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Creating a Business Plan for Your Food Trailer

Creating a Business Plan for Your Food Trailer (Step By Step)

So- you’ve found your dream food trailer, and decked it out just the way you want it.

You’ve designed your menu, full of delicious spicy tacos and fresh guacamole. (Okay- that was lunch, and it’s still on our mind, but you know what we mean.)

You’ve even selected a round of locations, set your business hours and got a head start on your licensing and permits.

What on earth are you waiting for, right?

What’s missing in the above mix is a solid, well executed business plan that could quite literally mean the difference between sinking or swimming within your first few months of business.

An often-overlooked step, a business plan helps you determine things like:

Projected income, profit & fixed costs
A good estimate of start up costs and how much you may need to invest or finance
Your online and offline marketing strategy
Your target market, your target customer and the percentage of the market you are likely to reach
A competitive analysis, both internal and external
Your competitive landscape
Potential business related obstacles that may surface, and methods to combat
Potential business opportunities, how to plan for them and how to potentially take advantage of them
Strategic potential partnerships, customer relationship management and hiring processes

Your business plan is a blueprint for your food trailer. Without a concrete vision and strategic planning behind your food trailer, you may struggle to get it successfully rolling.

Building a Building Plan Specific to a Food Trailer

Business plans are generally comprised of the same components, but each plan has to be tailored to both the market and industry you are thinking about entering.

Creating a business plan for food trailers and the mobile food industry requires specific considerations.

And yes, of course- we have you covered.

Components of an Awesome Business Plan for the Mobile Food Industry

Executive Summary

Okay, okay- executive summaries are pretty cookie cutter. Granted, not that fun to write either but it must be done.

Keep it short, but sweet. Sum up what the reader is about to digest in much more detail and set the tone so that readers are open and willing to listen.

Business Description

In sufficient detail, outline the purpose and value proposition of your business.

The aim of this section of the business plan is to quickly and effectively communicate to both your internal team and future investors what your business embodies.

A sound business description will cover the 5 W’s- (flashback to school days, anyone?). Who are you, and what is the name of your food trailer? What is your menu offering and product offering? Any services at all? What are your goals for your business? Where are you going to be? Where will you be going? Why is this business worth getting off the ground?

Consider the following when writing your business description:

What’s the name of your food trailer business?
What is your mission and value statement?
Who is your target customer?
What is your offering? Are you operating as a completely mobile kitchen, or are you planning on remaining more stationary in a strategic spot?
Are you focusing on lunch time crowds, or are you using the food trailer as a catering option for executive gatherings?
What is your cuisine? What kind of menu are you offering?
Will you be attending events, or stick to urban areas?
When are you planning on opening your food trailer to the public?
What are your competitive advantages?
What is your business structure- how do you plan to operate your food trailer? Will you be looking for a full team of staff, or run your trailer solo?

Industry Analysis

Time to get a little more analytical and numbers based.

Consider both past and current data about the mobile food industry, with a little emphasis on your own specific market. Investors will want to know your industry’s size, historical growth, projected outlook and number of notable competitors.

It’s your chance to talk about the world you are about to enter into, and demonstrate your understanding of such. Place emphasis on past, current and future trends of the mobile food industry that are relative to your business.

These 12 mobile food trends show just how quickly the mobile food industry is shifting.

For example, while food trucks dominated the mobile food market for a number of years, the number of food trailers and carts out on the streets has increased 300+% over the last four years.

Your industry analysis should explore the external factors that have a profound affect on your food trailer. Typically, most seasoned food trailer and truck owners find that government licenses and regulations are a big obstacle in initial and ongoing operations.

Highlight technology developments that will help your business thrive down the line. The number of apps and websites developed in the name of helping food trailers succeed has exploded, and will continue to with the growth of the technology sector.

Check out these five websites and five apps that drive business for food trailers and trucks like no other.

Look at the mobile food industry through four scopes- political, economic, social-demographic and technical- and paint a picture for investors to understand what you are entering into.

Explore the key financial measures of the mobile food industry; industry wide sales, sales volumes and sales channels. For example, food trailers and trucks brought in 1.5 billion last year across the US, with projected growth trend of 12.4%. There are 4130 food trailers in the US alone, with each trailer generating around $200,000 in gross revenue.

Those are the kind of numbers and figures that should be intertwined through your industry analysis.

Competitive Analysis

Yes, somewhat self explanatory- but crucial.

Explore the mobile food industry’s main players, and your competitors. Who are your local competitors? If you’re a travelling act, who currently dominates the areas you’d like to focus on?

