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The average cost of opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant is $275,000. If you’re an aspiring restaurateur, you’ve likely looked into your options, like buying a food truck. Sounds simple, right?

Here are 5 things you should know before you start your food truck adventure!

1. The Cost of Starting up 

The costs of starting a food truck business are more than the vehicle, fuel, and food expenses. Unless you’re prepared to do it all on your own, you’ll need to hire and train employees. A food truck needs to be checked out and maintained by a mechanic, like any other vehicle.

Overall, the upfront cost for launching your mobile restaurant business can be over $150,000. Along with equipment for your truck and other essential supplies, you also need to acquire licenses and permits.

2. Licensing, Regulations, Insurance, and Permits

There’s a lot of paperwork and legal costs to handle before you drive your food truck out on the road. In most cases, you can drive a mobile food business without a CDL, unless the vehicle is 26,001 pounds or heavier. Check with your state’s motor vehicle commission for specifics.

You’ll need comprehensive insurance coverage that protects you, any passengers, your equipment, and members of the public. You should have a warranty, which helps to limit out-of-pocket expenses such as repairs. 

Lastly, you’ll need to register and license your business so you can acquire parking permits. Cities, especially big cities, have zoning laws that govern where people can park and where businesses can operate. Unfortunately, sometimes the legal expenses can cost you a pretty penny, but they’re necessary for running any mobile restaurant.

3. Research Types of Food Trucks 

No matter how basic your menu is or how little equipment you think you’ll need, you should research the model and types on the market to learn everything about which is the right food truck for you. Factors from your food offerings, to where you plan to sell, and when, are all things to consider when looking at trucks. Your mobile kitchen should fit all of your needs. You don’t want to invest in a truck that you later find out isn’t going to be a good fit. So do your homework!

4. Have a Digital Marketing Strategy 

If you’re not marketing your mobile food business, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Even before launching, you should have a digital marketing and social media strategy. Establish and stick to brand identity for your online presence. 

Sending out a few tweets here and there isn’t enough. You’ll need a proper social media campaign to really launch your business off the ground. It’s especially important to make sure followers (read: potential customers) know where and when to find your truck!

5. Learn From Your Competition 

When figuring out where to buy a food truck, or how much is it to buy a food truck, you shouldn’t expect too much help from your competitors. The food truck industry is very competitive. Look into how other food trucks started (such as looking at their social media campaigns) or scout out the best spots in your city to sell.

Looking at your competitors will also give you an idea of what may be in-demand in your area. If the trucks in your city sell similar products consider introducing something completely different. If you’re one of ten other BBQ trucks, you’ll need some pretty amazing food to stand out from the crowd. 

What to Know Before Buying a Food Truck 

The upfront costs of buying a food truck can be steep. Permits, insurance, warranties, and other legal expenses are a necessary evil. But if you’re a truck die-hard food trucker, that won’t scare you off. To help your start-up, ensure you have a solid digital marketing strategy and you learn from your competitors to see how they succeeded.

If you want to know more about buying a food truck, request a custom quote from us today!

Want more food truck advice? Check out more blog posts here!

Thinking about starting a food truck? Request a free custom quote and one of our food truck specialists will help you design the truck of your dreams.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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Did you know that 19% of Americans have reported eating more junk food than they should?

We live in a world driven by convenience, so it’s no surprise that Americans turn to fast food and junk food for meals. However, food trucks give diners the option of a fast, well-cooked meal.

Starting a food truck can be overwhelming to new business owners though. Luckily, there are a few tricks that can streamline the process!

Keep reading our guide below for five of the best food truck tips for 2021!

1. Food Truck Networking: Connect With Your Community

The easiest way to establish yourself in the food truck market is to connect with your community. Through meaningful in-person conversations and friendly social media outreach, communication with others is key to building your reputation.

Reaching out to your community also opens you up to a plethora of new opportunities. You may find the chance to move into the catering sector by networking with community leaders. You can also learn about potential events hosted by business professionals requiring food services.

2. Give Yourself a Buffer Budget

Many people only provide enough cushion room to last for the first few weeks or months of their food truck business. To stay afloat, it’s wise to prepare enough funding to last you through your first year in business.

Unexpected costs often catch food truck owners off guard. For example, it’s nearly impossible to buy in bulk because you won’t have the room to store your product. Many food truck owners also have to rent out space in a commercial kitchen to do meal prep, which can come at an unexpected cost.

