Want more food truck advice? Check out our entire blog here!

If you are looking to break into this industry, make sure to request a custom quote!

To stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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First things thirst: You need to figure out your target demographic, and then run with that audience. Knowing who you are trying to reach is step No. 1, and it is a very, very important step at that.

Once you get your target demographic down, please proceed.

5. Capability To Tailor Your Food Around Your Audience

Theoretically, your fans will love your epic recipes. However, if there are any special requests or you know your audience loves a certain dish that you whip up, then serve that bad boy all of the time.

The great thing about food trucks is the variety that they offer.

Although you probably want to cook up what you want to cook up, know your audience, and then cater to your audience (literally).

4. Go Where Your Target Demographic Is

The great thing about a food truck is the fact that it is a restaurant on wheels. That is where your mobile business is going to thrive because you can literally follow your target demographic, or have them come to you, of course.

Location is never really an issue with food trucks — well, for the most part.

3. Social Media Is A Great Battle To Win

Share food stories of customers, share pictures of your food, share your brand. The great thing about food is that people love to see pictures of great dishes — because food. The great thing about social media is that things like pictures are easily shareable.

Social media is so powerful because you can completely target your audience, or widen the search by trying to target everyone.

It’s a social media world we live in, so social media can help you win the ultimate battle, which is gaining costumers and keeping customers in love with your brand. That said, make sure you are reaching your audience on the social networks they use. If they are all about Facebook, then you should be as well.

Like all food truck businesses, you can tell your audience where your next stop is going to be … through social media.

2. Partnerships Can Greatly Come Into Play

Here’s a great example of how partnerships can help you reach your target demographic: Say you are trying to reach college students, and a nearby university wants you to cater an event for them. Boom! You are about to feed the mouths of your target demographic, and reach others as well.

Ideally, this will lead to your food truck doing more business with that university. By the way, universities can reach a ton of people.

Remember, that was just one example of how potential partnerships are catered to food trucks.

1. Events Are Huge In The Food Truck Business

We will keep this simple. Food trucks are invited to events all of the time. This is good for a couple of reasons. (1) Food trucks are mobile (that’s kind of the point), so you can easily travel to events. (2) Many events that food trucks are invited to will already have the target audience in place.

Want more food truck advice? Check out our entire blog here!

If you are looking to break into this industry, make sure to request a custom quote!

To stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post 5 Ways A Food Truck Can Reach Your Target Demographic appeared first on Custom Concessions.

If you are one of those people, first off, congrats!

Now, here are five reasons why all restaurants — including yours, of course — should own food trucks.

5. Convenience For Your Customers

Because it is all about the customers, right?

If your place is jam-packed on a nightly basis, that is awesome, but some of your customers might be scared off because of the long wait. Also, some of your customers might not want to travel too far to eat all of the delicious foods that your chefs prepare.

If that is in fact the case, you are in luck! Think of a food truck as a mobile version of your restaurant — because that’s exactly what it is. Being mobile, your customers don’t have to go to one location just to eat your scrumptious food.

All of that said, I leave you with this one important word that is literally everything to customers: Convenience.

4. Your Restaurant Is Thriving, So Why Wouldn’t A Food Truck Version?

You already have the business plan down — well, some tweaks will of course need to be made with your food truck business plan. However, you are an expert at all things restaurants, so there is only one question you should ask yourself at this point.

Why wouldn’t a food truck version of your restaurant thrive?

3. Expansion Is Never A Bad Thing

Maybe you are wanting to expand by building another location. Maybe you are afraid to take that big of a leap. A food truck business for your restaurant is also another option for expansion — just remember that.

2. Simply Put, Another Way To Rack Up The Dough

If all goes according to plan, your food truck will bring in a ton of cash … and isn’t that the point?

1. Food Trucks Are Booming Right Now

If anyone is thinking about starting up their own food truck business, whether you are a first-timer, an up-and-coming chef or already have an established restaurant, now is the perfect time to take a swing at a food truck.

After all, food trucks are everywhere for a reason — the food truck industry is booming right now. Don’t miss out.

The post 5 Reasons Why All Restaurants Should Own Food Trucks appeared first on Custom Concessions.

Custom Concessions recently built a mobile trailer for Auntie Anne’s that will service customers in the Virginia Beach area. The trailer was present at the Oceana Air Show, Suffolk Peanut Fest, Old Dominion University for all home games and USA National at Virginia Beach.

“James was very kind-hearted and very helpful. It was a very pleasant experience from start to finish,” said Auntie Anne’s franchisee, Dayna Cooper, when asked about her experience purchasing a trailer from Custom Concessions.