Highlight your competitors strengths and weaknesses. For example, vegetarian and vegan food trailers and trucks are absolutely slaying the market place.

More seasoned veterans have great supply chain networks, resulting in pricing that may be unattainable to a new kid on the block.

Perhaps competitors in your area operate on restricted hours, or don’t have a liquor license.

What is the competitive outlook for the industry? Explore barriers to entry, the number of food trucks expected to enter the market next year- ( hint: annual growth is 7.4% for food trailers.)

Market Analysis

This is your chance to explore and describe the very market that is going to be lining up outside your food truck.

The demographics of your target market are crucial to understand, to market your food truck and make serious profit. What do your customers like, what are their needs- where are they from, what do they have in common? Will they provide you enough of an opportunity?

A food trailer serving health conscious vegan food will certainly appeal to a different demographic than a food trailer pumping out cheesy pizza and fresh pulled pork sliders. The way you market to them and operate your business totally depends on who they are- a succinct understanding of your business and menu will be able to dial in on your target demographic.

Management & Hiring

What does your team look like?

Many first time food trailer owners opt to run solo for the first few months of operation, or until profit has turned.

For some, this may not be possible and you may plan to train an entire team from day one.

Be sure to cover how your plans for hiring affect the operations of your food trailer and how much it will cost you on a monthly basis to employ. Highlight the skills and knowledge of your existing team, and what will you be looking for in future team members to ensure perfect execution of your vision.

A food trailer offering coffee & donuts will certainly require different cooking and customer service skills than a full fledged seafood mobile kitchen. Your hiring needs will differ, so make sure these are clear.

Operations Plan

Quite simply, craft a succinct plan of exactly how your food trailer is going to work. Focus on daily business activities and strategies to support them.

Calculate your break even point, your profit margins, your supply chain, your manufacturers etc- everything that will be a part of operating your food truck, cover here.

Investors want to see concrete and sound plans for the operations of the business they are throwing money at. Investors will want to see a concrete understanding of where you’re getting your food from, the prices and how it will end up as a money making venture.

It can be a very data driven section, so using charts, graphs and tables is a great way to show processes and calculations without drowning the reader in thousands of words.

Food Trailer Marketing Plan

Marketing within the mobile food industry is quite different from marketing other industries, so forming a specific and measurable marketing plan for your food trailer is imperative.

You are quite literally demonstrating how you are going to make money- how you are going to have customers lined up outside your food trailer.

A full marketing strategy embodies many components. Consider the 4 P’s- product, price, promotion and place.

Product:

Brand name
Related products and services- are you offering just one menu, liquor etc.?
Functionality
How will your food be served and packaged?
Food Quality
Menu offering

Promotion:

Advertising
Marketing Budgets
Promotional Strategy
PR & Sales
Event calendar & attendance

Price:

Pricing strategies
Flexibility on pricing
Retail Price vs. wholesale pricing vs. seasonal pricing
Price competitiveness
Cost of supplies vs. retail cost

Place:

Supply chain(s)
Distribution channel(s)
Distribution center(s)
Logistics
Ordering and ordering processes
Transportation
Warehousing needs or manufacturing needs

Financial Plan

Down to the nitty gritty; the numbers.

Your financial plan speaks to the current and future financial projections of your food trailer.

Starting from the amount of capital you need to raise, how the money will be used and how much money will need to be interjected into the food trailer over time.

For example, you may only start by offering pasta dishes out of your food trailer on the streets of New York (lower initial capital) but you may plan to expand to offer pizza in the near future- the cost of a pizza oven would need investment at that time.

Provide income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements and projected sales/revenue. Use strong evidence and expert opinions to accurately assume future growth or the internal components of your business.

Remain transparent throughout your financial plan.

2Jun

Marketing for Food Trucks 101: 5 Tips

by CMK

Categories: Entrepreneur

Marketing for Food Trucks 101: 5 Tips We’ve Found to Work

Whether you’re considering entering the mobile food industry, or you’ve recently made your first food trailer purchase- congrats! You’re looking at a multi-million-dollar industry that has provided millions of entrepreneurs a profitable, long term career.

As with any venture, your marketing plan is essential – (as is your business plan, which we have covered right here for you.)

At the end of the day, food trailers and trucks require the same marketing as a brick and mortar joint. We see a very common misconception here all the time; business owners assume that as long as they roll up to a busy place with a decent food truck, the money will roll in.

