Chipotle teams up with Zipline to test drone delivery

Zipline's autonomous aircraft will der orders to customers' s from a Rowlett, Texas Chipotle location

A small number of Zipline users will be able to order the full Chipotle 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 dery

After flying to its destination, the aircraft will hover 300 feet in the air, while the Zip, a droid, lowers to the ground. "The exciting thing drone dery is we don't need to have specific drone locations at every restaurant to make this effective," Curt Garner, president and chief strategy and nology 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 dering a Chipotle meal.Courtesy: ZiplineThe drone dery 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 dery than older consumers, and they're a curious group of people that want to try new things

And based upon how many younger people together in apartments or in d housing, drone dery 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 motions and the launch of its Adobo Ranch dip, CEO Scott Boatwright said.Zipline is launching Chipotle deries 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" dery service will carry orders up to 5.5 pounds, which will increase to eight pounds over time

The dery 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

It says it has flown more than 100 million commercial autonomous miles. "It's a better duct 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 dery by drone may expand further soon

Zipline said it will be working with Sweetgreen to determine timing and locations for a future launch.