It’s no secret that one area of the food industry is booming and that is the ‘food truck sector’. In recent years, growth and success rates of food truck businesses have skyrocketed, with a yearly growth rate of around two percent annually in recent years. In the US alone, food truck businesses are employing at least 14,000 workers, which means that food truck businesses are one of the fastest growing segments within the food industry, which is what makes them such a fantastic area to get into right now.
As a mobile business concept, food trucks can be highly successful. If a large food truck is used that is equipped with a kitchen that allows it to cook and serve fresh food, the annual revenue can be upwards of $400,000 per year. There are no two ways about it, there’s a lot of money that can be made from starting a food truck business. Of course, before you are able to launch a business, there are the costs of starting up the business to consider, which can range from around $15,000 to over $200,000.
Managing the business in a sustainable, safe way once established is another key concern. Certification and training courses such as 360 Training’s food handler certificate program may be beneficial to any food truck business in ensuring all food safety and hygiene practices are observed during day-to-day operations.
While some people enter the food truck industry thinking that it’s an easy business to launch, it’s important to understand that this is a common misconception and not one that you want be laboring under. The fact is that like any business sector, the food truck industry is a difficult one to get into. There’s no easy route to business success, however with the right knowledge and skill set you can increase your chances of making a success of your food truck business.
Wondering what it takes to launch and successfully grow a food truck business? Have a read of the tips, advice and ideas below!
Look at the financial side of things
First and foremost, it’s essential that you take the time to consider the financial side of things. A common misconception is that starting a food truck business is highly affordable, when that isn’t the case. At least, if you want to make a real go of things and give your business the best chance of success, you need to take the financial side of things seriously. You need to consider what finances you already have in place and compare that figure to the amount that you need to not only launch your business, but also to grow it.
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What it’s important to remember is that if you don’t have the funds available to you, there are plenty of options available to you, it’s just a case of knowing what these are. A popular route to go down when it comes to lacking funds for launching a business is choosing to take out a business loan. If you’re yet to look into business loans, then you might want to consider taking some time to do that. Not sure about taking out a traditional business loan? How about considering adding a ‘silent partner’ to your business who provides the funds for it? Or, what about taking out a loan from a friend or family member? There are various options available to you, it’s just a case of taking advantage of them.
Choose a niche (and map out a business plan)
Once you’ve dealt with the financial side of things, the next step is to choose a niche to focus on. The fact is that you need to create a business plan for your brand, but in order to be able to do that, you need to select a niche for your business to run within. The days where greasy burger trucks are a success has past, today it’s all about how quirky and unique a food truck can be. Good food is a must, grease is no longer tolerated. When it comes to selecting that ideal niche, it’s important to think about where your cooking skills lay, as this is a crucial factor as the quality of the food is key.
From gourmet burgers, artisan pizzas and authentic Mexican tacos to ice cream parlors, waffles and crepes, and brownie trucks, there are hundreds of routes that you could go down, it’s just a case of deciding what will work best for you. Maybe your long-term goal is to own multiple food trucks all under one brand name, with each truck offering different experiences, from coffee and crepes and prosecco and gin to gourmet burgers and homemade burritos? Whatever your goal, it’s important to remember that we all have to start somewhere, and so it’s important to determine a starting point for your business and select a cuisine to begin with.
Once you’ve done that, the next step is to create a business plan. If you are going to build a successful business, it’s crucial that you take the time to put together a business plan. If you’ve not done this before and aren’t sure about the best way to go about it, don’t panic as there’s plenty of help available online. When it comes to successfully managing a food truck, having a well thought out business plan in place is crucial, which is why it’s so important that you take the time to put one together. Need help? Perhaps you should consider finding a mentor or seeking assistance from a business advisor.
Do your research
Last but not least, it’s essential that you spend time doing your research. If you are going to achieve success running your own food truck, you need to make sure that you are taking each aspect of doing so seriously. One of the most essential steps that you can take is to take doing your research seriously.
There are various aspects of running a business that you need to look into, these include things like competitors, target customers, the best locations to position your food truck at, and various other key pieces of research. What you need to do is create a plan that looks at each aspect of running your food truck and carefully considers the most important parts, such as what you can do to beat key competitors and how you can ensure that your food truck appeals to your target market segment.
There you have it, everything that you need to know to launch and grow a highly successful food truck business.