If you want to start a food truck, writing a food truck business plan is the best place to start.
A food truck business plan will help you identify everything you must consider before starting a food truck, including startup funding and marketing. To start planning, answer these questions:
What type of truck will it be?
You can operate your food business out of an actual box truck, a trailer, a cart, or even a converted bus.
Where will you get it?
Do you have the funds for a new, custom-built food truck, or do you need to look at used food trucks? You can often find fully equipped food trucks for sale on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.
What cuisine you will sell?
Some of the top-selling food truck items include burgers, tacos, Korean BBQ, breakfast, fusion burritos (like Curry Up Now’s Indian burritos), loaded fries, chicken and waffles, vegan and vegetarian bowls, and ice cream. Put your own spin on these items or introduce a whole new cuisine to the food truck scene. Just do some market research to see if your local customers have an appetite for your food truck menu ideas.
Where will you make the food?
You can have all of the food truck equipment you need to prepare meals on board, but you don’t have to make everything in the truck. You can prepare your menu offerings in a food truck commissary, which is a shared kitchen space you can rent by the hour.
Where you will sell food?
Do you plan to find a permanent parking spot for your food truck? Will you travel to festivals and events? Are there office buildings and business parks you can drive to? Knowing where you will be selling is a crucial part of the business plan.
In addition to physical locations, you’ll also need to determine how you will take online orders. Airmart’s free service makes it easy to take pre-orders and in-person orders for your food truck.
Why will this type of food truck be successful?
Your favorite recipes may be a hit with your friends and family, but you have to figure out if your ideas will actually be profitable in the market.
This is where some research comes in. Take a look at the popular food trucks already in your area. What niches are oversaturated? (i.e. are there too many taco trucks?) What offerings can you improve upon? Who will be your target market?
If you plan to sell popular food truck menu items that competitors already offer in your area, ask yourself: What is my competitive advantage? What makes my food truck business unique?
How much does it cost to start a food truck business?
The exact cost of starting your food truck business will be unique to your business plan. You have to factor in the cost of the food truck itself, the food truck insurance, food truck equipment, ingredients, permits, entry fees for festivals, fuel costs, food truck design costs, marketing costs, and more.
Answering these questions will get you thinking about what you need to include in your plan. To write a complete food truck business plan, check out Webstaurant Store’s guide.
For more food business resources, check out our other How-To blogs:
How to Start a Food Business on Airmart