’s Japan says its delivery tests are being supervised by an animal trainer.)

Sadly, most of us will probably have to settle for chatting with a cold and unfriendly Domino’s Facebook bot this Christmas. Maybe if you ask nicely, Santa will throw a deep-dish pizza on his sleigh for you.

• Domino’s Pizza Is Actually Training Reindeer for Delivery in Japan [RocketNews24]
• Domino’s Now Delivering Pizza by Drone [E]
• Domino’s Pizza Bot Doesn’t Want to Be Your Friend [E]