DoorDash is launching a pilot program in Christiansburg, Va., to begin drone delivery from fast food chain Wendy’s via Google-owned drone company Wing, but that program could expand to supermarkets.
The last-mile delivery service said on Thursday that the program will initially be available to select local consumers and only for eligible Wendy’s items in the Christiansburg area.
A DoorDash spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment about whether the program will expand to grocery stores, but DoorDash and Wing launched a similar drone program in Queensland, Australia, in 2022, and that program includes grocery delivery.
Wing has the capacity for scaling up its delivery from large retailers, announcing in 2023 that it is starting its drone delivery program with Walmart across metro Dallas this year.
Walmart works with Wing and drone delivery company Zipline and announced in January that it will soon cover 75% of the Dallas-Fort Worth population from locations in 30 municipalities.
“Our first few months delivering to Walmart customers have made it clear: Demand for drone delivery is real,” Wing CEO Adam Woodworth said in January. “The response has been incredible from customers ordering drone delivery from Walmart every day, and it’s a testament to our partnership that we’re now expanding our footprint to bring this innovative delivery option to millions of Texans. If this milestone is any indication, we believe 2024 is the year of drone delivery.”
The Queensland drone delivery program by DoorDash and Wing now includes more than 60 merchants, DoorDash said in a press release.
“Expanding our partnership with DoorDash and launching in the U.S. is a direct result of the success we’ve seen from our initial collaboration in Australia, where Wing has served tens of thousands of customers via the DoorDash app for over a year now,” said Cosimo Leipold, Wing’s head of partnerships, in a statement. “Wing has now made over 350,000 deliveries across three countries and looking ahead we are focused on providing a fast, affordable, and safe service to our partners so they can better serve their customers. This moment continues our meaningful expansion of this service in the U.S. and advances our shared goal to better the last-mile delivery ecosystem.”
DoorDash said in the press release that it plans to expand the pilot program to other cities this year.
Wing said in a separate press release that deliveries arrive in 30 minutes, and their fastest delivery on record took less than 3 minutes. “Our drones travel around 65 mph, then hover and gently lower your order right outside your doorstep using a tether,” the company said.
