Photo by Anthony Fomin on Unsplash

You can have the sweetest menu on the street and a fantastic team to serve it, but if you don’t have the right equipment, you risk the success of your business. 

Maybe the food truck of your dreams looms in your mind, but you wonder if it’s too much truck.

Your food truck business model should help you determine whether a small mobile kitchen will serve your needs now and in the future as your business grows. Whether you’re new to the food truck business, or you’re considering an upgrade, size does matter.

Explore a few benefits of smaller food trucks in today’s post.

Food Truck Dimensions

Choose your truck based on whether it’s big enough to support your staff, storage needs, and kitchen layout. Many mobile kitchen manufacturers work with smaller vehicles such as sprinter vans, passenger vans, and even recreational vehicles, aside from the ever popular step van configuration.

When working with step van dimensions, the average width is 7 feet, but it’s the length of the truck that determines your kitchen space. Food truck sizes typically range from 14 up to 34 feet, but you can have one built as small as 10 feet.

You can do a lot of business from a 10- to 14-foot truck—just ask the ice cream man!

Financial Benefits of a Smaller Truck

If you’re considering a food truck vs. a food trailer, in the category of upfront price, the trailer will likely win. However, when you invest in food vending equipment, price isn’t the only factor.

Think about the depreciation of food trucks and trailers over time. Food trailers generally retain value at a lower rate per year than food trucks do, which makes the truck a better investment.

You can start with a smaller truck, and when you’re ready to upgrade in a few years, it should have a higher resale value than a trailer.

Take Your Food to the People

One of the most significant benefits of operating a food truck business is portability. You can take your menu wherever, whenever. A small truck gives you a distinct advantage over the business owner with the 26-foot vehicle.

Small food trucks can fit in a broader range of public spaces. That means you can park on a side street, set up at a festival, or take your food to a private house party.

Let your imagination go wild! Small trucks can navigate narrow mountain roads, sandy beaches, and other places large trucks can’t go.

Opportunity to Tighten Your Menu

Out of all the types of food trucks, the small truck may force you to minimize what you serve. With a little creativity, you can turn the smaller prep, cooking, and serving space into an opportunity.

Decide on a few specialty items rather than a full-blown lunch menu. For example, specialize in chili dogs rather than dogs, burgers, and chicken sandwiches.

Smaller menus make it easier to control costs, which can increase your profitability.

Ready to Order Your Small Food Truck?

Whether you’re attracted to the financial or the practical benefits of buying a small food truck, we can help you select the ideal model for your business.

Contact our team and let’s put your truck together!

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 Does Size Matter? The Benefits of a Small Food Truck appeared first on Custom Concessions.

Photo by Arthur Edelman on Unsplash

Did you know that Americans eat out 5.9 times a week? Change up your food truck menu to entice new customers and keep old ones happy.

Want to learn more? Keep reading to find out.

1. Take a Look at Your Competitors

When you’re creating or changing your menu, take some time to check out your competition’s menu. See how they present their dishes and what ones they offer. What are their marketing efforts?

You can start to figure out how your food truck can offer items that other restaurants or trucks don’t. See if you can offer a lower price, or provide more variety on your menu.

2. Add a Popular Meal to Your Food Truck Menu

If you’re new to the industry, don’t worry, you can increase your revenue with this tip. Add a food item like a BLT, ribs, or hotdogs to your menu.

If you have more unusual food on your menu, add a staple item. This way, picky eaters can still find something to eat at your truck.

3. Try Seasonal Food Items

If you want customers to visit your food truck throughout the year, have specials for each season. You won’t have to change your entire menu. Instead, add one unique dish, drink or dessert. Or one of each!

You could add savory soups for the winter months, and a delicious cold dessert for the summer.

4. Stand out from the Crowd

When making your menu, think about the type of food you will serve and see how you can add a twist.

For example, if you’re serving Indian food, you could always add a fusion version of a popular item to your menu, like a chicken tikka pizza or a curry burger.

Consider adding a few interesting side dishes to your menu for customer just looking for a snack, or for people to add onto their meal as a combo.

5. What About Drinks?

A lot of food trucks don’t spend much time on picking out unique beverages. Don’t let this opportunity slip away. You want every item on your menu to stand out, even drinks.

Consider having homemade drinks like smoothies, teas, or shakes alongside pop and juice. If you are serving ethnic food, make sure to have some traditional drinks to complement the food.

6. The Design of Your Menu

Try and add your menu items in the order of potential customers’ dining experience. You can start with appetizers, soups, and salads. Then follow these with the entrees and desserts.

If you have super popular items, highlight these dishes with a different text color or a star next to the name. This will draw your customers’ attention and point out special dishes that you would recommend.

Perhaps the most important thing about your menu design is the presentation of food photography. Consider incorporating an appetizing photo of any unusual dishes so customers can get an idea of what they’re ordering. Fear of the unknown is what most often deters customers from trying new things, so showing them what the dish looks like will be one step to helping them overcome that hesitation.

Contact Us Today

We hope you found this guide on menus helpful. Don’t forget to have your menu posted online somewhere that your customers can easily discover your delicious dishes, and be sure to post updates when you have specials or limited-time options! 

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 Revenue by Changing Your Food Truck Menu appeared first on Custom Concessions.