Dayna already owns four stores and decided to add the Auntie Anne’s concession trailer to her portfolio of stores. She wanted to ensure she was not staying behind when the food truck phenomenon started a few years back. She contacted Custom Concessions to inquire about pricing, value and turnaround time regarding a food truck or trailer. The food truck builder, which has more than 25 years of experience building mobile kitchens, delivered Dayna’s vending trailer within three months after she placed the order for the mobile trailer. Fast turnaround time allows businesses to start seeing a return on their investment right away.

“The price point of the trailer was great compared to opening another store or getting a fully-equipped food truck,” said Dayna. “Now we’re able to reach the customer wherever they are, so going mobile was definitely a great business strategy for us.”

The concession trailer, by manufacturer Custom Concessions, has all of Auntie Anne’s delicious soft pretzels available. It will continue to attend local events in Virginia Beach. For more information about pricing and trailer availability please visit customconcessions.com.

About Custom Concessions

Custom Concessions is a reputable manufacturer of concession trailers and food trucks and a leader in its industry. They have operated in the market for more than 25 years and worked with brand names such as Domino’s Pizza, Wolfgang Puck and Johnny Rockets. They’ve also worked with organizations such as the US Army, NASCAR and the Washington Redskins. Custom Concessions offers superior customer support before and after the sale. This includes technical support and a two-year warranty on every mobile kitchen sold.

Want more food truck advice? Check out our entire blog here!

If you are looking to break into this industry, make sure to request a custom quote!

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

The post Custom Concessions Builds Auntie Anne’s Mobile Trailer To Operate In Virginia appeared first on Custom Concessions.

Custom Concessions recently built Potbelly Sandwich Shop’s first food truck, which is located in Dallas, TX. The food truck debuted on Oct. 16, and will eventually be hitting events across Texas.

According to Potbelly Sandwich Shop’s website, the company started off as an antique shop that was owned by a young couple who eventually started serving lunch at their shop. Today, there are more than 300 Potbelly Sandwich Shops across the country, but the food truck in Dallas is the first of its kind. The original Potbelly Sandwich Shop started in Chicago, IL.

Custom Concessions builds its food trucks and concession trailers in its facility that is located in Elkhart, IN. The facility is 30,000 square feet. It builds for every market in the United States, and it also offers nationwide and international delivery. For more information about pricing and availability, please visit www.customconcessions.com.

Potbelly’s food truck features a smaller version of its menu that includes five of its signature sandwiches. On top of five well-known Potbelly sandwiches, the new Dallas food truck will offer a morning menu, and costumers can expect to see breakfast sandwiches and blueberry muffins on that menu.

To find out where the food truck will be, follow all of its moves on Twitter (@PotbellyTruck). 

Click Here to View A Photo Gallery

About Custom Concessions:

Custom Concessions specializes in manufacturing the highest quality concession trailers and food trucks on the market. It also specializes in meeting all of its customer’s needs when it comes to building state-of-the-art food trucks. Custom Concessions has worked with brand names such as Domino’s Pizza, Wolfgang Puck and Johnny Rockets, and organizations such as the US Army, NASCAR and the Washington Redskins. Custom Concessions offers unbeatable customer support, and is all about making its customer’s dreams and ideas come to life.

For more information about Custom Concessions, visit www.customconcessions.com.

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The colder months of the year can definitely be tough on your food truck business. After all, there are plenty of people who hate cold weather. Naturally, people stay inside during the winter months as well.

Fight off those winter months with these five meals (if you will). Most of them are classics, and everyone loves a good classic.

5. Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie at a food truck? Yes, pumpkin pie at a food truck. It fits under the category of classic and appetites go wild over a slice of pie during the holidays.

Guess what else pumpkin pie does? Let people know that the holiday season is in fact here, and it also reminds food lovers of everything that goes down during said holiday season. Like family time and grandma’s famous pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin pie (or any pie really) is a proven winner.

If you really want to get people’s taste buds going, serve up some sweet potato casserole.

4. Hot Chocolate, Egg Nog, Apple Cider

Hot chocolate helps keep people warm. Plus, who doesn’t want to channel their inner child with this legendary hot drink?

Egg nog, of course, is huge during the holiday season. So is apple cider.

The holiday season doesn’t last all winter, but you might as well benefit from it when the shoppers are flooding the stores.

These three drinks and pumpkin pie might throw off your menu some, but why not give the people what they want, and change things up a bit in the process?

