DoorDash has launched a delivery pilot with Wing in Christiansburg, Virginia, that will enable Wendy’s restaurant customers to order menu items and have them delivered by drone.
Customers with eligible addresses will be able to select drone delivery at checkout and will have their order within 30 minutes.
The US pilot follows a DoorDash/Wing drone delivery program launched in Australia in 2022, which has since expanded to three locations in Queensland with over 60 participating merchants.
“We are excited to expand our partnership with Wing in the US to integrate drone delivery into DoorDash’s ecosystem,” said Harrison Shih, senior director of DoorDash Labs. “At DoorDash, we are committed to advancing last-mile logistics by building a multi-modal delivery platform that serves all sides of our marketplace. We’re optimistic about the value drone delivery will bring to our platform as we work to offer more efficient, sustainable and convenient delivery options for consumers.”
Sustainable last-mile delivery option
The new drone delivery offering provides a quick and sustainable delivery option for small, short-distanced orders while creating the potential for incremental order growth across the platform. The pilot will initially be available in Christiansburg with plans to explore other cities in the US later this year.
“Expanding our partnership with DoorDash and launching in the US 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,” added Cosimo Leipold, head of partnerships at Wing.
“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 US and advances our shared goal to better the last-mile delivery ecosystem.”
Exclusive feature
To discover more about drone deliveries in the logistics industry and whether they are a viable alternative to traditional last-mile delivery methods, read our exclusive feature Where do aerial drone deliveries really make sense?