People are always hungry, right? True- but it doesn’t guarantee you sales. You need a concrete business plan and a creative, well thought out marketing plan to really get your food trailer thriving.

What a Marketing Plan Will Do For Your Food Trailer Business

Just like your business plan, a marketing plan provides you with a succinct overview of how you’re going to place your business in the market and how.

For food trailers and trucks, a marketing plan helps to:

Create measurable goals
Motivate your business team
Create a timeline of marketing activities
Calculate ROI, break even points and other important numerical analysis
Form a succinct, defined SWOT analysis
Determine your advertising methods
Solidify your branding, messaging, tone etc.
Align marketing strategies with business goals
Accurately define your market, segmentation, target customer and demographics
Prioritize time and priorities
Assists you in spending money wisely, especially with advertising

Yeah- it’s pretty important that you create a marketing plan.

As we work with aspiring food trailer owners on a daily basis, we wanted to share some marketing tips from the pro’s.

5 Tips For Marketing a Killer Food Trailer Business

Build a Strong Social Media Base for Your Food Trailer

In today’s society, it may seem like a no brainer to actively engage in social media for any business. The reality is, however, social media engagement doesn’t work for every business.

For food trucks and trailers, social media is an absolute must.
Social media is one of the easiest ways to both build a following and communicate with that following.

That involves everything- your location, menu updates, events you’re attending, contests, giveaways etc. It’s the perfect moving ground for sharp & visually based content and forming a solid path of communication with your followers.

Utilize Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linked In and even Pintrest. Use the strengths of each platform to accelerate your business and brand within the mobile food world.

Another reason social media is so important? The mobile food industry is one built entirely off people on the go. And what do people do on the go?

They browse their smart phones.

They’re looking for new, fresh content. They want to know what’s going on behind the scenes. They want to see your menu and your team come to life, and they want to be driven to find you. They want to engage with brands, even from a distance. They want to share cool and exciting posts from their favorite brands and influencers.

The power of social media and networking is huge. A clear and defined social media strategy is one we consider pretty essential in your business mix.

Engage Your Food Trailer with Food Influencers

Influencers have a really powerful affect. They play a huge role in the purchasing decisions of their followers and heightening brand awareness.

People trust influencers- they trust their word and their reviews of businesses. Influencers end up being a confirmation that a business is worth checking out, or something is worth getting involved in.

Pro tip? Start small. Look at local influencers that have 4,000-9,000 followers in your area. You may not think this holds merit, but it really does. These influencers may not have millions of followers, but they d have a trusted and loyal following directly in your market segment.

This can prove actually more beneficial than reaching for a widespread influencer, were targeted ROI won’t be possible- and your message may be lost in the crowd.

Connect With Websites & Apps Created For Food Trailers

The disconnect between the online world and the mobile food industry was discovered pretty quickly.

Hungry patrons wanted to know which food trucks were in their area, or which were attending events they had planned. They wanted to see menu’s, pictures & stories behind food trailers near-by.

With that, hundreds of websites and apps were built to connect users to food trailers and trucks at the touch of a button.

Integration into these websites and apps is crucial. It increases your exposure, it increases your branding, it increases communication with new and existing customers.

No pun intended, but it puts you on the map. Quite literally.

Just like brick & mortar restaurants develop great relationships with apps like Yelp and Open Table, you should be looking to foster the same kind of relations with apps and websites made for your food trailer.

We hear about the best and the worst of these.

Want to skip the research, and connect with the top 5 apps and websites for food trailers? You’re welcome.

Your Food Trailer Needs Consistent Menu Redesigns

One of the worst things a food trailer owner can do is keep the same menu for months at a time.

The mobile food industry is busy, and consumers will easily forget about you if you bring nothing new to the table.

(We are a on a roll with puns today. Not intentional, we swear.)

Not only do menu redesigns help boost revenue, but they are a fantastic tool of communication with people to remind the of your brand and coax them into trying your new creations.

Don’t be alarmed. A menu redesign doesn’t necessarily entail redoing your whole menu. Rather, try incorporating seasonal ingredients into your dishes. Have a daily feature. Run a campaign of locally sourced ingredients, and make this clear in your marketing.

A brilliant idea we have recently heard? Highlight dishes inspired by your loyal customers. Let them design their experience.

Use Your Food Trailer to Display Your Online Handles

If people found you by chance, they’ll want to know how to connect with you.

They don’t want to put in the effort to find you, but they still want to find you.

(We know, we know.)

So, make your social media and online handles clear. Clearly display them on your food truck. Make sure they’re on your business cards. Got space on your takeout containers? Throw them on there.

