“Food truck business” Don’t know what is a food truck business is? Or you did hear of it but don’t know how the plan goes on when it comes to
“Food Truck Business” well we are here to explain to you what is food truck business and what is the business plan you need to follow to run start and run it successfully.
What is a food truck business?
A food truck business includes a large size automobile like a van or trailer, equipped with a small modernized kitchen to cook, prepare and serve food.
usually preferred by small owners or any famous restaurants to serve food in other localities as well.
Some food trucks sell ice creams and desserts some sell frozen or pre packed food; others have on-board kitchens and prepare food on customer requirements. you can see food trucks usually in construction sites,near to any corporate company and busy streets, parks where people usually hang out.
The food truck business provides an option for the on-the-go person to grab a quick bite at a reasonable price.
Nowadays the craze of fast food is rapidly increasing so as food truck businesses and also some food truck owners earn a good amount of money out of this.
In food trucks the advantage of mobility provides owners access to multiple locations at an initial capital that’s less than that required in opening a restaurant of the other format, this is why small all restaurant owners are looking to invest in a Food Truck instead of an individual stationary restaurant.
So if you are looking for a food servicing business but do not have enough money to invest in a restaurant business then you should go with a food truck business.
Food truck business or a restaurant on wheels has been an on-trend concept in India and all over the world, among entrepreneurs and consumers alike.
How to develop a food truck business plan?
Now as we have understood what food truck business is. Let’s know how to do business planning for a food truck business?
It’s natural to have hesitation while starting any kind of business which is why we will help you to learn how you can create a food truck business plan here.
Table of content-
- A right choice to select food truck and location
- Analysis competition and Creating the brand
- Kitchen equipment and others
- Requirements of manpower
- Raw materials and food hygiene
- Creating an online presence for your food truck business
- Marketing your food truck business
- Conclusion
Let’s go through some points which will guide you the way to develop a business plan:
A right choice to select food truck and location:
The first thing is to select the right food truck and location where you will have to sell your food. choosing a food truck is depend on the type of food you plan to serve, you need a commercial vehicle which is at least a decent size of 18 to 20 feet of length this will cost roughly around 7 to 8 lakhs.
Hey wait !
Don’t worry if you are a little tight in the budget you can buy an old commercial vehicle with right paper works which will cost almost half of the new once also you will have extra money left for designing the vehicle according to the need.
Choosing the right location is important you should choose a street which should be near to a construction site, park, busy street also you have to analysis the food street where less number of food vendors sell the same kind of food.
Also the location should have a regular flow of traffic to invite people to have a quick bite.
The street should have good parking space for the food truck also it shouldn’t be creating any hazel to commuters. There should be enough space for customers to have the food and enjoy it.
Analysis competition and Creating the brand:
There is good competition in the food business market so building a strong brand presence is important your brand should connect customers with a unique story.
Analyze the competitors business how they are doing in this business Everything you can dig up about your competition will be useful when you go about building your brand.
Creating a brand presence includes naming of the food truck, the logo and the theme of the food truck this will connect with customers it is important for branding It will show up on all your designs, on your food truck, on your banners and promotions and all your social media platforms.
Make sure it speaks to your brand.
Kitchen equipment and others :
It depends on the type of food you are planning to serve still on an average you will have to invest a roughly around 2 to 2.5 lakhs which includes Microwave, refrigerators, griller, steamer, working tables, one burner, exhaust equipment, generator or big batteries with an inverter and other things that are needed in the business.
It is good if you are going for new kitchen equipment because as it is mostly electronic items you will not be having issues of servicing it as it will be having a fixed time warranty which will cover all the necessary maintenance costs.
If you are a little tight in the budget for your food truck business you can go for old equipment which is in good condition if you can get a good deal out of it this can save you a good amount of money and also you will have some extra money for other essential items needed in your food truck.
