Are you about starting a food truck business? If YES, here is a complete sample mobile food truck business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE.
Okay, so we have analyzed and drafted a sample food truck marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for food truck businesses. Over the years, we have come to see different food business spring up. There is the food restaurant business, the food processing business, the food truck business, the food farming business, amongst many others.
However, we want to look at the food truck business here. Food truck businesses, over the decades just like other line of trades, have continued to welcome newbies into the profession. Meals like; local and intercontinental delicacies are being whipped up and it is important to add that it is indeed one trade that assures profit.
A Sample Food Truck Business Plan Template
1. Industry Overview
Food truck business can simply be classified as a restaurant on the go (mobile restaurant). Food truck is essentially a large truck that is equipped with the necessary gadgets to cook and conveniently sell food. It is a business venture that has come to stay; a business that is gaining momentum as the years roll by.
It has been estimated that truck food business serves about 2.5 Billion people daily worldwide (according to Wikipedia). The food truck business is a thriving business in some parts of the united states of America, Asian continents, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Belgium, Germany and Mexico et al.
Recent research and statistics rolled out by a Los Angeles-based industry-research firm called IBIS World, stated in their report that the street-food business which include mobile food trucks and non – mechanized carts rakes in about a $1 billion yearly. They went onward to state that the industry has experienced an 8.4 percent growth rate from 2007 to 2012.
One good thing about the food truck business is that it is far cheaper to start and operate when compared to the usual restaurant business with a fixed location. As a matter of fact, 78 percent of those who operate food truck business have four or fewer employees under their payroll.
For those who want to really make it big in the business, their best bet is to acquire larger trucks that can conveniently carry more foods and also accommodate more clients – the bigger your truck, the larger the quantity and variety of foods you can carry per time.
The only challenge you are likely going to face when you make use of a large food truck might be; sourcing for ideal space to park the truck in order to sell food to your customers and also a parking lot for the truck when you are off duty.
Basically, we have two types of food trucks. One of them is the mobile food preparation vehicle (MFPV). It is a truck where food is prepared based on customer’s need whilst they wait. Usually, these customers do not have to wait for a very longtime before getting their orders.
The second one is called the industrial catering vehicle (ICV). The industrial catering vehicle sell only prepackaged foods – as customers pay, they get their food immediately without any form of delay. Typically, the mobile food preparation vehicle (MFPV) is far more expensive when compared to the industrial catering vehicle (ICV).
The average cost of a brand new retrofitted food truck with all the required gadget is about $120,000 and a fairly used one can cost as much as $35,000 depending on the condition at the point of sale. A fairly used hot dog cart may likely cost $2,500, or lower.
In essence, the smaller the truck and the fewer the equipment in it; the lower the cost. In case you have a food truck that is not well equipped, you will just have to create an option of cooking your food in a kitchen before transferring them inside the truck.
No doubt the truck food business industry is regulated by key agencies to ensure that they meet the required food, drinks and drugs standard of the state where they operate. Complying with health-department rules and regulations is a must, especially if you want to legally and successfully run this type of business.
Usually in the United States, food trucks that are in active use are inspected at least once a year by a health department inspector, and most often they do it randomly. The inspectors check to see how food is prepared and how they are stored so that it does not spoil and that it is kept at the proper temperature.
Over and above, the truck food business is the way to go, if you don’t want to bother yourself with the cost of securing a location to build a restaurant, as well as if you want to make fast money from the restaurant cum food industry.
2. Executive Summary
On The Track® Mobile Food Company is a Los Angeles based restaurant business that makes use of food truck to sell various menu of foods; basically lunch meals to different category of clients on the go. It is a company that is owned and operated by Mrs. Shavonne who happens to be the Chief Operating Officer.
The aim of setting up On The Track® Mobile Food Company is to take our various types of meals and soft drinks (chapman, punch, non – alcoholic wines, smoothies, and fresh fruit juice et al) to wherever we can find our target market.
It could be on the beach, it could be at a picnic ground, it could be on a carnival ground, sports complex, as well as a religious crusade ground. All that we are concerned about is to provide good quality food at a cheaper price to our highly esteemed customers.
Our intention is to build a mobile truck food business brand, which will help event organizers worry less on how to provide a cafeteria where participants at their event can get lunch. We intend working with managers of public facilities and event planners throughout the State of California.
Despite the fact that we will be based in Inglewood – Los Angeles, areas where we cover won’t be restricted to this city; we will definitely cover the whole of California and even some neighboring states, as long as it is cost effective for us.
We will offer our customers the opportunity to either purchase our neatly packed foods or give us their orders and we will prepare it whilst they wait. We have perfected our plans not to allow our clients wait longer than necessary when they place their special orders.
