12 Brands Leading the Fattening Fast Food Delivery Revolution

From the pizza emoji to drone delivery, fast food companies are changing the way we order and receive their food.

Author:
Lindsay Rittenhouse
Publish date:
Apr 21, 2017 10:24 AM EDT

From the pizza emoji to drone delivery, fast food companies are changing the way we order and receive their food.

It sounds like science fiction, but more and more fast food companies are offering innovative food delivery methods, including drones, robots and chatbots.

KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Chris O'Cull said in a research note Friday that delivery is the fastest growing segment in the fast food industry.

O'Cull said, using KeyBanc's restaurant delivery tracker, that certain fast-food restaurants are seeing "the largest quarter-on-quarter net adds" for the first quarter due to their delivery options.

Here's a look at some of the biggest companies leading the charge.

Got a Ford car? You can use the car's Sync AppLink system to order a pizza from Domino's or soon, a Starbucks iced coffee.Starbucks is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells SBUX? Learn more now.

Starbucks junkies can also use Amazon's Alexa or the chain's own voice-activated chatbot, MyStarbucks Baritsa, to order coffee by voice.

The pizza giant prides itself on its delivery innovations. In addition to Ford cars, you can order a pizza using Google Home, Facebook Messenger, Amazon Echo and even by tweeting a pizza emoji on Twitter .Alphabet and Facebook are holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells GOOGL or FB? Learn more now.

Both Domino's and archrival Pizza Hut are experimenting with robots. Domino's is working on robot delivery, while Pizza Hut, owned by Yum! Brands , unveiled a high-tech concept restaurant in China including a robot host.READ MORE: Clearly Domino's Pizza Is on Fire, so Who Is Losing the Pizza Wars?

Another Yum! Brands company, KFC, teamed up with Chinese tech company Baidu for a robot-staffed restaurant in Beijing where facial recognition software scans customers and recommends food orders.

In November, Domino's also completed the first commercial drone delivery of food in Australia. Domino's drone partner, Flirtey, has also completed drone deliveries from 7-Eleven stores in Nevada.

Not to be outdone, Chipotle recently began testing burrito delivery via drone, with help from Google parent Alphabet, at Virginia Tech.

In many locations, such as Hong Kong, your McDonald's delivery comes by motorcycle.READ MORE: This is the Eye-Popping Data That Hints the U.S. Restaurant Industry Has Completely Collapsed

Red Robin , the chain of fast casual restaurants known for their gourmet burgers, began offering delivery services at 70 restaurants across the U.S. in December through a partnership with DoorDash.KeyBanc sees record sales for the company in the first quarter, too, since teaming up with DoorDash.

This year, Buffalo Wild Wings began launching delivery services at 100 restaurants across the U.S. Customers can order from the chicken wing king through DoorDash or its competitor GrubHub .Buffalo Wild Wings is another company expected to see a sales boost in the first quarter due to its delivery service, according to KeyBanc.READ MORE: Top 3 Reasons Why This Vocal Activist Investor Wants to Push Buffalo Wild Wings CEO Out the Door

Again through a partnership with DoorDash, the chain of hamburger joints, Jack in the Box , began offering delivery service to roughly 800 restaurants on March 30.KeyBanc's O'Cull said Jack in the Box is set to see its sales soar in the first quarter after partnering with DoorDash.

Ford

Got a Ford
car? You can use the car's Sync AppLink system to order a pizza from Domino's
or soon, a Starbucks
iced coffee.

Starbucks is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells SBUX? Learn more now.