5 Things Restaurant Franchise Owners Need To Know About Food Trucks

Whether you’re a restaurant franchise owner or own a sit-down restaurant, there are things you need to know about the food truck industry before joining.

You can take many strategies from your restaurants and apply them to your future food truck(s). But the important thing to keep in mind is that the food truck industry is different from the food industry. You’re going to find that out in a hurry, especially if you don’t do your research.

With that said, below you will find five things you need to know about food trucks.

5 Things Restaurant Franchise Owners Need To Know About Food Trucks

1. It’s Okay To Be Unique In The Food Truck Industry
2. Location Is An Invaluable Ingredient
3. While You Likely Have A Brand Built In, Marketing Is Still Important
4. You Have A Lot Of Freedom With A Food Truck
5. A Food Truck Might Be Cheaper Than A Sit-Down Restaurant, But That Doesn’t Make This Industry Easy

1.) It’s Okay To Be Unique In The Food Truck Industry

The food truck industry thrives off of uniqueness, from atmospheres and communities to food truck meals and concepts.

While you already have established menus and meals that your current customers love, it’s okay to add unique twists to your current meals. In fact, it’s encouraged in the mobile kitchen industry.

Just as a friendly tip — because cooks and chefs don’t want to be told what they should make — we encourage owners to try new ideas out at their food trucks and then incorporate them at their restaurants if they see some success in the form of sales.

2.) Location Is An Invaluable Ingredient

As you likely already know since you had to find the ideal location for your restaurant(s), location is an invaluable ingredient in the food truck industry. However, the good thing about the food truck industry is the fact that your business is mobile and you can park at as many locations as you would like, which also includes events and taking your kitchen to catering jobs (of course, regulations, permits, laws, etc., do come into play).

Taking this a step further, not all food trucks can (or want to) stay open year-round because of winter, and because there’s an offseason and busy season in this industry. Therefore, it’s important to figure out which city/state your food truck will succeed in, as well as what type of areas you want to serve food and attract customers (such as a business district, a downtown area, outside of a gym and the list could go on and on).

3.) While You Likely Have A Brand Built In, Marketing Is Still Important

You might already have a solid brand built in since you run multiple sit-down restaurants. But if you want to succeed in the food truck industry, you have market your food truck business.

Not only is it essential to tell your customers where you’re going to be next on your social media networks and website but it’s also essential to engage with your fans and followers on social media. In fact, social media is an invaluable tool that every food truck owner needs to implement, whether they already have a big following or not.

4.) You Have A Lot Of Freedom With A Food Truck

As the business owner, you have a lot of freedom with any of your restaurant locations. You call all of the shots as a result, and the food truck industry is flooding with freedom.

Not only can you travel to and from many different locations. It also opens the door to chefs being able to try many different things in the kitchen.

5.) A Food Truck Might Be Cheaper Than A Sit-Down Restaurant, But That Doesn’t Make This Industry Easy

A food truck tends to be cheaper than a sit-down restaurant when it comes to startup and overhead costs. However, we want restaurant franchises to know that it’s still a risk. Food trucks are not a get-rich-quick scheme. It’s still quite the feat to succeed in this industry.

You will still need to put a lot of time and effort into a food truck business despite the fact that it’s a smaller location and there are fewer employees to manage. Just like any other business venture, you still have to put in the work if you plan on achieving success.

If you would like a quote, Delivery Concepts has you covered–just click here to request a custom quote.
This article was originally published by Prestige Food Trucks, a Delivery Concepts company.