Wonder Announces Drone Delivery Partnership

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's ... a burrito?

Starting in January 2027, customers in Texas will have the option to get their takeout orders from Wonder food halls delivered by drone, thanks to a new partnership with Zipline, an autonomous drone delivery service. The partnership was announced in a press release published on June 30.

"At Wonder, we're constantly exploring new ways to make great food more accessible," said Tony Hoggett, CEO of Wonder North America, in the release.

He continued, "Partnering with Zipline allows us to push the boundaries of what's possible, combining our innovative food technology platform with world-class drone technology to reach customers in Texas through faster, more convenient delivery and serve them in entirely new ways."

Wonder, a food hall concept combining "delivery, pickup, dine-in, meal kits, and chef-driven food innovation," has locations throughout the United States, mainly on the east coast. Wonder allows for people to order from multiple restaurants using one service, and has partnered with celebrity chefs to craft its menus.

"With Wonder's first-of-its-kind multi-restaurant ordering, customers can mix and match dishes from multiple chefs and restaurants in a single order – something no other platform offers," said the press release.

Wonder's Texas locations are set to open in 2027. The first to offer drone delivery through Zipline is Dallas, said the press release. By the end of 2027, most of the upcoming Texas Wonder locations will have drone delivery available.

Food for drone delivery will be picked up using "Zipline Dropbox," which can be added to existing buildings with no additional construction, said the release. Once an order is placed into the dropbox, it is picked up by a drone and delivered to the customer with no further interaction with a human.

The use of drones for delivery service will result in better-quality deliveries, said Chris Kenney, the head of national partnerships at Zipline.

"Every restaurant has menu items they hesitate to put in a delivery bag. Zipline changes that. By taking traffic out of the equation, Wonder can now offer customers their menu with confidence that every meal will arrive exactly as their chefs intended," he said.

"Wonder is proving that drone delivery is a growth driver. Customers get a better experience, and restaurants get more demand."

Zipline is the largest autonomous delivery service in the world, and Zipline drones make deliveries about every 20 seconds, said its website.

Aside from food and other retail, Zipline drones are used to deliver medical supplies (including blood products) to hospitals. Zipline operates delivery drones on four continents.