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In the summer when the weather is hot, so are your food truck sales! Everyone knows that food truck sales are at their highest when folks are outside enjoying those beautiful sunny days.

That being said, all good things do come to an end. As summer closes, the days will become shorter and cooler, and before you know it, fall will arrive. Cooler periods normally mean a dip in customers, and that’s something many food trucks simply can’t afford to have.

The good thing is that there are things you can do to combat that inevitable sales shortfall. What you need are some solid food truck tips and a bit of ingenuity to sell just as many items—or even more—during the cooler times as you did during the warmer seasons. This article goes into detail with what you need to know about navigating fall food truck madness. Read on to learn more!

1. Enter a Contest

A food contest may not sound like something you had in mind, but this is a great way to get your company name out there and make some impressive sales. Most food contests have an entry fee. However, chances are you’ll easily be able to make a return on the investment when you sell your goods at the event. Does your city or county have a chili cook-off? Or a pizza making extravaganza? Signing up to show off your skills will get your name out there, and it’s an even bigger bonus if you win! Consider making sample-sized items of a few of your menu favorites. That way contest-goers can purchase a variety of things to try from your truck. 

2. Take on Catering Gigs

Instead of waiting for the customers to come to you, why don’t you go to them? Catering gigs are becoming a very popular way for food vendors to distribute their goods. Often, food trucks charge a flat rate up front for an appearance at a private event, plus making money on whatever sales go above and beyond that. If you can get in on that big Halloween party in town, the sky is the limit!

3. Find Fall Festivals & Activities

Working a festival can be a great way for your truck to earn some extra income in the fall. You may need to branch out a bit from whatever town you are based in to find places nearby hosting fall events. Once you have secured your spot, think about tailoring your menu a bit to highlight whatever fall food is being celebrated. Working a maple syrup festival? Add a maple bacon burger or maple glazed donuts. 

You could also offer to set up at pop-up fall activities that only last for a limited time, such as your local farm’s corn maze or haunted forest. Nothing makes people hungry like being active out in the cold. Strike up a partnership with the hosts and offer them a percentage of the profits in exchange for the right to sell on their property. Be sure to have a variety of things to choose from, including meal items like soups or hot sandwiches, snacky foods such as popcorn and caramel apples, and hot drinks like apple cider, hot chocolate, or spiced lattes.

4. Add a Delivery Service

Food delivery has become increasingly popular in the last few years, so much so that there is an entire industry dedicated to delivering food to people. By delivering food to your customers, you make cash while also opening up another avenue for service. 

Fall Food Truck Tips

Now that you’ve got a few ideas to help you in the fall, you may have some other questions about the food truck industry! Check out our blog for even more food truck tips.

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 4 Fall Food Truck Tips To Help You Sell More appeared first on Custom Concessions.

Autumn is waiting just around the corner… bringing colorful leaves, crisper temperatures, and fall-favorites for your food truck.

The fall season often gets used as an effective marketing tactic for businesses. Seasonal changes offer innovative ways for food truck owners to grow their customer base. They can even get an edge up on the competition with unique marketing ideas.  

Read on for a few key ways you can use the fall season to boost sales.  

Rethink Your Menu

Creating an inventive menu is one of the most exciting parts of owning a food truck. Autumn brings about new ingredients, like seasonal fruits and vegetables. This makes it easy to change up your menu to feature new fall offerings.  

Feature specials that use fresh ingredients from the local farmer’s market. These new recipes can include seasonal favorites like pumpkin, squash, apple, and fig.  

People also love local products and favor businesses that offer them. This is a great way to reach younger demographics, like millennials. Supporting farmers and other small businesses can help boost your sales with customers, and it can also help spread your food truck’s name in the community.

Certain flavors also appeal to customers during the fall season. Focus your sweets menu on maple, salted caramel, and spices, like cinnamon.  

People search for comfort foods during the autumn season. You can feature melty paninis, oven-roasted pizzas, and gourmet mac and cheese. The warm goodness of shepherd’s pie and chicken pot pie will appeal to your customers as autumn chill creeps into the air.

Serve Up Something Healthy 

Customers also appreciate a healthier option now and then, and these menu items can work well with fall flavors. More and more, people are beginning to have a preference for whole foods with organic ingredients.

