Do you want to start a street food business but want to go niche and be unique? If YES, here are 38 best street food related business ideas / opportunities.
One of the businesses that can hardly go wrong especially if you get things right prior to starting the business is a food related business. Food is top on the list of human needs hence the viability and profitability of food related businesses. When we talk about street food, we are talking about the easy to prepare food that you can readily purchase and eat right there on the street.
As a matter of fact, there is hardly any area such as carnival sites, construction sites, sporting event centers, campgrounds, parks, beach, campuses, office complexes, military bases, industrial parks, farmer’s markets, cinemas, religious centers et al, where you won’t find one or more businesses that prepare and sell street food.
The fact that there are available customers makes the business quite popular not just in the united states of America, but all across the globe. Little wonder food trucks, and other portable food kiosks and food carts are on the front line of the street food industry and they serve an estimated 2.5 billion people daily.
Good enough, there is no clearly defined list of food that can be considered as street food; and as such, any food that is easy to prepare and can conveniently be eaten in and around the street can be considered as street food, and they vary from one culture to another.
If you are interested in leveraging on the viability and of course profitability of food related businesses to launch your own street food business, here are some best street food business ideas you can comfortably choose from.
Best Street Food Business ideas
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Barbecue Stands
When we talk about street food, one of the food that readily comes to mind is barbecue. This is because people love barbecued foods especially if it is within their reach. A standard barbecue stand is known to sell barbecued beef, chicken, turkey, bacon, pork, fish and corn et al.
So, if you are looking towards starting a street food business, you should consider starting a barbecue stand. Just ensure that your barbecue stand is strategically positioned in a location with high human and vehicular traffic and you won’t struggle to welcome customers.
Hot dog and sausage stand is yet another profitable street food related business idea that an aspiring entrepreneur can start without breaking the bank. Hot Dog and Sausage stands mainly serve hot dog and sausage filled pastries from their stands or kiosks or even mobile truck as the case may be.
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Cooked and Roasted Maize/Corn Stand
In Africa, and of course in African dominated communities in the United States and all across the globe, you are likely going to find cooked and roasted corn stands; an outlet where people patronize freshly cooked or roasted corns. You will quite agree that freshly prepared corn is one of the healthy foods or snacks out there.
Corn is very nutritious and it is eaten in various forms by both humans and livestock. If you are interested in starting this type of business, then you must ensure that your stand is located in a location that is prone to human and vehicular traffic and for sure you won’t struggle to grow the business.
Another pretty popular street food business is ice cream mobile truck business. This is a simple business that an aspiring entrepreneur should consider starting. Ice cream has been around for many years (since the invention of fridges and deep freezers) and they can be found in various flavors in all countries of the world including countries in the Polar Regions.
Ice cream is consumed by almost everybody, and anyone who chooses to establish an ice cream mobile truck business in any part of the world especially in tropical regions is sure going to get good returns on his or her investment as long as they are doing the right thing.
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Snow Cone Mobile Truck Business
Snow cone mobile truck is yet another popular street food business that is open to all and sundry. Snow cones are a variation of shaved ice or ground-up ice desserts commonly served throughout the United States of America and Canada in paper cones or foam cups.
The dessert consists of ice shavings that are topped with flavored sugar syrup. Snow cone flavors include Cherry, Grape, Blue Raspberry, Strawberry, Lemon-Lime, Banana, Tiger’s Blood, Root Beer, Watermelon, and Pina Colada et al. So, if you are looking towards starting a street related food business, then one of your options is to start a snow cone mobile truck business.
Another popular and no doubt profitable street food business that you can find all across the globe are popcorn stands. A popcorn stand is a little stand in the street or a kiosk or a mobile food truck where different flavors of popcorn are churned out and retailed to customers right there in the street.
This is a business that requires very minimal startup capital and little or no prior business skills. So, if you are looking for a less stressful street food related business to start, then one of your options is to start a popcorn business.
Starting a donut business is yet another profitable street food business that is open to all aspiring entrepreneurs. The fact that people eat donut in all parts of the world makes the business worth pursuing. A donut business is a business that primarily sells donuts, snacks and may also sell coffee, alcoholic and other beverages.
So, if you are considering starting a street food business, then one of the business ideas you can choose from is to open a donut stand. In order to maximize profit in this line of business, you must be willing to adopt the mobile truck approach to sell your donuts.
Another street food business that an aspiring entrepreneur can successfully start is a cupcake retail outlet that strictly prepares and serves cupcakes and perhaps soft drinks and beverages. Cupcake is type of cake that originated from the United States.
It is a small cake that is baked in small thin paper or aluminum cup and topped with unique designs just to serve one person.