3. Marketing Food Truck Tips: Build Your Brand

The best way to develop more consistent relationships with your customers is by building your brand. Claim an identity and continue to develop it.

When promoting your business through social media, develop a brand voice, and stick with it across platforms. Whether it’s goofy or more professional, make sure your brand’s identity rings true to your company’s ideals.

4. Invest in a Good Truck

This may seem like the most obvious of food truck tips, but many people skimp out when it comes to buying a reliable food truck.

You’ll be spending most of your workday inside the truck, so you’ll want to purchase a reliable and functional model. Because you are relying on your truck to keep your business operation, reliability is a very important attribute to keep in mind.

5. Do Your Research

In order to secure as many customers as possible, you’ll want to do a fair amount of research before starting a food truck. It’s important to conduct market research specifically on the area and local food truck market.

Which types of foods are already being served via food trucks? Which areas get the most foot traffic?

These types of questions will help you develop an idea of which foods and locations will be most profitable. 

Hitting the Road

You’ll hit plenty of roadblocks when starting a food truck. However, that shouldn’t hold you back from pursuing this unique endeavor! The food truck tips above will help you flesh out the finer details of your business plan.

For more articles on the food truck industry, check out the rest of our blog! Looking for a high-quality truck of your own? Contact us for a quote! 

Want more food truck advice? Check out more blog posts here!

Thinking about starting a food truck? Request a free custom quote and one of our food truck specialists will help you design the truck of your dreams.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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Owning a food truck is an exciting venture, but it comes with its challenges. If you own a food truck in a place with harsh winters and shut down or have reduced sales during the off-season, one of those challenges is preparing to restart operations in the spring. 

Spring will be here before we know it, so make sure your food truck is prepared for maximum growth. Bring your business out of hibernation effectively so you can serve more customers without skipping a beat.

Let’s breakdown seven food truck prep tips for Spring 2021. 

1. Amp Up Your Menu

If you offered a limited selection during the winter slow time, now’s the time to surprise and delight your customers with new options. Get creative and try to offer seasonal foods that will become a staple of springtime.

2. Hit Social Media Hard

If you stepped back on social media because there wasn’t as much going on, now’s the time to boost your online presence so your customers know you’re back in business. Utilize tools that engage with your audience, like polls and question boxes on Instagram.

3. Target Spring Breakers

If hungry spring breakers descend in throngs on your town every March, make a plan to serve them. You could offer special prices and menu items just for spring break, or offer a coupon if they post a picture with your truck on social media.

4. Plan Ahead for Summer

You should start seeing more sales in the spring, but it most likely won’t be up to summer levels yet. Use your time wisely throughout the spring to plan your summer strategy, and start booking outdoor events and festivals coming up in the summer months now. 

5. Offer Seasonal Drinks

Your customers are ready to shake off their winter coats and enjoy warm weather again, so offer them something cool and refreshing to drink. Make it tropical with spring flavors, like cherry, pineapple, or mango. 

6. Sweeten Up Your Menu

Add new dessert items that your customers have been craving all winter, like ice cream sandwiches or gourmet popsicles. They’ll jump at anything that reminds them that summer is coming.

7. Have Fun Experimenting

Things are picking up again, but you won’t be as slammed in spring as you will be in summer. This is a time to test drive menu options and see what works. If there are things you’ve always wanted to try but you weren’t sure how they’d sell, add them to the rotation in the springtime. You may have new hits or you’ll learn what doesn’t work, but either way, it will be fun to experiment before you get too busy.  

Springtime Food Truck Prep Tips for Success

Food truck seasonal challenges are nothing new in this industry, but with a little prep and creativity, your business can thrive during the spring. Have fun trying new things during these months, and don’t forget to take advantage of spring breakers. 

It’s also the perfect time to do food truck prep for your busiest season coming up, summer. For all the tips you need to help your food truck business thrive year-round, check out our blog.

Want more food truck advice? Check out more blog posts here!

Thinking about starting a food truck? Request a free custom quote and one of our food truck specialists will help you design the truck of your dreams.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post 7 Food Truck Prep Tips For Spring 2021 appeared first on Custom Concessions.

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By the end of the year, roughly 92% of people will not have achieved their New Year’s resolutions. But, if you haven’t made immense progress in just over one month, that doesn’t mean you should scrap your resolutions altogether!

If you had some goals set for your food truck business, this is a great time to reassess them and get back on track. Grab a pen and some paper because you’re about to learn how to stick to your food truck plan and make some achievements this year. 

