Food delivery by drone is on its way to the mainstream.

This year saw 7-Eleven Inc., with independent drone delivery service startup Flirtey, deliver a bunch of sugary snacks to a resident’s house in Reno, Nev. The arrival of a Slurpee to a customer’s house courtesy of a flying robot was said to be a first in the U.S, a country in which strict regulations implemented by the Federal Aviation Administration have hampered drone delivery getting off the ground. Not long after the news of the Nevada Slurpee, Google Inc.’s Project Wing delivered burritos to students at Virginia Tech — again, a landmark in drone history and surely a taste of things to come.

Those projects though were both experimental, but in July, Flirtey declared its intentions to be the first drone business to get past this experimental stage. Joining with Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Limited, Flirtey announced that delivering pizza from the sky would work side-by-side with traditional delivery in the very near future.

That future has now arrived, as Flirtey and Domino’s have begun the first commercial food delivery service by drone in New Zealand this week. Chief Executive and Managing Director Don Meij said there were some obstacles to overcome, including adhering to government regulations, testing the technology and working out how to keep a customer’s pizza at the right temperature. “DRU Drone by Flirtey offers the promise of safer, faster deliveries to an expanded delivery area, meaning more customers can expect to receive a freshly made order within our ultimate target of 10 minutes,” Meji proclaimed.

Domino’s said throughout the week residents of Whangaparaoa can opt in to order a drone-delivered pizza. It also says that drone delivery will expand across New Zealand next year. Perhaps as an anodyne to the public’s fears that automation will cause mass unemployment in the coming years, Meji explained that “drone order loading and fleet management” would actually create jobs.

Flirtey CEO Matt Sweeny explained that Flirtey was given a Part 102 Unmanned Aircraft Operators Certificate from the Civil Aviation Authority to go ahead with the project. “The eyes of Silicon Valley and the world are on New Zealand, which has the most forward-thinking aviation regulations, and Flirtey and Domino’s are excited to be bringing world-leading technology, international investment, and high paying jobs to New Zealand,” he said.

Photo credit: Flirtey