Don’t you just love street food? I do. The smell of the cooking wafting towards you and like the Bisto kids, you naturally follow the smell to the source – usually a fixed pitch, gazebo or truck selling delicious, freshly cooked street food from a simple menu.
I’m obviously not the only person who appreciates good street food – today food trucks are the fastest-growing channels in the food service industry with revenues reaching a whopping £1.8 million.
Summer is finally here, so more and more people will be out and about, and this is great for those in the street food business.
It’s all about location, location, location. Getting a static pitch can often be tricky and limiting so why not expand your business and get a truck? This is a relatively inexpensive option to widen your reach and can be done for less than £50,000.
So why are food trucks so popular? They give you the flexibility, diversity and ability to quickly and easily test new concepts, menu items and recipes. They can also cater to various tastes in different locations.
My client Mac to the Future has a terrific business running from a static location in Brixton Beach and now also a vintage truck. He’s now out on the road selling his very successful Macaroni and Cheese in various different locations, including London Zoo.
We have just returned from two weeks in France and I saw some great street food trailers in the local village markets, ranging from proper barista made coffee to a cake stall where the owner actually made fresh cakes from scratch at the market and the smell of the cakes baking was just heavenly. Rotisserie chickens are also very popular – but you have to order yours early on otherwise they are sold out!
These are good small businesses selling a quality product and they take pride in what they produce. This is why the street food business is booming at the moment – we now live in a society that is less tolerant of poor quality – if we pay for something fresh it needs to be delicious, otherwise we might as well just make it ourselves!
Top Tips:
(1) The flexibility and diversity of the food truck makes it an attractive entrepreneurial venture as start-up costs are relatively low
(2) Make sure that what you make and sell is delicious so that customers come back for more
(3) Embrace and enjoy the foodie culture