3. Chili, Chili And More Chili

Sure, not everyone likes chili, but if your recipe is good enough, then everyone should love your chili.

Spicy foods keep people warm, just to put that cherry on top.

Consider a bowl of chili a secret weapon. It helps people get through the winter months and actually enjoy those months as well. With a bowl of chili, you will basically be going all out on this winter thing.

2. Some Form Of Stew

Stew isn’t really a summer food, so take advantage of this valuable tool (stew, that is) when the temperature starts to drop. Winter foods are all about hearty foods, and stew could be the heartiest of them all.

Even if you do live in a climate that screams beach weather year-round, serving up stew (or any winter food in general) helps people get in the mood for wintertime.

1. Something Creative

Winter is the perfect time to really spice up your menu. You want to get people’s attention, right? If business is slow, throw that Hail Mary by serving something rather creative … even if it might be a bit exotic or a one-time thing.

Just remember, you can beat wintertime with one great meal at a time.

The post 5 Meals Food Trucks Should Serve In Colder Climates appeared first on Custom Concessions.

Although you can customize any of our food trucks and trailers to your liking, there are big differences between many of our trailers that cannot be changed. These differences can help you decide on what trailer or food truck is perfect for you. One of our more confusing differences is between our Gooseneck Trailers and our other trailers. Many of our customers have trouble deciding between our Gooseneck and our BBQ trailer. With many similarities, one can easily have a hard time deciding between the two. It’s important to understand how these trailers work to better fit your needs. Today we’d like lay out the differences from our Gooseneck Trailers and a BBQ Trailers to help you understand how these two work.

Hitch

Probably the biggest difference between the BBQ Trailer and the Gooseneck Trailer is how the hitch connects to the truck. BBQ Trailers us a typical Ball Mount or Square Receiver Hitch. But a Gooseneck Trailer uses what is referred to as a Gooseneck Hitch. As the trailer extends over your truck’s bed, the hitch uses a kingpin, ball and socket or other similar trailer connection method. This is located above and forward of the rearmost axle of the towing vehicle. Unlike the BBQ Trailer, a gooseneck trailer is mounted in the tow vehicle, usually in a pickup truck.

Often, this requires for the truck bed to be removed to install the frame that holds the hitch in place. More often than not, a hole is drilled in the back of the truck. This might sway some business owner’s decision between the two, especially if they really love their truck.

Size

Generally, between a BBQ Trailer and a Gooseneck Trailer, the Gooseneck will be bigger. Or, more appropriately, if you’re looking for more room and need extra storage, the Gooseneck Trailer will be a better option. Because of a Gooseneck Trailer’s hitch setup, there’s an added amount of available storage. If you don’t need a lot of room and are looking for a trailer that slightly more compact, a BBQ Trailer might be the better option.

Often, Gooseneck trailers are not used for food, but for other services: blood donation, Veteran Affairs, Fire Safety drills, etc. This is because of their size. Although our other trailers offer ample room for food preparation, the Gooseneck is our only trailer than can really offer the room needed to perform non-food activities.

Mobility

While both BBQ Trailer and Gooseneck Trailer are mobile, the Gooseneck Hitch allows for much sharper turns. When driving your trailer around, this can make a big difference. This is especially true if you’re considering bringing your trailer to conventions, expos, festivals and other events that are limited with room.

BBQ Trailers may not have the best turning radius, but they are often lighter than Gooseneck Trailers. This means you don’t need as powerful of a truck to tow. We recommend Gooseneck Trailers if you need to have a heavy duty truck hitched to the trailer. However, as long as you own a powerful truck, Gooseneck trailers can support as much as thirty thousand pounds . If you need to tow a lot of equipment and food, Gooseneck Trailers got your back.

Customization

While both our BBQ Trailer and Gooseneck Trailer are customizable to your preferences, only the BBQ trailer can come with your own BBQ Smoker in the back. The addition sits on an open bed to keep air flowing through the mechanism. True barbecuers will tell you this is one of the best ways to make great meat. If you’re planning a food trailer based on good BBQ, you’re going to want to consider getting yourself a BBQ smoker.

Gooseneck Trailers are often better customized to fit larger groups of people. With ability to add a long width of windows for placing and receiving orders, many business owners who use Gooseneck Trailers are prepared for big events with a high yield of customers.

Whatever trailer you choose, Custom Concessions will make sure every aspect of the trailer is up to your standards of excellence. As you can see, even the differences between two of our Trailers can be big. Consider researching all of our trailers on our site. Or, contact us today to discuss your ideal trailer. We bet we’ll be able to make exactly what you’re looking for.

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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