Serve pizzas made with organic tomato sauce and fresh all-natural toppings. Sell salads with seasonal ingredients and homemade dressings. These could include apple slices, toasted pumpkin seeds, and a fall-inspired vinaigrette, like sweet maple balsamic.    

Be sure to use an attractive and easy-to-read menu design to appeal to customers. This will help alert them of your menu changes and your new featured offerings. 

Offer Up Some Autumn Warmth

Colder temperatures cause people to change their food preferences. This means you’ll want your food truck business to adapt to these changes.  

Offering warm beverages is a comforting way to appeal to customer needs. These are inexpensive to make, so profit margin is usually high on these types of items. 

Expand your beverage selection to include espresso, hot cider, or caramel hot cocoa. Seasonal coffees, with hints of pumpkin and spices, will also sell well. You could even add hot chai tea or mulled wine to the menu.  

Offering a daily soup special will help draw in customers. Rotate between homemade hearty soups, chilis, and stews.

Popular choices include chicken and wild rice soup or sausage and tortellini soup. Broccoli cheese and french onion are other favorites. Serve these soups with freshly baked bread from your truck or a local bakery.  

Soups also make it easy to appeal to different dietary needs. Try a vegan sweet potato chili or butternut squash bisque. 

When Fall Weather Stays Warm

Flavored ice creams may be more ideal for those operating in southern states. However, you can still use these same fall-inspired ingredients. Feature a pumpkin spice sundae or caramel apple frozen yogurt to boost sales.

If it’s not cold enough to make hot drinks, try iced versions of some fall favorites. You could make a frozen apple cider slush, or iced maple cinnamon lattes.

When hot soups and pot pies won’t work in your climate, try going for salads or sandwiches with fall-favorite flavors. You could experiment with adding fall ingredients like stuffing or cranberry vinaigrette to a turkey sandwich. Or make a fall-inspired chicken salad, with apples, cranberries and pecans.

Feature Seasonal Decorations 

Operating a food truck allows you to get creative with your truck’s branding and design. For fall, you can go with some cost-effective decorating options. This includes fall florals, pumpkins, and bales of hay.

You can also spruce up your menu design to feature fun fall graphics. This is as easy as using a chalkboard for your menu with drawings of fall leaves and pumpkins. 

Try switching up your paper products and cups to be more fall-focused. Serve food on fall-patterned or orange-hued napkins and plates. You could even create a custom design to advertise your brand further. 

If your fall decorations catch customers’ eyes, this can generate more business by word of mouth or online sharing. Customers will tell friends about your memorable presentation, and they may even share photos on their social media profiles.

Make a Smart Parking Plan 

Deciding where to park your truck is an essential part of any food truck business plan, but changing up your usual locations during the fall can be a good way to drum up new customers. 

Try new spots near popular fall activities. Park near festivals, hayrides, breweries, and wineries to attract new crowds. 

Other popular fall places are orchards that offer apple picking or farms that have a pumpkin patch. Fall-themed food truck festivals can also bring in new customers. Be sure, however, to get the right parking permits if trying out a new location.  

Amp Up Your Marketing Tactics 

Running a successful food truck takes an innovative and strategic marketing plan. A fall marketing push can help increase awareness of your new offerings. 

Use social media channels, like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to attract business. You can post timely updates and engage with customers. Be sure to post about your fall specials, and even include some photos of particularly attractive dishes.

It’s also helpful to get people to interact with your brand. Entice them to share pictures of your food and geotag your location. A website will help more customers find you and learn about your business year round—not just during the fall season.

It could be helpful to hire a professional photographer for fresh and unique image content for your website or social media platforms. They can capture some great images of your fall food truck display and menu items.   

Taking advantage of popular holidays like Halloween can be another good fall strategy. Offer a free meal from your food truck for the customer with the best costume. Advertise the contest on your social media channels and also use food truck signage to spread the word. 

Boosting Food Truck Sales All Season Long 

Making small yet smart seasonal changes can help your food truck business thrive this fall. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity for inventive menu changes and new marketing tactics.

Promote these menu changes and use local ingredients that change with the seasons. Have fun with festive decor that ties in with your branding. These ideas will help to attract new business and boost sales.

Who knows, you may even have customers who “fall” in love with your truck and continue to visit throughout the rest of the year!

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 Fall into More Sales: A Food Truck Owner’s Guide to Selling in Autumn appeared first on Custom Concessions.

