White Castle® Launches National Crave Case Delivery Via Drone

Pilot program will offer delivery of Crave Case anywhere in the continental United States

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Apr 01, 2016, 05:00 ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The day Cravers across America have dreamed of has finally arrived. White Castle, America's first hamburger chain, announced today it would begin nationwide delivery of The Original Slider^®in Crave Cases (30 Sliders) via Crave Copters, unmanned aerial vehicles more popularly known as drones.

White Castle will begin nationwide service with a fleet of 1,500 Crave Copters strategically positioned across the continental United States at Castles and at undisclosed grilling locations in the Western U.S. A highly sophisticated tracking system will allow deployment to the geographic areas with the most demand.

The Crave Copters will fly no higher than 400 feet and will be able to deliver Crave Cases filled with Original Sliders using a mechanical claw specifically designed to carry weight up to 10 pounds. A team of former United States Air Force pilots utilizing the latest industrial drone technology will pilot the squadrons of Crave Copters.

Delivery time will depend on the customer's proximity to the White Castle restaurant or to the designated grilling location. White Castle will charge a modest delivery fee, which will vary depending on anticipated Crave Copter airtime.

The drone delivery idea stemmed from a Thanksgiving promotion White Castle hosted in Cincinnati last fall as a tribute to the iconic WKRP television show and to celebrate the launch of new Turkey menu items. The original Crave Copters were used to develop the program and have since flown an unbelievable number of hours and training missions to perfect the timely and efficient delivery of the Crave Cases.

"For 95 years White Castle has been a driving force of innovation in the restaurant industry from food safety, to employee benefits and menu development," said Jamie Richardson, White Castle vice president. "Our core mission has always been about delivering a high-quality meal at an affordable price and about creating memorable moments for our customers and their families. Drone delivery of Crave Cases is a continuation of both and allows us to expand our restaurant service area. The delivery idea literally fell from the sky when I was watching our Crave Copters drop Turkey Sliders as part of a contest. The idea is simple: If national online retailers can deliver a DVD copy of Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle in 30 minutes, why can't we deliver you a case of Sliders to enjoy while watching your favorite movie? We started experimenting with this idea, and we are happy to be the first QSR to offer this service coast-to-coast."

White Castle plans to add more Crave Copters and more undisclosed grilling locations in the months to come.

Cravers can access the Crave Copter Crave Case Delivery online. To see a Crave Copter in action, click the following link: http://bit.ly/1pOVRzP.

About White Castle
White Castle, America's first fast-food hamburger chain based in Columbus, Ohio, is celebrating 95 years as a family-owned business. The company was founded in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921 serving The Original Slider® which was named the most influential burger of all time in 2014 by Time. All White Castle Sliders are made from 100 percent USDA inspected beef. Today White Castle owns and operates nearly 400 restaurants in 13 states and has two dedicated Crave Mobiles that attended hundreds of events in 2015. In 2015, White Castle had a lot of fun on April 1 with an announcement sharing a Castle in Europe had been retrofitted with a drive-thru. White Castle's commitment to maintaining the highest quality products extends to the company owning and operating its own meat processing plants and bakeries as well as three frozen food processing plants. The retail division markets White Castle's signature products in grocery, warehouse and convenience stores across the United States and in a growing number of international locations, including military PX's around the world.

WhiteCastle.com is a culture center for Cravers, the chain's loyal and passionate fan base, connecting like-minded Slider enthusiasts from around the globe in a social media setting. For more information on White Castle and to see the Craver Hall of Fame, visit whitecastle.com.

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SOURCE White Castle