Although we are a mobile truck food business company, we have our physical office facility (that accommodates our administrative unit, kitchen and store room) in Inglewood – Los Angeles. It is a place where people can come in to make enquiries about our business and also a place where we are able to interface with our vendors and government officials’ et al.
The point that we intend selling our franchise to interested entrepreneurs, who may want to replicate our business success in other States and Cities in the US and Canada and also the fact that we are building a brand with the intention to offer trainings and consultancy services to clients based on demand, makes it mandatory for us to secure and maintain a visible office facility and official website.
At On The Track® Mobile Food Company, our meals will be prepared, served and sold at a pocket friendly price in a neat and hygienic environment. The health of our customers is of top most priority to us, which is why we do not intend to leave any stone unturned when it comes to giving our clients the very best of services.
- Success Bench Mark
Although we intend starting with just one mobile food truck in Los Angeles, but our ultimate goal is to grow the business to a level where we have fleets (a minimum of a hundred) of mobile food trucks scattered all around United States of America and Canada within 10 years of launching the business.
We also intend to train a minimum of 100 entrepreneurs on mobile food truck business annually. Furthermore, we want to see that we create systems and processes so that our food truck business can run on auto – pilot.
3. Our Products and Services
The mobile food truck business might not be too ideal an environment to prepare and sell high end and expensive delicacies like; intercontinental meals et al. However, we at On The Track® Mobile Food Company is set to go all the way to ensure that we meet the basic needs of our esteemed customers.
As much as lies within our power, we will offer a variety of menus ranging from snacks, to real meals, and also assorted non – alcoholic drinks and wine. Here is a sneak peek at what we plan to offer;
- We sell lunch (assorted meals)
- We sell snacks
- We sell assorted drinks (Soft Drinks, Wines, smoothie, and punch, Fruit Juice, Chapman and Energy Drinks et al)
- We Sell franchise
- We offer training and consultancy services on mobile truck food business
4. Our Mission and Vision Statement
- To become the leading brand in mobile food truck business in Los Angeles and the whole of United States of America and Canada
- We are in the mobile food truck industry with the aim of building a brand that can meet the needs (foods, snacks and drinks) of our esteemed clients in places where they can hardly access standard cafeterias.
- And also to offer entrepreneurs the opportunity and training needed to successfully lunch their own mobile food truck business in other cities in the US and Canada
Our Management Structure
Most people who go into the mobile truck food business usually choose the business over the conventional restaurant business, simply because it is perhaps less expensive to manage especially when it comes to taking care of overhead and operational cost.
On the average, mobile food companies usually have 4 or 5 employees under their payroll. Because of the type of mobile food business brand that we intend building, we have been able to make provision for the following employees;
- Chief Operating Officer (Owner)
- Chef / Caterer
- Assistant Caterer
- Sales Girl
- Cashiers
- Driver
- Office Administrator
5. Job Roles and Responsibilities
Chief Operating Officer (owner):
- Responsible for providing direction for the business
- Creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
- Responsible for the day to day running of the business
- Responsible for fixing prices
- Responsible for recruitment
- Responsible for payment of salaries
- Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
- Evaluates the success of the organization
Chef / Caterer /Cooks:
- Responsible for preparing delicacies
- Makes lists and budget for kitchen supplies
- Oversee the entire kitchen staff
- Responsible for training new cooks
- Makes sure that the meals being whipped up tastes really good
Kitchen Assistant / Utility Staff:
- Assist the chef/ cook in the kitchen
- Ensures that all the needed cooking ingredients are in supply
- Runs errand for the chef / cook and every member of the workforce
- Ensures that the kitchen area of the truck is clean and hygienic at all times
- Responsible for washing cooking pots, utensil and dishes when necessary
- Assists in packaging food and snacks
- Responsible for moving packed foods from the kitchen to the cubicle / point of sale
- Ensures that various types of drinks are present in the fridge per time (get them replaced as soon as they are sold)
- Any other duty as assigned by the line manager
Sales Girl:
- Interfaces with our highly esteem customers
- Collects orders and issues foods as demanded by customers after payment
- Keeps proper records of daily sales and then reconcile with the cashier
- Responsible for manning the fridge and every stuffs that are up for sale
- Any other duty as assigned by the Chief Operating Officer
Cashier:
- Receives payments on behalf of the company (POS, cash, mobile money et al)
- Issues receipt to customers
- Prepares financial report at the end of every working week
- Handles all financial transaction on behalf of the company
- Any other duty as assigned by the Chief Operating Officer
Driver:
- Responsible for driving the truck to sales venues and back to base
- Ensures that the truck is in top shape at all times
- Ensures that maintenance schedules for the truck are strictly followed
- Responsible for renewing the vehicle license, insurance and any other documentation for the vehicle as at when due
- Any other duty as assigned by the restaurant manager
Office Administrator:
- Responsible for managing the daily activities of the back end office
- Prepares payroll for the organization
- Prepare monthly financial report for the organization
- Interfaces with vendors and third party suppliers ( drink suppliers, raw food suppliers and maintenance team et al)
- Responds to enquiries on behalf of the company
- Handles phone calls for the company
- Manage the company’s e-mail and website
- Interfaces with our bankers (lodgment of cash, checks and bank drafts et al)
- Responsible for payment of tax, levies and utility bills
- Any other duty as assigned by the Chief Operating Officer
6. SWOT Analysis
As a team together with our paid business consultants, we have been able to look both inward and outward, as well as critically assess ourselves and business ideas to know if we are truly ready to launch our mobile food truck business in Los Angeles.
