Papa Johns is testing drone delivery, but not for pizza—at least, not yet.
On Monday the chain announced a pilot with Wing in Charlotte, North Carolina, focused on delivering its oven-toasted sandwiches through autonomous drones. Eligible customers can order items, including Philly cheesesteak, chicken bacon ranch, and steak and mushroom sandwiches, through the Wing app.
This marks Wing’s first direct deal with a national restaurant brand and builds on Papa Johns’ existing work with Google Cloud around AI-powered ordering.
“This partnership is a true collaboration, bringing together Wing’s pioneering technology and Papa Johns’ commitment to innovation,” Heather Rivera, chief business officer at Wing, said in a statement.
The Texas-based restaurant long-term plans to integrate Wing’s drone network directly into its first-party app and Lou AI, the chain’s digital ordering assistant powered by Google Cloud.
While pizza delivery has proven more difficult for drones because of the size of pizza boxes, that is starting to shift.
For example, Flytrex and Little Caesars launched a partnership in April in Wylie, Texas, using Sky2 drones capable of carrying up to 8.8 pounds, enough for two large pizzas and sides.
Flytrex partnered with Little Caesars on drone delivery using its Sky2 model, which can carry up to two pizza boxes.
Drone delivery continues to ramp up across the restaurant industry as companies expand operations, partnerships and service areas.
Wing operates in metro areas including Dallas-Fort Worth, Charlotte, Houston and Atlanta, with partnerships spanning Walmart, Panera and DoorDash. Meanwhile, DFW competitor Zipline has widened restaurant delivery operations across North Texas, working with brands like Chipotle, Crumble Cookies, Walmart and more.
The growth comes as operators and technology companies are pushing beyond small pilots and into larger-scale networks.
