DoorDash, Wing Launch Drone Delivery Pilot in US
DoorDash and Wing have launched their drone delivery partnership in the United States, starting in Christiansburg, Va. Select local consumers will be able to order eligible menu items from Wendy’s – the pilot’s first restaurant partner – through the DoorDash marketplace and have them delivered via drone.
This follows the drone delivery pilot program that DoorDash and Wing launched in Australia in 2022 and has since expanded to three locations in Queensland with more than 60 participating merchants, marking the first time that Wing integrated its drone delivery service within another marketplace.
“We are excited to expand our partnership with Wing in the U.S. to integrate drone delivery into DoorDash’s ecosystem,” said Harrison Shih, senior director of DoorDash Labs. “At DoorDash, we are committed to advancing last-mile logistics by building a multi-modal delivery platform that serves all sides of our marketplace. We’re optimistic about the value drone delivery will bring to our platform as we work to offer more efficient, sustainable, and convenient delivery options for consumers.”
“Expanding our partnership with DoorDash and launching in the U.S. is a direct result of the success we’ve seen from our initial collaboration in Australia, where Wing has served tens of thousands of customers via the DoorDash app for over a year now,” said Cosimo Leipold, head of partnerships at Wing. “Wing has now made over 350,000 deliveries across three countries and looking ahead we are focused on providing a fast, affordable and safe service to our partners so they can better serve their customers.
“This moment continues our meaningful expansion of this service in the U.S. and advances our shared goal to better the last-mile delivery ecosystem.”
When DoorDash customers with an eligible address in Christiansburg place a qualifying order in the DoorDash app from the Wendy’s located at 2355 N. Franklin St., they will see the option to have their meal delivered by drone on the checkout page. Once they select drone delivery and place their order, it will be prepared and packaged at the Wendy’s location and delivered via a Wing drone, typically in 30 minutes or less.
Through this partnership, DoorDash aims to provide access to an innovative delivery solution for consumers and merchants, complementary to traditional Dasher-fulfilled orders. The new offering provides a quick and sustainable delivery option for small, short-distanced orders while creating the potential for incremental order growth across the platform.
The pilot will initially be available in Christiansburg with plans to explore other cities later this year.
The drone delivery partnership with Wing was born out of DoorDash Labs, DoorDash’s robotics and automation arm. DoorDash sees automation as a means to develop the right platform solution to satisfy consumer demand, while improving efficiencies within the platform.
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Where Is Lucky the Leprechaun? Help Trap Him!
St. Patrick’s Day is around the corner and our favorite leprechaun is nowhere to be found! For the first time, Lucky has taken his mischievous tricks to the next level and used his charms’ powers to disappear from limited-edition boxes of the magically delicious cereal. In an effort to catch the popular leprechaun, Lucky Charms is releasing a line-up of trap-inspired fun to help cereal lovers bring Lucky back to his box.
To encourage families to hone their trapping skills in advance of March 17, Lucky Charms and Hasbro have teamed up to launch “Lucky’s Leprechaun Trap.” Available exclusively at Shop.LuckyCharms.com, the new board game is a magical version of the family classic “Mouse Trap.” And to prep for the big day, each limited-edition cereal box from which Lucky has gone missing also includes a trap that you can cut out and use to try to catch your very own leprechaun. Collect all four unique versions, or DIY your own custom builds to create the ultimate leprechaun snare. Of course, no St. Patrick’s Day celebration is complete without a bowl of the returning fan favorite Green Milk Turn Lucky Charms with clover marshmallows that turn your milk a festive green.
For those looking to join the chase, Lucky was first seen ice fishing in Minneapolis, where he left behind life-sized charms and traces of magic, and most recently teased fans by making his way across the country to suntan on the beach in Miami. He is now rumored to be making his way to the set of ABC’s “American Idol.”
“We never know what our favorite, mischievous leprechaun is up to,” said Brandon Tyrrell, senior marketing communications manager at General Mills. “But now with him off the box and on the run we’re asking for everyone’s help to find him. We know he’s a big “American Idol” fan and have reason to believe he could appear on set Feb. 25 and March 3 on ABC and next day on Hulu – so be on the lookout!”
Join the chase to catch Lucky and get Leprechaun trap inspiration by following @luckycharms on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, or visiting https://www.luckycharms.com/.
Lucky Charms’ Hasbro game is available for $14.99 at Shop.LuckyCharms.com and all limited-edition Lucky Charms boxes are available at retailers nationwide starting at 2/$6.
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Sweetgreen Appoints Retail Veteran Williams as COO
Sweetgreen announced the appointment of Rossann Williams as the company’s chief operating officer, effective Feb. 5. Williams joins Sweetgreen’s executive leadership team and will oversee operations, real estate + development and supply chain for the company.
Williams is an accomplished global operations executive bringing more than 30 years of experience leading retail businesses. Williams is a respected and engaged leader focused on cultivating high-performance teams at every level of the business.
“Rossann is an industry veteran with a proven track record in driving sustainable growth of global, iconic brands and leading teams to generate profitability,” said Jonathan Neman, CEO and co-founder of Sweetgreen. “Rossann complements the existing skills and experience of our leadership team as we pursue our next chapter of growth. It’s clear that she shares our values, and I look forward to partnering with Rossann to further our mission of connecting more communities to real food.”
Prior to joining Sweetgreen, Williams spent over 18 years at Starbucks, where she rose to EVP and president of North America retail. In this role, she oversaw a market of approximately 16,000 stores, where she significantly improved same-store sales, successfully opened thousands of new stores and helped navigate the company through the pandemic. At Starbucks, Williams also served in senior operations roles across North America, eventually rising to SVP, global and Americas operations services. Previously, Williams held leadership roles for several well-known Fortune 500 brands, including Blockbuster and Toys “R” Us.
“I’ve long admired Sweetgreen’s leadership as a founder-led, mission-driven company driving the industry forward. I am deeply aligned with Sweetgreen’s values, people-centric approach and commitment to connect more people to delicious, real food. I’m thrilled to be joining the Sweetgreen team at a moment of significant growth and an incredible opportunity ahead,” said Williams.
Sweetgreen is on a mission to build healthier communities by connecting people to real food. Sweetgreen sources the best quality ingredients from farmers and suppliers they trust to cook food from scratch that is both delicious and nourishing. They plant roots in each community by building a transparent supply chain, investing in local farmers and growers, and enhancing the total experience with innovative technology.
Since opening its first 560-square-foot location in 2007, Sweetgreen has scaled to over 220 locations across the United States, and their vision is to lead the next generation of restaurants and lifestyle brands built on quality, community and innovation.
To learn more about Sweetgreen, its menu, and its loyalty program, visit www.Sweetgreen.com. Follow @Sweetgreen on Instagram, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
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