No doubt, we have a lot of factors working in our favor but at the same time we have some factors that we must contend with if we intend becoming the number one brand when it comes to mobile food truck business in Los Angeles and the whole of North America. Below is a summary of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of On the Track® Mobile Food Company;
- Strength:
Aside from the trainings that have been acquired, as well as the hands on experience attained over the years prior to starting On The Track ® Mobile Food Company, our strength lies in our financial capacity and determination to succeed in the business at all cost. We have been able to acquire a brand new mobile food preparation vehicle (MFPV).
It has the capacity to meet the needs of well over 500 customers per day. Our strength also lies in the fact that we have relationship with brand experts who are working almost for free for us. With that, will be able to build our brand to a level where we can start selling franchises and offer trainings and consultancy services on mobile food truck business.
- Weakness:
The fact that we are planning to roll out our mobile truck business alongside other similar business offerings like training, consultancy services and sale of franchise could distract us from concentrating and channeling our energy in one direction.
We are quite aware of that and we are working towards blocking any area that will sap our energy and make us under performed in our core business area – sale of foods and drinks from a mobile truck.
- Opportunities:
The opportunities that we stand to leverage on are much. The fact that we are not tied down to a location is indeed a good opportunity for us to grow our business to the level we want to grow it to. For example; we can afford to trade foods, snacks and drinks in more than two locations within a day. It is all about knowing when to arrive and leave for another location.
- Threat:
There is hardly any business venture that doesn’t face its own threat. Regarding mobile food truck business, one of the threat that we may likely face is; vehicular traffic in key cities.
Traffic can delay one and as a result of that one may get to the location where one intend selling the foods and drinks late- this could be when the lunch break is over (basically for organized events). Yet another threat is; the government policies, which could also pose a great threat to the mobile food truck industry.
7. MARKET ANALYSIS
- Market Trends
In this dispensation more than ever before, people no longer have sufficient time to do all they would want to do within the available 24 hours.
Hence, the rise of fast food restaurants all over the cities. As such, mobile food truck business is another business that is designed to fit into a dispensation like ours. Part of the marketing and sales strategies that we shall adopt include but not limited to the following;
- Submit proposals to event management companies to become their official mobile food vendor
- Submit proposals to management of public facility (sport centers, beach and schools, et al) to become their official mobile food vendor
- Send proposals to schools and corporate organizations to become their official mobile food vendor
- Sponsor relevant events, such as cooking competitions, and cultural events, et al.
8. Our Target Market
When it comes to mobile food truck business, there are no restrictions to the market you can explore, as long as you are operating within the law of the state where you are conducting your business. We do not intend to place any limit to the scope of our target market and these are the places / locations where we intend operating our mobile food truck business with the aim of maximizing sales;
- Construction sites
- Tourism locations
- University Campuses
- Carnival ground
- Stadiums and sport centers
- Community Outdoor Events
- Blue Collar work locations
- Farmers Markets
- Industrial Parks
- Movie Recording Location
- Farmers Market
- Military Bases
- Office Complexes
- Mechanic Villages
- Open air shows and programs
Our Competitive Advantage
Loads of factors count towards our advantage as a mobile food truck business operator. The fact that we have the ability to determine where we want to sell our foods and drinks per time gives us the leverage to make as much sales as we can make in a day.
It has been observed that any organization that offers training and consultancy services is always amongst the leaders in their industry and we at On The Track® Mobile Food Company are set to tow along this part because we want to become experts and amongst the leading mobile food truck company in the whole of the US and Canada.
We have put plans in place to facilitate continuous improvement on what we do, because we know that is one of the factors that will be give us competitive advantage in the marketplace. Another competitive advantage that we have as a company is the size and condition of or food truck.
We have been able to purchase a brand new retrofitted food truck with all the required gadget. It is big enough to accommodate all that we would need for the business, we are going to spend less on maintenance and we can easily obtain approval from the appropriate authorities.