About a year ago (on Sept. 21, 2016, to be exact), Custom Concessions did an article on hot food items for fall, and in Flashback Friday fashion, we are about to go all the way back to that article.

The article was titled “Hot Food Items Food Truck Owners Need To Incorporate Into Their Fall Menus.”

While we weren’t trying to step on anyone’s toes then — and we certainly aren’t trying to do that now — it’s always a great idea to switch up the menu from time to time, especially when a new season is rearing its head, and especially when the pumpkin spice flavor is the king of the season (spoiler alert: it is for fall).

In a nutshell, we talked about some trendy foods/hot meals, if you will, that food truck owners should serve up during fall. Yes, the pumpkin spice flavor made the list … so did pot pie and “A Thanksgiving Celebration.” Before we give away all of the gems, though, we are just going to stop there.

Nonetheless, food truck owners would be wise to change up their menus during the fall months, even if it’s just subtle changes, or a meal or two. One of the easiest ways to attract more customers is by incorporating new items on the menu, and then marketing them like crazy, of course, especially via social media networks like Facebook.

Without further ado, we are about to drop a Flashback Friday preview of the article as well as the link so you can dive right in.

Check it out below, and good luck this fall, food truck owners!

RELATED: 5 Issues You Will Face When Trying To Become A Food Truck Owner

Hot Food Items Food Truck Owners Need To Incorporate Into Their Fall Menus

“Believe it or not, tomorrow is the first day of fall. With it comes so many great things, such as the perfect weather, nature being full of colors, holidays and some of the best foods. Needless to say, food truck owners need to take advantage of the fall, which is why we have come up with some hot food items for them to incorporate into their menus during this glorious time.

“Now, there are plenty of ways food truck owners can approach fall. For instance, they can simply follow the trends and the seasons, which is never a bad idea, or they can stick with their golden menus that helped their food truck businesses grow and thrive — the choice is yours.

“Nonetheless, there are plenty of hot food items mobile kitchen owners can incorporate into their menus during the fall, and the items below are a great start.”

To check out the entire article, make sure to follow this link.

Fall 2017 doesn’t begin until Sept. 22; however, in hopes of crushing fall this year, it’s important to start planning out your strategies now, which should, of course, include your menu strategies. Plus, people are already raging about the pumpkin spice latte (and the flavor in general), which means the sooner you unleash your fall treats, such as a latte, the sooner you will profit, and attract more customers to your truck.

Make this fall the best one yet by being ready for it! Devise a menu that you know your customers will love. Here’s to a great fall!

Need more advice on the menu? Make sure to check out the three articles below (previews and links included).

Tips For Creating A Unique Food Truck Menu

“One way to succeed in the food truck industry: Be unique.

“After all, if you plan on standing out among all of the food trucks that are sprouting up across America, then you have to stand out in some fashion, and the best way to do that is by being unique.

“One of the ways you can achieve that feat is by creating a unique food truck menu, and if you are in the market for exactly that, you are in luck, because we will be unleashing five tips to help you create a unique food truck menu.”

Food Options Every Mobile Kitchen Truck Needs

“Food trucks are a great place to go on a Friday night (or any time of the week, that is). The food they provide for our taste buds are otherworldly and you also don’t have to go through the trouble that is sitting at a sit-down restaurant.

“However, if you are currently the head chef at your very own mobile catering truck or are browsing the market for food trucks for sale, make sure you keep these food options in mind — because every mobile kitchen truck needs them.”

Tips For Picking A Food Truck Concept

“If you are thinking about entering the food truck industry, then there are about 1,000 different things you are going to have to figure out. While that might be exaggerated a bit, food truck owners have to make a ton of different decisions before they even get their trucks up and running.

“One of those decisions — and it is a very important one — is figuring out what you want your concept to be. Figuring out your concept and menu might not be the easiest decision to make, but once you have made up your mind, you need to stick with your concept (and love it).

“Branding and marketing aside, your concept and menu alone are going to attract customers. After all, people go to food trucks for the — wait for it — food. And if your concept is good enough, your lines will be flocking with customers in no time.”

RELATED: Break Into The Food Truck Industry With These Motivational Quotes

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 Flashback Friday: A Look Back At Some Meals Food Truck Owners Need To Incorporate Into Their Fall Menus appeared first on Custom Concessions.

Now, there are plenty of ways food truck owners can approach fall. For instance, they can simply follow the trends and the seasons, which is never a bad idea. Or they can stick with their golden menus that helped their food truck businesses grow and thrive — the choice is yours.

