Flytrex
- Chick-fil-A began testing drone delivery in Texas and North Carolina last year.
- Last week, the chain expanded the drone service test to Florida.
- Retailers and restaurants testing drone service include Walmart, Amazon, and Jersey Mike's.
Chick-fil-A is stepping up its drone delivery experiment by adding food drops in Florida.
The chain, known for its busy drive-thru lanes, began testing drone delivery at a Brandon, Florida, location last week, according to the restaurant's social media pages.
Chick-fil-A restaurants in Granbury, Texas, and Durham, North Carolina, have been testing drone deliveries since September 2022.
"Chick-fil-A is always exploring new ways to provide the best experience for our guests. We are in the early stages of testing drone delivery at a small number of Chick-fil-A restaurants," the chain told Business Insider on Monday.
In Florida, customers within the restaurant's drone drop zone can order delivery by drone through the Chick-fil-A app. The food is delivered in a cardboard box and delivered to backyards. The drone never lands. It hovers over a yard and lowers the food using a wire.
According to a behind-the-scenes video posted on Instagram, the chain is working with DroneUp, a Virginia Beach, Virginia drone company that also works with Walmart.
Drone delivery is still experimental in the US but is catching on among top retailers and restaurant chains.
Flytrex, a Tel Aviv-based ultrafast drone delivery service operating across the US, told Business Insider it has been working with Chick-fil-A restaurants in Texas and North Carolina since September 2022. The company also provides drone service for Walmart, Raising Cane's, Papa Johns, Jersey Mike's Subs, Unilever's The Ice Cream Shop, Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, Little Caesars, Starbucks, and Chili's.
It previously tested drone delivery with Southern California-based fast-food chain El Pollo Loco.
Amazon is also testing drone delivery in California and Texas.
Chick-fil-A and its franchisees have been testing autonomous technologies to streamline operations for over a year.
In May 2022, the chain started testing autonomous delivery robots in a limited number of California, Texas, and Florida restaurants. In the fall of this year, a restaurant in Texas began using a robot named Wall-E to deliver food to dine-in customers.
Are you a Chick-fil-A insider with insight to share? Got a tip? Contact this reporter via email at nluna@insider.com.