15May

Food Truck For Sale”: 8 Things to Consider Before Buying

by CMK

Categories: Food Trailers

Food Truck For Sale”: 8 Things to Consider Before Buying

If the thought of owning a food trailer has now turned into a reality, you’ll likely be pretty ecstatic to

make your most important purchase yet: the trailer.
It’s not a decision to be made hastily though; this initial investment could be the downfall of your entire
business plan, if the right things aren’t considered before buying.
Similar to buying a vehicles, there are mechanical factors to look out for- but there are specific things to
look out for when buying mobile kitchens.
Whether you are buying new or used, consider the following before handing over the cash:

Ask These 10 Questions Before Buying a Food Trailer

Does it satisfy all the federal and municipal requirements and bylaws for food trailers?

You’d be surprised at how much the rules change from location to location.

(These first time food truck owners sure were.)

A trailer may satisfy all legal and municipal bylaws in one city but completely fail in another nearby. Permits, licences, food safety, staffing regulations and dozens more all differ based on where you end up. Prior to purchasing a food truck, you should have a defined location where you will be serving- or a path of multiple locations if that’s your game plan.

And pay really good attention to the bylaws and requirements in each area. Ensure that the food trailer satisfies each, or you could be left with a trailer that you’re not even allowed to use.

Does it come with warranties?

Geared mostly towards new food trailers, warranties are a beyond valuable thing to have- granted you know what they are. Used, but newer trailers, could also have existing warranties worth checking out.

Repairs on food trailers can get costly if paying out of pocket, so if possible- look for trailers with some good warranties attached.

Can it be rewrapped?

You don’t get a whole lot of space to show your brand off, and the visual look of a food truck can make
or break a sale for you.

If a food truck doesn’t look good from the outside- like clean, fresh – I won’t eat
there. Just looks like the food would be how it is on the outside, you know? – self admitted food truck addict

Some older trailers, oddly shaped trailers or those with heavy rust may not be able to be rewrapped- so you either make sure you love the design, or move on.

Will it accommodate your menu?

The ability to accommodate your menu is a factor you should consider in many decisions regarding your food trailer. Just like the decision to build your own food trailer or not, you have to consider whether the core of the trailer is built to support your menu or whether it can be adapted to do so.

If you’re planning to sell a lot of pre packaged food, you’d need to look for a trailer that houses a lot of storage or the ability to integrate additional storage in.

If your menu is intricate and detailed, your trailer would need to support a long prep line and
organization options.

You get the idea.

Will it hook up to mobile technology?

Gone are the days of cash, and while some mobile kitchens get away with cash only, a lot of urban cities and towns will demand debit and Wi-Fi options.

Customer service and inventory is greatly improved with a POS system, but you need to make sure that your trailer can support it.

Where did the trailer come from?

Whether you’re buying used or new, buying food trailers from places like Ebay, Craigslist or
Kijiji is never highly recommended.

There can be great trailers for sale in the mix, but with these platforms you really have no guarantee of what you’re getting. Sellers on these platforms can easily mislead buyers about the condition, any hidden problems, it’s history and warranties.

Choosing a reputable dealer- who often sell both new and used food trailers- pays off in the end, as you know exactly what you’re buying and from who.

What size and shape should the food trailer be?

You can do a thousand things with mobile kitchens, as these entrepreneurs show. With so many options as what you can do with a food trailer, you need to define the size and shape of the food trailer you need to suit your needs.

These beauties aren’t just standard size boxes anymore- there are some crazy variations of these mobile kitchens out there!

Has it been involved in any accidents?

Things happen, but you’ll want to know about any accidents the food trailer has been involved in.

You might not see the damage, but it certainly could be in there. And, as with everything in life, the outside appearance doesn’t always tell the full story – the damage could be worse than what it appears to be.

If the trailer has been in an accident, it doesn’t mean you should nix the idea- but you’ll want to check where it was repaired and grab a copy of the accident report to read over.

Sometimes mechanical problems come to the light somewhere down the road, and this you want to
avoid.

2May

Building Your Food Trailer Yourself: Can It Be Done?

by CMK

Categories: DIY, Food Trailers

Building Your Food Trailer Yourself: Can It Be Done?

Thinking of entering the mobile food industry with a kick-ass food trailer?

Great idea. A food trailers convenience, elevated functionalities and low price point, make them an ideal investment for aspiring culinary entrepreneurs to cook up some profit.

Building your own food trailer?

