Can the delivery boxes be made better?

Delivering food to consumers for a small commission fee is one of the most underrated and intensive tasks that people opt to do today. It can be frustrating, takes a toll on the body, and doesn’t pay enough. Food delivery riders are always on the move and they deliver aromatic food through bad weather while we sit back and relax watching movies on our settee. One thing that each of these riders is seen carrying is a big bag behind their back that is often color-coordinated with their attires and has an equally big logo plastered over it. I am talking about the food delivery boxes that they carry with them as backpacks.

Although the use of these delivery boxes is being done for a long time, we don’t see a lot of innovation built back into the product. They are more or less designed the same and don’t help the riders in any way. Given the fact that these boxes are carried with the riders behind their backs and take up so much real estate on their vehicles, more should be done to increase the visibility of the riders during rains, bad weather, nights, and on roads without street lights. Let’s take a deeper look at what it takes to design these delivery boxes.

Delivery of Cold or Hot food

Temperature-sensitive products are difficult to deliver during summer. To overcome this issue, manufacturing companies design cool delivery boxes for warm weather conditions in regions like Asia, Emirates, and others. These boxes come equipped with ice gel packs that maintain the desired temperature range of 4–8 degrees for a duration of 8 to 10 hours. And hence, the Delivery boxes are suitable for delivering foods like ice creams, donuts, meat, cakes, medicines, etc.

On the other hand, customers often expect food to be delivered hot to them. And hence some delivery boxes also come with a heating pad along with a Lithium-ion battery attached to the box, which can make this possible. These boxes often come with high-grade EPS insulation too and can sustain a temperature of up to 60 degrees for 8–10 hours.

Usability of delivery boxes

• Flat Packaging: As delivery bags or boxes are expected to be delivered in bulk, we will start to see manufacturers from China, Vietnam, and India build them in a modular format. They will most probably be flat packaged and sent to any country around the world in bulk while also taking up less space. Imagine fitting 800+ boxes in a single shipping consignment.
• More doors: Because you never know which side of the vehicle the rider will exit from, delivery boxes can sometimes be designed with accessibility in mind. As a result, the box should be able to be opened from the top and sides, while also being secured with a locking mechanism.
• Repairability & Maintenance: Did you know that these delivery boxes are often purchased by the riders themselves? They are. Because most riders have to pay for these boxes and clothing themselves, repairability & maintenance become their responsibility. An easy change of any part of the box, which has been damaged as a result of excessive use or a road accident, should be possible when the boxes are designed. By doing this, the riders would have a shorter turnaround time and would not have to change the entire box.
• Recycle: Can these boxes create a waste dump similar to plastic bottles and polythene bags? Delivery boxes must be made of recyclable materials to minimize the possibility of this happening. It should be possible for people to separate components according to their material and process them for recycling quickly. A QR code can be attached to each of these components to direct the user to recycling instructions. Understand that many of the boxes are not built with recyclability in mind.

Visibility of boxes

Talabat riders with their led equipped boxes

I recently went for a short holiday to Dubai and was amazed to encounter

riders on the road with these glowing delivery boxes. I was amazed because these delivery boxes were not only innovative but also cool to look at. Here are a few more reasons for companies to jump into the glowing delivery boxes trend:

1. LED boxes are great for providing visibility to riders under dark working conditions. Delivery riders are prone to accidents when low visibility, bad roads, and unregulated traffic. These boxes help to reduce some factors by providing a light source that is often connected to the bike’s battery source or an internal battery backup/power bank system.
2. They provide a canvas for companies to advertise their brands. And because they provide uniform lighting, they make the branding lit up nicely under various weather conditions.

Interesting facts I learned after talking to a Talabat rider when he was delivering my food order—

1. Riders love these led delivery boxes as it provides greater visibility, and enhanced safety to them while also keeping the food safe and in healthy eating requirements.
2. There are three led panels in the box that are often connected to an internal power bank to keep them running at night for about 4–5 Hrs.
3. The new box is IP 65-rated waterproof.
4. The box weighs approximately 10Kg+ and is bad for carrying on the shoulders and hence, are mostly seen kept on the motorcycle carrier.
5. The gel packs in the delivery boxes need to be refrozen once every 10 hours after use. And the boxes usually have a built-in mechanism to take care of water leaking.
6. These delivery boxes can cost anywhere from $40–130 each. Remember that the cost of the boxes is often borne by the riders themselves.

That’s the end of this short yet hopefully insightful read. Thanks for making it to the end. I hope you gained something from it.

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