Papa Johns Is Getting Into Drone Delivery—but Not for Pizza

Starting today, eager Customers of American pizza restaurant chain Papa John’s in a corner of southern North Carolina will have the opportunity to receive their food from the sky, thanks to a new collaboration with Alphabet’s drone company, Wing. But Papa John’s signature pizza will not be offered. Instead, drone-loving North Carolinians will have to choose between three types of sandwiches, a new product for the fast-food chain: Philly Cheesesteak, Chicken Bacon Ranch, or Steak and Mushroom varieties.

Drone delivery is on the rise in more communities across the US and around the world. Questions remain about the long-term economics and regulatory picture around unmanned aerial vehicles, but Wing boasts partnerships with Walmart, Panera and DoorDash and is making deliveries through the sky to customers in four metro areas: Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston. (In 2019, Wing received the first certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration, allowing a drone delivery company to operate in the country.) Competing drone companies including Zipline, Amazon Prime Air and Flytrex, Fly Packages, Medical Supply, and Chipotle Burritos operate in select communities in countries such as Ghana, Japan, and the US.

But until recently, drone operators have struggled to fly full-sized pizzas. For companies hoping to enter the food delivery sector, this is unfortunate: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 11 percent of the U.S. population eats a single slice on any given day. In an increasingly diverse restaurant industry, delivering them to customers is still big business. But physics, engineering and the realities of the restaurant business make serving pizza a challenge for drones.

flying pizza

Traditionally, pizza is experimental technological delivery. The familiar and cheap cheese-sauce-bread combo has been loaded onto self-driving cars and autonomous sidewalk delivery vehicles and assembled by robots. This is a fast and satisfying option, especially for busy families who are short on time. And theoretically, one of the faster delivery options, a great fit for automated drones – people love fresh, piping-hot pizza.

But Wing CEO Adam Woodworth says transportation by drone requires some extra work. “Pizza comes in a very different box with a large, flat surface area,” he says. “They’re not inherently aerodynamic. Also, “you don’t want the pizza to be moldy.”

Wing’s relatively lightweight drones are engineered to carry three specific package sizes; Right now, pizza boxes aren’t one of them. Woodworth says a new design is on the horizon. “I want to see pizza coming at me from the sky,” he says.

Israel-based drone delivery company Flytrex announced late last month that it had finally solved the problem. In collaboration with rival pizza chain Little Caesars, the company began delivering two large pizzas (each 16 inches), as well as soda and bread, via drone in Wylie, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The leap comes courtesy of a much larger new drone, capable of carrying up to 8.8 pounds up to four miles.

Courtesy of Flytrax