Nonetheless, there are plenty of hot food items mobile kitchen owners can incorporate into their menus during the fall, and the items below are a great start.

RELATED: 5 Must-Have Traits For The Food Truck Industry. Do you think you have what it takes to make it in the food truck industry. Well, if you have the five must-have traits that are featured in this article, then you are probably well on your way.

Hot Food Items Food Truck Owners Need To Incorporate Into Their Fall Menus

• The Pumpkin Spice Trend
• The Classics
• Macaroni And Cheese
• Twice Baked Potatoes
• Pot Pie
• A Thanksgiving Celebration

The Pumpkin Spice Trend

Is there a food item/ingredient/topic hotter than the pumpkin spice trend when it comes to fall? Probably not. What does this mean? Well, it simply means food truck owners should incorporate this hot commodity. No, you don’t have to add a pumpkin spice latte to your repertoire, although it would certainly help.

These delicious foods also follow along with this trend: Pumpkin spice cookies, pumpkin spice hot chocolate, pumpkin spice Oreos, pumpkin spice pancakes and the list could literally go on and on. Heck, pumpkin spice beer is even a thing nowadays.

If food truck owners plan on taking advantage and thriving during the fall, then they have to join the pumpkin spice trend in some way. You’re a chef, though. So if you don’t feel like going with the basic pumpkin spice offerings, then get creative and add your own item to the pumpkin spice trend.

The Classics

You know, like pizza, hot wings and, well, more pizza and hot wings. Football season is upon us, which means things like pizza and hot wings are in season, even though they are always technically in season.

As food truck chefs already know, there are many different versions of pizza and wings, so there are many different ways to approach these wonderful foods.

If you are trying to break into the food truck industry, make sure to check out these food trucks for sale!

Macaroni And Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is the perfect comfort food. More and more people have started to put their own twist on this famous dish. For instance, lobster mac and cheese is now a big hit — and for good reason.

While pumpkin spice is the ultimate flavor king of fall, comfort foods are still near the top of the food chain. Comfort foods are wonderful in the sense that they keep people warm and full, and macaroni and cheese is basically the definition of comfort food.

Mobile kitchen owners, make sure to add this dish to your fall menu, and don’t be afraid to spice it up with your own version/recipe.

RELATED: What Not To Do When You Are A Food Truck Owner. It’s easy to point out what an owner should do in the food truck industry, but the same thing cannot be said when it comes to what an owner shouldn’t do, making this article a must-read for people who are involved in the food truck industry.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Twice baked potatoes have gained more and more popularity over the years. If you really want to get the tastebuds firing on all cylinders, and cook up a storm in the kitchen in the process, then make twice baked sweet potatoes instead — you won’t regret it.

Twice baked potatoes certainly follow along with the comfort food trend, and there are ways to really get creative with this meal, such as adding avocados to the mix.

Pot Pie

Pot pie has been around for quite some time. If you haven’t had the homemade version of it yet, then you are truly missing out. If you are a food truck owner, then you should give the people what they want by adding this meal to your fall menu.

Hearty is certainly the name of the game when it comes to this classic meal.

A Thanksgiving Celebration

As you already know, Thanksgiving is the holiday of fall, although Halloween lovers would likely disagree. Over the years, and since a turkey dinner is typically only served one time per year (on Thanksgiving, of course), this meal has gained some steam outside of Thanksgiving. Yes, it’s now acceptable to eat mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, turkey and all of your other favorite Thanksgiving dishes on other days of the year.

Heck, there are even Thanksgiving sandwiches being brought into the mix, and these bad boys are filled with flavor. If you are a food truck owner, and you can somehow swing one of these sandwiches in your kitchen, then you will be doing your customers a huge favor.

There are plenty of hot food items food truck owners can add to their fall menus, but the ones listed above should be gimmes. During this time of the year, and especially once the temperatures really start to drop, mobile kitchen truck owners have to do everything in their power to attract customers to their trucks. Well, spicing up the menu is one way to do exactly that.

RELATED: How To Retain Customers In The Food Truck Industry. Retaining customers is the key to any business succeeding, and the food truck industry is no exception to the rule.

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, make sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. You can also find more food truck blogs here.

The post Hot Food Items Food Truck Owners Need To Incorporate Into Their Fall Menus appeared first on Custom Concessions.