Chipotle is teaming up with drone delivery leader Zipline to test autonomous food delivery.
Beginning Thursday, select customers in the greater Dallas area will have the option to use the so-called Zipotle delivery through an early access program in the Zipline app. Zipline’s autonomous aircraft will deliver orders to customers’ homes from a Rowlett, Texas Chipotle location.
A small number of Zipline users will be able to order the full Chipotle menu to start, with a broader service launch in the weeks to come for more users. Any potential expansions in the future would be based on learnings from the test.
Employees will place the order into a Zipping Point, which allows aircraft to autonomously pick up the order for delivery. After flying to its destination, the aircraft will hover about 300 feet in the air, while the Zip, a droid, lowers to the ground.
“The exciting thing about drone delivery is we don’t need to have specific drone locations at every restaurant to make this effective,” Curt Garner, president and chief strategy and technology officer at Chipotle, told CNBC in an interview. “Because of the coverage radius of drones, it might only be one restaurant in a particular neighborhood that can service the entire neighborhood. So that makes national expansion easier, finding those locations and then equipping them with Zipline.”
Zipline delivering a Chipotle meal.
Courtesy: Zipline
The drone delivery option could resonate with a younger consumer base, which is already key for Chipotle and its future growth.
“I think the younger consumer remains an enormous market opportunity for us. They’re the biggest fans of Chipotle already,” Garner said. “They do skew higher to delivery than older consumers, and they’re a curious group of people that want to try new things. And based upon how many younger people live together in apartments or in shared housing, drone delivery is a really good option.”
The move comes as Chipotle and other fast-casual restaurants hit a sales slowdown. Chipotle reported that same store sales fell 4% in its most recent quarter as traffic declined. Its slow quarter came as the broader restaurant industry faced a pullback.
But Chipotle executives told analysts the chain’s sales trends are turning around. Starting in June, customers had been returning to Chipotle restaurants, thanks to its summer promotions and the launch of its Adobo Ranch dip, CEO Scott Boatwright said.
Zipline is launching Chipotle deliveries with its Platform 2 models, which are insulated to withstand rain, cold and heat. The company has said they are also fast and quiet.
Initially, the “Zipotle” delivery service will carry orders up to 5.5 pounds, which will increase to eight pounds over time. The delivery is a $2.99 flat cost, plus a 15% service fee capped at $6, Garner said. “Zipotle” will operate seven days a week from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. CT, with plans to expand to 10 p.m. CT.
Zipline, a CNBC Disruptor 50 company, says it operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 60 seconds, and serves more than 5,000 hospitals and health facilities. It says it has flown more than 100 million commercial autonomous miles.
“It’s a better product experience. It’s better for the environment, it’s less expensive, and importantly, it also increases access,” Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo Cliffton told CNBC.
Food delivery by drone may expand further soon. Zipline said it will be working with Sweetgreen to determine timing and locations for a future launch.