Break Down Goals

Setting huge goals often means you won’t cross the finish line for a while. The longer it takes to see results, the more unattainable the goal will start to feel, and the more likely you are to give up on it. 

Taking these high aspirations and breaking them down into manageable tasks is more useful. Say your goal was to take your business online this year. Break that down even further and decide where on the internet you want people to find you.

Do you want to build a website, or do you want to make a social media account? What form of social media would you use? 

Once you can answer these questions, decide who is best suited to take the steps required to launch your online platform. You can then establish a timeline, mapping out when you would like to get each action on the plan ticked off. 

Make an Outline

Sometimes a whole year is too long of a time frame for you to stay motivated about your food truck business plan. For instance, if you want to expand your food truck to include online ordering you’ll need to come up with a logistical plan to keep things running smoothly—including setting yourself up on an online platform, tracking order fulfillment, etc. If you give yourself an entire twelve months to do so, you might not get around to the task for a while. 

Setting monthly or quarterly goals can be more beneficial. Since you have already broken down your resolutions into small tasks, you can set deadlines for them. Making this outline will motivate you to get them done and keep you moving toward what you ultimately want to achieve. 

Track Your Progress 

When you complete a task, you should write it down somewhere. Every time you achieve a goal, the dopamine levels in your brain spike. Psychologically, your brain is more willing to repeat that action.

You can build off these progress trackers the following year too. Perhaps one of your intentions this year is to increase your food truck revenue. Tracking the percent increase from this year will give you an idea of what realistic expectations you should have going into the next one. 

Keep on Going with Your Food Truck Plan

Remember that failure is normal, and it doesn’t mean you can’t get back on track. Write down a purpose as to why you want to achieve the list of goals on your food truck plan to remind you why you are striving for them in the first place. 

Last but not least, if one of your New Year’s resolutions is to upgrade your food truck, don’t hesitate to reach out today for a free quote. 

Want more food truck advice? Check out more blog posts here!

Thinking about starting a food truck? Request a free custom quote and one of our food truck specialists will help you design the truck of your dreams.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post Your New Year’s Resolutions and Food Truck Plan: A Follow-Up Guide appeared first on Custom Concessions.

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Choosing your daily driver usually means spending a few hours at the dealership taking test drives, negotiating upgrades, and applying for financing. If everything works in your favor, you drive home in a new car.

Investing in a food truck requires more time, more research, and more money.

If you’re starting a mobile food business or considering adding a truck to an existing business, you’ve come to the right place. Before you take another step (or another drive), read our guide to the different types of food trucks.

Whether you’re considering a food van or your business model requires something more extensive, this post should help you narrow down your choices.

Know Your Needs Before You Shop

Your business model determines the food truck you buy.

A bakery, a mobile food vendor, and a non-profit meal delivery service each requires a different truck type and layout. Food businesses don’t all have the same equipment needs, size requirements, or budgets. Add to that the different state and local health regulations, and it’s no wonder things often get confusing when deciding which truck makes the ideal fit.

When you work with a food truck manufacturer, you’ll first answer several questions about your business and your needs. This helps you and the manufacturer determine which truck design will best serve your needs.

There’s no need to look at 24’ trucks if a cargo van makes a better fit for your unique business. And if you know you’ll need all the room that a step van affords, likewise there’s no need to look at box trucks.

The Cargo Van

Don’t let the word van make you think only small size businesses use this type of food truck.

Food vans come in a range of sizes, but it’s what’s inside that counts. Are you running a small bakery delivery service? Then you probably don’t need onboard baking facilities, and a small cargo van may work just fine. Grocery stores with at-home delivery services often use cargo vans.

Even a smaller nutrition service company could have a cargo van converted to accommodate their need to keep food at the proper temperature. Vans are so popular in the mobile food vending industry you’ll see a wide range of van conversion configurations.

Depending on size, food vans can hold:

• Drink and/or Food Preparation Counter
• Refrigerated Display Cabinets
• Lighting
• Independent Water System
• Built-In Generator
• Compartment for Cooking Gas System
• Fryer
• Grill/Griddle

While you can’t say the sky’s the limit, you get a wide range of options when you buy a food van. You’ll get even more options when you buy a step van, which we’ll cover next.

Step Vans as Food Trucks

If you’ve ever noticed the vehicles driven by bread, linen, or parcel delivery services companies, you’ve likely seen a step van in action. Remember the milk delivery trucks from the good old days? Food truck builders also enjoy using step vans and here’s why.