Not such a great idea.

Even for DIY professionals, building a food trailer- specifically the kitchen- isn’t really recommended. You might not be building a brick and mortar kitchen, but there are many factors you have to consider when it comes to food trailers and their operations. Yes, it can be done- but for a long term investment, outsourcing is likely your best bet.

Even the savviest builders can end up with a malfunctioning food trailer; yes, mobile kitchens operate the same as brick and mortar kitchens. However, the nature of where they are housed and how the components need to operate together differ greatly.

At the end of the day, safety triumphs cutting corners to save some dollars. In our experience in the food trailer industry, safety hazards are harder to avoid in such a small space, and knowledge of how to correctly build a food trailer kitchen is imperative.

Before you grab the tool box and browse online for an empty trailer, give consideration to a few things below before doing so:

Five Things to Consider Before Building Your Food Truck Yourself

1. Will It Actually Save You Money?

Building your own food trailer might save you money in labour costs, but have you factored in the price of buying the tools, supplies and appliances that you’ll need?

Buying them piece by piece yourself may actually be up to 30% more expensive than using a reputable dealer. Companies who focus on building food trailers and trucks have those awesome industry discounts, as well as discounts for ordering in bulk.

The money you save from labor may not make it back into your pocket once you are done sourcing and purchasing every individual item you’ll need.
Do You Know Everything You Need to Get?

There’s the obvious components- grills, deep dryers shelving units, fridges etc. While those are pretty standard, there are components of a well functioning food trailer that even DIY superstars forget.

Do you have the correct ventilation systems? Does your fire system align with the heat driven appliances in your kitchen? Have you looked into compression systems or overhead fans?

Once again, the placement and wiring of each component in a mobile kitchen may be similar to a brick and mortar kitchen, but you can’t forget that these kitchens are on wheels. The back of a trailer, in both set up and size, presents different challenges and requirements than building your home’s kitchen.

You also need to make sure that the functionalities of your mobile kitchen align with the menu and vision you have designed for your future business. You have limited space, and strategic design and placement ensures that your kitchen is set up to churn out the food and beverages you’ve chosen.

This can be hard to determine though. You really do have to be extremely saavy with the space you are given, and poor design and appliance placement can take up your entire kitchen without servicing your brand and menu at all.

2. The Requirements, Regulation and Building Codes of Food Trailers & Trucks

Admittedly, the regulations surrounding food trailers and trucks can be pretty overwhelming. Permits and licenses aside, your mobile kitchen has to be built to a pretty strict code to ensure that it’s safe for both you and the communities you’re serving.

And of course, like every regulated venture out there, the requirements for your food truck will differ from region to region; the hours you spend researching how to build your kitchen up to code might be entirely wasted once you travel to another region.

Experienced companies within the field are fluent in food trailer regulations, and design kitchens that will meet most, if not all requirements for every region. Food trailer builders understand:

Emissions guidelines
Proximity restrictions
Parking permits
Staffing regulations
Fire prevention system requirements
Health and sanitization station requirements
Food storage regulations
Sanitation requirements
Water supply requirements
Sewage and solid waste disposal
Toxic & harmful material reduction systems
Ventilation requirements
Lighting requirements

And that’s really only some of the rules you’ll have to research and abide by.

3. Do You Have a Set Budget?

With cost being the number one driver of building your food trailer yourself, you’d likely assume that you’ll come in miles behind buying through a reputable builder.

However, your budget can actually get away from you quite quickly if even one little thing goes off the rail.
Unexpected costs are, well, expected. But doing it yourself- you might end spending a whole lot more on mistakes than you originally planned to.
Even with a good idea of construction and the best intentions, you could easily surpass your budget by coming into unexpected mistakes, costs or missing items. Using a knowledgeable company to build your trailer saves you the unknown- we do this daily, and we know which speedbumps are coming and when.

4. How Much Customization Are You Looking For?

If you’re going into this whole heartedly (which you should be), your food trailer should look and operate exactly how you envisioned it. Not only should the internal guts of the trailer be 100% on point, but the outside should reflect you and your business.

That can be really hard to do by yourself.

Not to mention- costly. Singular custom wrapping of vehicles is inherently more expensive than doing so on a bulk discount, not to mention, your options will likely be way more limited.

Building a kitchen that is entirely customized to your needs may seem easy to plan, but again- limited space and a set budget can easily be derailed when the time comes. Hiccups happen more often than not when you branch outside a standard set up, and experience is usually the only thing that can help mitigate these hiccups.