Asides from the fact that it is a small cake, it still contains icing, candy or all other decorations that can be found in big cakes. Cupcakes can also be called fairy cake or patty cake especially in places like England and Australia. If you are a baker or even a caterer, it is easier for you to venture into cupcake retail business.
It is normal to find those who are in the business of preparing and retailing shawarma on the streets because that is the most appropriate model for this type of business. Shawarma which originated from Levantine in the Middle East is a meat preparation where lamb, turkey, chicken, beef, buffalo meat, veal or mixed meats are places on a vertical spit in a restaurant.
It is often grilled for a whole day. Shawarma is eaten as a fast food that is made up into a sandwich wrap with bread or pita alongside vegetables. Vegetables such as cucumber, onion, tomato, lettuce, eggplant, cabbage, pickles or rhubarb et al can also be included.
Similar to running a shawarma stand is running a pizza kiosk. No doubt, it is another thriving and profitable street food business that an aspiring entrepreneur who is looking towards starting a business should consider. A pizza kiosk prepares and serves freshly made pizza.
The fact that pizza is consumed in all parts of the world makes this business a good business to start. So, if you are looking towards starting a street food business, then you should consider opening a pizza kiosk.
Frozen yogurt mobile cart business is yet another profitable street food business that is open to all and sundry. Yogurts are loved for their health benefits, and anyone who chooses to establish a frozen yogurt mobile cart business in any part of the world especially in tropical regions is sure going to get good returns on his or her investment as long as they handle the business right.
So, if you are considering starting a street food business, then one of your options is to operate a frozen yogurt mobile cart.
Opening a smoothie drink stand/kiosk in a street corner or park is yet another popular street food business that an aspiring entrepreneur can successfully start in any part of the world. A smoothie is a blended, sometimes sweetened beverage primarily made from fresh fruit or vegetables and sometimes combined with ice, frozen fruit or other frozen ingredients.
Some smoothie stands give their clients the option of add-ins like soy milk, whey powder, green tea and herbal or nutritional supplements et al. Smoothie drinks have been around for many years, but they are becoming more popular in recent time due to the health benefits that come with it.
French fries stand is yet another popular street food related business that an aspiring entrepreneur can successfully start and make good money from. An ideal French fries stand or kiosk, is usually engaged in preparing and retailing snack foods such as potato and corn chips, pretzels, roasted and salted nuts, nut butters, popcorn and other related snacks.
These snacks are consumed by a whole lot of people across the globe. So, if you are considering starting a street food related business, then you should consider opening a French fries stand or kiosk in a busy street corner or park.
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Snacks and Drinks Retail Outlet
Snacks and drinks retail outlets which is the face of street food can be readily found on carnival sites, construction sites, sporting event centers, campgrounds, parks, beach, campuses, and office complexes et al. There are loads of snacks and assorted soft drinks and beverages that can be traded on. So, if you are considering starting a street food business, then you can consider retailing snacks and drinks.
Another street food related business that is open to an aspiring entrepreneur is mobile coffee business. If you are interested in starting a mobile coffee business, then you must ensure that you have a wide variety of coffee and also snacks to go with it because that is exactly what will attract customers to you.
There are different types of coffee drinks that you can find in a mobile coffee cart like cappuccino, espresso, iced coffee, decaffeinated coffee, alcoholic coffee (Irish Coffee and Brandy Coffee et al), filtered coffee, cold brew coffee, Turkish coffee, coffee with milk, coffee or espresso with whipped cream, and flavored coffee et al. So, if you are looking towards starting a street food business, then you should consider starting a mobile coffee business.
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Kombucha Drink Stand
Starting a kombucha drink stand is yet another sustainable street food related business idea that an aspiring entrepreneur can consider starting. Kombucha drinks are an assortment of fermented, lightly effervescent sweetened black or green tea drinks that are commonly intended as functional beverages because of the acclaimed health benefits.
The drink is produced by fermenting tea using a “symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast” (SCOBY). If you are interested in opening a kombucha drink stand, then ensure that you also prepare and serve snacks if indeed you want to maximize profits from the business.
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Small Chops and Drinks Stand
Another good street food business idea that can be started in any part of the world is a small chops and drinks stand. Small chops are popularly served in parties as appetizers. Small chops are made from flour and other ingredients.
If you are looking towards starting a street food business, then you can settle for a small chops and drinks stand. One good thing about this business is that aside from preparing and serving small chops and drinks from your stand, you can also supply small chops to people organizing parties or other events.
Opening a sushi stand is of course another worthwhile and lucrative street food business idea that is up for grabs. The fact that loads of people all across the globe love freshly prepared sushi rolls means that the business is worth starting in the United States of America and in any part of the world. In order to maximize profits in this line of business, just ensure that you also retail soft drinks and bottled water.
