US-based pizza restaurant chain Papa Johns has partnered with Alphabet-owned company Wing to pilot drone deliveries in Charlotte, North Carolina, US.

The trial is beginning with orders placed exclusively through the Wing mobile app.

The initial service area covers customers living near Sun Valley Commons in Indian Trail.

Customers within the eligible zone will be able to receive a limited range of oven-toasted sandwiches exclusively through the Wing app.

In the next phase of the rollout, Wing’s system will be linked with Papa Johns’ first-party app and with Lou AI, the pizza chain’s Google Cloud-powered digital ordering assistant.

The initiative represents Wing’s first direct partnership with a nationwide restaurant chain. It also extends Papa Johns’ existing technology relationship with Alphabet, building on its collaboration with Google Cloud.

Papa Johns chief digital and technology officer Kevin Vasconi said: “We are fundamentally shifting how our customers interact with our brand on digital platforms.

“With our agentic in-app ordering capabilities and Wing’s ultra-fast delivery, we are redefining the entire ordering experience, ending with fresh, hot Papa Johns delivered by drone right to our customers’ homes.”

Through the partnership, Wing and Papa Johns intend to address operational challenges by developing aerodynamic packaging and loading methods for drone-delivered pizza.

Wing chief business officer Heather Rivera said: “This partnership is a true collaboration, bringing together Wing’s pioneering technology and Papa Johns' commitment to innovation.

“Together, we are defining a new blueprint for how agentic commerce and industry-leading operational design will shape the future of food delivery.”

Last month, DoorDash and Wing launched drone-based food deliveries in the metro Atlanta area.