A food delivery service or a mobile food vending company needs one significant thing the step van offers. Space! Converting a step van to a food truck means you get abundant space, including headspace, as step vans have much higher roofs than cargo or compact vans.

You can configure a step van to meet your needs for workspace, storage space, ventilation, and any advanced cooking equipment you plan to use. Step vans range in length from 12 to 30 feet.

The Box Truck

The name says it all—this type of food truck is a rectangular shaped box with a separate cab. This is in contrast to the step van, where instead the cab and body are usually only separated by a sliding door.

If your business model includes frozen, refrigerated, or heated foods in large quantities, a box truck might just work best!

Box trucks can carry more weight than most other types of trucks used for food trucks. That means you can deliver or store more food and you can also install more (and heavier) cooking equipment.

Like the step van, a food truck company can convert a box truck into a full-service kitchen. A box truck, an innovative design, and an attractive wrapping all work together to create one fantastic food truck!

The Pickup Truck Body

The ever-popular pickup truck isn’t relegated to ranches, construction sites, or moving friends and their belongings. Look closely next time you see a mobile food business and you may recognize a pickup truck chassis under the food business wrap.

While you likely wouldn’t choose this style if your business model includes preparing entire meals, they make the perfect partners for a food service business that offers pre-made food and drinks. You’ll see them on job sites and in parking lots all over the country.

Need More Information About Types of Food Trucks?

If you’ve decided to start a food truck business, you’re in good company. With a projected value in 2020 of a little over 996 million dollars, the food truck business remains if not a popular endeavor, a successful venture.

With the different types of food trucks available to food business entrepreneurs today, you can find one to fit any food business model. And that’s the key to buying the right truck—matching the truck type to the type of business you want to operate.

Whether you go with a small cargo van, step van, box truck, or a design mounted on a pickup truck or cutaway van, you’ll have plenty of options to help meet your business needs.

If you’re ready to take the next step in the food business and want to choose your truck, contact us today. We’ve served the food industry for over 30 years and stand by our reputation as the experts in designing and producing food trucks.

Want more food truck advice? Check out more blog posts here!

Thinking about starting a food truck? Request a free custom quote and one of our food truck specialists will help you design the truck of your dreams.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post Your Complete Guide to the Different Types of Food Trucks Available appeared first on Custom Concessions.

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Did you know that the food industry is worth 985 million dollars? Even if it’s the wintertime, your business can still thrive.

Are you looking to increase your food truck profits? Not to worry! In this guide, we’ll go over how to survive the winter.

Consider Catering at Banquets and Receptions

If it’s too cold in your area, customers might not want to venture outside for food. Instead, let your community know that you are available for catering opportunities.

You can contact local schools, offices, and businesses. Inform them that you cater for special events or meetings.

People love to gather to celebrate in the wintertime, so make the most of these opportunities.

Change up Your Menu

Most food trucks will create a menu centered around summertime foods. Stand out from your competition in the winter by selling seasonal foods.

Add savory food items for your customers during the colder months. Introduce warm beverages, as well. You will have an influx of customers excited to try out these new menu items.

Connect with Local Businesses

Print off menus and add a delivery service to your food truck. You can pass them out to businesses in your local area. This way, you can build a partnership and sell more food.

Grow Your Customer Base and Food Truck Profits

Work hard at building relationships with your customers and deliver excellent service. When the colder months hit, you will still have regulars who will come for their coffee or food.

Going to a food truck becomes part of many people’s routines. Let them know that you are still around in the wintertime.

Treat Your Employees Well

With the changing of the temperature, you’ll want to make sure your food truck’s warm enough. You might need to revamp your vehicle or buy a new one, so it’s prepared for the cold.

This way, your employees’ morale will remain high. In turn, your customers will get a better service from your happy team members.

Make the Most of Your Mobility

The benefit of having a food truck is getting to move around to different places. In the winter, check out new areas. You can make notes about where you get the most foot traffic.

Keep updating your social media, so people know where to find you each week. Learn more about how to improve your social media strategy.

Make a plan to see where would be the best place to park during the colder months. You could get close to a sports arena or a mall near a lot of traffic.

Contact Us Today

We hope you found this guide on winter food trucks helpful. Increase your food truck profits with these tips. Find out where you can access the most foot traffic in your area.

Want more food truck advice? Check out more blog posts here!

Thinking about starting a food truck? Request a free custom quote and one of our food truck specialists will help you design the truck of your dreams.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post How to Increase Food Truck Profits During Cold Weather appeared first on Custom Concessions.