US meal provider Wonder plans to start drone deliveries across Texas from next year in partnership with autonomous delivery service Zipline.

The partnership aims to bring on-demand drone delivery to Wonder locations across Texas from January 2027, when customers will be able to order meals via drone from select Wonder locations.

Ahead of its planned expansion into Texas in 2027, Wonder is developing the infrastructure needed to lay the foundation for long-term growth across the state and support a scalable drone delivery network. This includes storefront construction, kitchen buildouts, logistics and ordering technology.

Drone delivery plays a key role in Wonder’s strategy to make food more accessible by increasing speed and reaching areas that may be underserved by traditional delivery models. With its expansive geography, fast-growing metro areas and strong embrace of innovation, Texas offers a suitable environment to scale these capabilities. By reducing delivery times and improving efficiency, drone technology helps more people enjoy fresh, high-quality meals when and where they want them.

By the end of 2027, Wonder expects the majority of its Texas locations will offer drone delivery, beginning in Dallas. Wonder’s goal is to bring faster, more flexible service to communities across the state to as many of its locations as possible.

“At Wonder, we’re constantly exploring new ways to make great food more accessible,” said Tony Hoggett, CEO of Wonder in North America. “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.”

California-based Zipline’s electric drones autonomously retrieve orders and quietly fly them directly to customers’ homes. To date, Zipline has completed more than 2.5 million autonomous deliveries worldwide across healthcare, food and retail sectors, with more than 100,000 items available for order today in the USA.

At Wonder locations, Zipline’s system will enable efficient, on-demand fulfilment through automated flights, pickups and deliveries, seamlessly integrated into Wonder’s kitchen and ordering workflows. The service requires no special packaging and can be adopted by restaurants without costly infrastructure changes.

Wonder will also use the Zipline Dropbox, an easy-to-use pickup option with indoor and outdoor loading capabilities. The Dropbox is flexible to different business layouts and can be rapidly added to locations with no construction. Orders are loaded into a drawer secured by a keypad, and then Zipline autonomously handles the rest, with no waiting and no interaction with drones.

“Every restaurant has menu items they hesitate to put in a delivery bag,” said Chris Kenney from Zipline. “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. Wonder is proving that drone delivery is a growth driver. Customers get a better experience and restaurants get more demand.”

New York-based Wonder (www.wonder.com) brings together delivery, pickup, dine-in, meal kits and chef-driven food innovation in one seamless experience. Zipline (Zipline.com) operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 20 seconds, and serves more than 5000 hospitals and health facilities.