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Open a Dessert Bar business
Opening a dessert bar is yet another sustainable and money – making business venture that an aspiring entrepreneur can successfully start in the United States of America and of course in any part of the world. Dessert bars, or simply bars or squares, are a type of American “bar cookie” that has the texture of a firm cake and is softer than usual cookie.
They are prepared in a pan and then baked in the oven. They are cut into squares or rectangles. The ingredients used in the production of dessert bars are sugar, eggs, butter, flour, milk, chocolate chips, nuts, jam, coconut, cocoa powder, graham cracker, pudding, mini-marshmallows and peanut butter. More exotic bars can be made with sour cream, rhubarb, pretzels, candies, vanilla, raisins, and pumpkin.
Another flourishing and lucrative street food business that an aspiring entrepreneur should consider starting is a frozen custard stand. Frozen custard is a cold dessert just like ice cream, but it is made with eggs in addition to cream and sugar.
It is usually kept at a warmer temperature compared to ice cream, and typically has a denser consistency. Both ice cream and frozen custard are made with milk, cream and sugar. There is no major difference in ingredients and the same machine is used to make frozen dessert and ice cream.
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Sandwich Store
Another worthwhile street food business that an aspiring entrepreneur who is interested in starting a street food related business should consider starting is a store that serves sandwich and soft drinks. In order to do pretty well in this line of business, just ensure that you come up with unique sandwich menu that will keep your customers coming back.
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Hamburger Kiosk Business
Starting a business that is into preparing and serving hamburger and soft drinks is yet another flourishing and easy to start street food related business that requires minimal startup capital.
The fact that a lot of people eat hamburgers makes the business a sustainable business to start in any part of the world. So, if you are considering starting a street food related business, then you should consider opening a hamburger kiosk in a busy street corner in your city.
23. Open a Shave Ice Stand
Opening a shave ice stand is yet another viable street food business that an aspiring entrepreneur can successfully start with very minimal startup capital. Shave ice or Hawaiian shave ice as it is popularly called is an ice-based dessert made by shaving a block of ice. Even though the product looks like a snow cone, but snow cones are made with crushed ice as against shaved ice.
Shave ice or ground-up ice desserts are commonly served throughout the United States of America and Canada in a conical paper or plastic cup with multiple flavors and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and/or azuki bean paste at the bottom of the cup.
They are often flavored with local ingredients such as guava, pineapple, coconut cream, passion fruit, li hing mui, lychee, kiwi fruit and mango.
Similar to sandwich food stand is a toast bread and tea/coffee shop. This is one business that can thrive in any part of the world and of course it is a business that requires minimal startup capital. It is common to find toast bread and tea/coffee stands in places such as train stations, airports, jetties, bus terminus and parks et al.
So, if you are looking towards starting a street food business, then one of your options is to open a toast bread and tea/coffee shop in a busy street in your city.
25. Italian Ice Food Truck Business
Starting an Italian ice food truck business is yet another money making street food related business that is open to any aspiring entrepreneur who is interested in starting a street food business.
The Italian Ice Cream and Gelato Store industry of which Italian ice belongs to has come a long way and it is still evolving with a good number of Italian ice dessert makers bringing in creativity in terms of flavors, packaging and mode of selling.
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Open a Fruit Court
There are people who would rather eat fruits than popular flour based snacks. This goes to show that opening a fruit court is another street food related business that an aspiring entrepreneur who is interested in starting a street food business should consider.
A fruit court is an outlet that retails a wide variety of fresh fruits. Fresh fruits such as Banana, Pineapple, Papaya, Strawberry, Blueberry, Raspberry, Plum, Mango, Apple, Cucumber, Dragon Fruits, Oranges, Grapes, Limes, Avocado and a host of other fruits can be found in a standard fruit court.
Opening a fresh fruit juice bar that also serve snacks is yet another worthwhile street food business that an aspiring entrepreneur can successfully start in any part of the world.
If you are contemplating starting your own fruit juice bar in the United States, you should ensure that you carry out a thorough research on it. If you get some key factors wrong before starting your own fruit juice bar business, then you are likely going to struggle to stay afloat.
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Open a Salad Bar
Another flourishing street food business idea that an aspiring entrepreneur who is interested in starting a street food related business should consider starting is a salad bar.
A good number of salad bars provide lettuce, chopped tomatoes, assorted raw, sliced vegetables (such as cucumbers, carrots, celery, olives and green or red bell peppers), dried bread croutons, bacon bits, shredded cheese, and various types of salad dressing.