Requirements of Manpower:
In this food truck business, you need to have a very good chef to cook food according to the type of foodservice your business is providing. you need at least 2 chefs to start with so that food can be delivered on time and customers shouldn’t have to wait for food getting ready.
In India you can get some good chefs which will cost you anywhere from 13 to 15k monthly also with a helper who can take care of the operation of your food truck business.
If you are planning for delivery services then you can hire a person who knows well the location and he can help you to procure raw materials in needy time.
A delivery boy will easily take a salary from 10k to 12k monthly. Also if you want to create your brand presence in the food truck business you need to have a good team from cooking to delivering because in the end customer satisfaction is the main goal.
All the staff should have a unique dress code that helps in the brand presence and also will gain trust among your customers in the food truck business.
Raw materials and food hygiene:
You need to have the right amount of raw materials so that you do not need to hurry up and bring raw materials, it is advisable to stock the raw materials enough for 5 to 7 days in the preservative so that it would get damaged and make a loss in food truck owner’s pocket.
Then comes down to hygiene of the food truck, the food truck business operates at a small space where both cooking and selling food operates. so it is necessary to maintain a clean kitchen and also good waste food management all the materials used in cooking should be of good quality so that customers will feel good and they will be coming again and again to your food truck. also, your staff should be well dressed and cleaned and maintains good sanitation.
Creating an online presence for your food truck business (website/software/social media):
Nowadays having an online presence helps the business a lot, thanks to the free internet everyone is into their laptops and mobiles. so you should also invest in creating
websites or software depending on your budget so that people can know about your food truck business and also go through the menu.
Almost every food truck business has its website/ software where they get connected to their customers anytime and anywhere, so you need your online portal should be user-friendly and easy to understand by a layman. they should feel easy to place an order.
Investing in the software will cost more than just a website. so at first invest in the website then as per your online popularity, you can invest in software.
If you do not have enough money for the website too then you can create a social media page and start inviting customers who like street food with some offers at first this will drive your customer and if they like your food they will suggest your food truck business with their surroundings.
Marketing your food truck business:
It’s too difficult to survive or maintain your food truck business without marketing, here are some of the marketing techniques you can have to market your food business:
1. Social Media (Optimization/Marketing): After you have created a social media page for your food truck business you need to maintain the page by adding a post of latest foods you are having on the menu and be active on the social media page and keep posting at least 5 times a week to keep your new customers stick with you and visit your food truck.
2. Placing ads in social media for your food truck business so that it will drive a good amount of customers into your business and it is not much investment. you can show ads to the one who is interested in street foods and food truck business this will surely be a good return of investment for your food truck.
3. Search Engine (Optimization/ marketing): After you create a website you can optimize it with some of the shortlisted keywords about your niche and create
content so that you will be available on the first page of google in the optimization of the website you will have to optimize your website properly so that it will mobile friendly and customers would not have issues surfing on mobile or any other devices.
you can also place ads in the google search engine when the customer types your niche keyword it will appear in the first page of Google so that customers could find you this will create online orders and brand awareness. you can target a certain audience who will be interested in your niche market.
This comes under digital marketing and you can hire a guy who knows this marketing and this will generate you a good amount of sales and cover-up all your investment within a few months of starting a food truck business.
Conclusion:
These are some of the steps you should take in starting of the food truck business, also you have to do a Licenses & Permits Required For Starting a Food Truck Business
which will cost you around 50k to 80k.
In India, the investment for a food truck business will cost you around 8 to 10 lakh but the good thing is the overall operation cost is less than a small restaurant in the long run and also a normal food truck business can earn anywhere between 8k to 15k daily depending on how are you service satisfy your customers.
Also, you can grab opportunities like any events, catering, and occasional opportunities you can have a good amount of sales in a day also you can generate branding for your
food truck business.
Food truck business is in a hot trend right now and doesn’t show any sign of slowing down. if you are planning to open a restaurant business but don’t have enough
money and time to invest in a food truck business is a good option.