It is important to state that some salad bars also have additional food items such as cooked cold meats, (turkey, chicken, ham, or tuna), cooked beans (e.g., chick peas, garbanzo beans or kidney beans), boiled eggs, cottage cheese, cold pasta salads, tortilla chips, bread rolls, soup, and fresh cut fruit slices.
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Open a Nuts, Grains and Beans Kiosk
Opening a kiosk that is dedicated towards preparing and serving nuts, grains and beans et al is yet another street food related business that an aspiring entrepreneur can successfully start. The fact that people are turning to healthy food makes nuts, grains and beans kiosk business a promising and profitable business to venture in.
So, if you are looking towards starting a street food related business, then one of your options is to open a nuts, grains and beans kiosk business. Just ensure that you choose a good location to position your kiosk; a location that is prone to both human and vehicular traffic.
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Open Seafood Grilling Stand
Opening a seafood grilling stand is yet another workable street food business idea that an aspiring who is looking towards leveraging on the street food industry should consider.
Seafood can be cooked, fried, grilled or roasted, and once they are well spiced, they taste really nice especially when consumed with chilled drinks. So, if you are looking towards starting a street food related business, then you should consider opening a seafood grilling stand.
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Open a Homemade Cookies Kiosk
Another viable and of course profitable street food related business that an aspiring entrepreneur who is interested in starting a street food related business can start is to open a homemade cookie kiosk. Homemade cookies are cookies that are made from the home and not in a factory where there is mass production of cookies.
Those who retail homemade cookies ensure that they target locations where they can easily attract children because children are the major consumers of homemade cookies.
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Open Grilled Chicken and Turkey Stand
Opening a grilled chicken and turkey stand is yet another thriving and profitable street food related business that an entrepreneur can successfully start in the United States of America and of course in any country of the world. Loads of eat grilled chicken and turkey meat on a daily basis hence the need to have grilled chicken and turkey stand right there in the street to able to meet the needs of grilled chicken and turkey consumers.
As an aspiring entrepreneur, if you have the required startup capital and experience, then you should consider starting your own grilled chicken and turkey business. You can also serve drinks if indeed you want to maximize profits in this line of business.
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Open a Roasted Plantain and Yam Stand
Another street food related business that is sure going to do well in Africa and of course within African communities all across the world is roasted plantain and yam stand. Roasted plantain and yam alongside roasted groundnut are top on the list when you talk about street food in Africa.
They are consumed by loads of people as snacks. So, if you are looking towards starting a street food related business, then one of your options is to open a roasted plantain and yam stand. Just ensure that you locate this business in and around African communities and you will be amazed at the rate people will patronize your business.
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Open Bean Cake Stand
A bean cake stand which is popularly called Akara stand in Nigeria is yet another interesting street food related business that is popular in Nigeria and West Africa and perhaps within Nigerian cum African migrant communities. Bean cake is made from beans and they can be eaten with bread, pap and custard.
So, if you are of Nigeria descent who is living in the diaspora and you are looking towards starting a street food related business, then one of your best options is to open a bean cake stand.
Opening a store where you are going to be retailing varieties of biscuits and candies is one good business idea that an aspiring entrepreneur with low startup capital can successfully start.
If you are thinking of opening a biscuit and candies store, then you should target locating the business close to a school or children’s park/playground. This is because children are the major consumers of biscuits and candies. Just ensure that your kiosk is stocked with varieties of biscuits and candies and you won’t struggle to generate sales daily.
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Open a Noodles and Spaghetti Stand
Noodles and spaghetti stand is another sustainable street food business that an aspiring entrepreneur should consider starting. The truth is that if you are good in whipping up tasty and mouth – watering noodles and spaghetti, people will always patronize your business.
So, if you are looking towards starting a street food related business, then one of your options is to open a stand where noodles and spaghetti will be prepared and served.
Another profitable street food related business that an investor who is interested in starting a street food related business should consider is a fast food restaurant. A fast food restaurant is a restaurant where clients pay for quick-service food products before eating.
The food purchased may be consumed in the restaurant, taken out or delivered as requested. Gross revenue generated in the industry is derived from both franchised and company – owned fast food outlets. Franchise fees (up-front costs associated with opening a franchise) are also accounted for in the revenue generated in the industry.
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Open a Mexican Food Stand Business
Opening a Mexican food stand is another profitable and thriving business that can pass for a street food business especially in the United States of America. Mexican food stands mainly prepare and sell Mexican-style (including Tex-Mex) food to their customers.
If you are a Mexican living in the United States and you looking towards leveraging on the vast population of Mexican descent in the US to generate revenue, then one of your best options is to start a Mexican food stand business.
The truth is that if you can successfully start a Mexican food stand in the United States, your clients aren’t going to be just Mexicans but every other person within your location who love exploring delicacies from different parts of the world.