9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY
Sources of Income
- Sales of launch (meals)
- Sales of Snacks
- Offering training services
- Offering consultancy services in line with our business goal
- Sales of drinks
- Sales of our franchise
10. Sales Forecast
It is important to state that our sales forecast is based on the data gathered during our feasibility studies and also assumptions. This is for sales projections based on what we saw.
Lunch:
- 1000 lunches per day (on average), 12 months per year
- $20 per person on the average
Snacks:
- 1500 snacks per day, 12 months per year
- $5 per person on the average
Sales of Drinks and Water et al:
- On the average over 80% of people who purchase lunch (meal) and snacks would normally consume drinks as well.
- $1.5 for a bottle of coke
- This equates to 2000 drinks in a day when you multiply 2000 by 1.5 we will make an estimate of $3000 daily from the sale of drinks alone.
N.B: The possibility of the figure to increase or even reduce cannot be ruled out. Since most of the figures quoted above are partly based on the report from our market survey and feasibility studies and partly on assumptions.
- Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy
Food truck business is one business that requires little adjustment on the field to be able to turn low sales into great sales. For instance; if you are in a location where the sale is very slow, you can decide to change location and move to a place where you feel you can generate more income and sell more of your foods.
It is just a matter of driving to the location. There are several ways that we intend adopting to promote our mobile food truck business and here are some of them;
- Through Direct Marketing
- Submitting proposals and biding for contracts
- Sales Reps
- Online Marketing (via our official website, social media platforms and blog et al)
- Revenue Sharing Business Partners (Networking with Event Planners, Facility managers and Business Contractors et al)
11. Our Pricing Strategy
Generally food truck business sells meals, and snacks at a cheaper rate when compared to the conventional fixed – restaurant. We don’t have any plans to sell our foods, snacks and drinks beyond the prices that is obtainable in the industry.
That does not mean that we will fall below standard when it comes to the quality of our food. As a matter of fact, one of our strongest selling points will be the taste and perhaps the quantity of our foods when compared to our competitors.
From our market survey and feasibility studies, we are sure going to make reasonable profits even when we sell a little below the average price for package foods and snacks in the food truck industry, especially if the location we intend selling our foods and drinks is not far away from our base.
- Payment Options
Our payment policy is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them. Here are the payment options that will be available to customers when they patronize us;
- Payment by cash
- Payment via Point of Sale (POS) Machine
- Payment via online bank transfer (preferably for those who would need our consultancy services, training or purchase our franchise)
- Payment via check (preferably for those who would need our consultancy services, training or purchase our franchise)
- Payment via Mobile money
There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to determining how much it will cost an individual to start a business. The size and capacity of the business you intend starting is what will determine the size of your budget. We have decided to start On The Track® Mobile Food Company with just one truck with the hope of growing it to fleets of truck few years down the line.
So, our budget is based on starting small but with class. As such, here is a picture of the areas we will spend our start – up capital;
12. Startup Expenditure (Budget)
- The Fee for Registering the Business: $725.
- The budget for insurance, permits and license: $10,000
- The Amount needed to rent an office facility with store and parking for 6 months in Inglewood, Los Angeles: $50,000.
- The Cost for the purchase of the purchase of a brand new retrofitted food truck with all the required gadget (oven, rotisserie, coffee pots, grill, hot – dog roller and refrigerator): $120,000.
- The Cost for kitchen utensils, and pots et al: $15,000
- The Cost for supply of raw foods, ingredients, drinks and beverages for a month: $5,000
- The cost for food packaging: $2,000
- The cost for a food cart: $3,000
- The Cost of Launching a Website: $600
- The cost for parking and maintenance of the truck for one month: $300
- Additional Expenditure (Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions et al): $5,000
The total cost we are likely going to spend from start to when the business is fully operational is estimated to be at about $250,000 (please note that the payment for the brand new retrofitted food truck is spread over a period of 48 months).
Financial Projection and Forecast
Businesses that do pretty well are businesses that have more than one source where they generate revenue. It is risky to run a business where you can only generate income from just one source. The truth is that if anything goes wrong with the source of income, the business might likely collapse.
This is why we worked hard to provide you with a sample food truck marketing plan template to help you through the process. The big picture we have for On The Go® Mobile Food Company is to generate income from the following sources;
Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Our Mobile Food Company
We don’t have the intention of bringing business partners outside the family to invest in the business, at least for the first 5 years of running the business that is why we have restricted raising our startup capital to;
- Generate part of the start – up capital from my savings
- Source for soft loans from family members and friends
- Obtaining loan from the bank
N.B: We have been able to generate well over 60 percent of the money we would need to kick start the business and most of the gadgets that we purchased are based on installment payment for a period of time. As regards our brand new retrofitted food truck we have the arrangement to spread the payment for a period of 48 months.
13. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy
The joy of any business owner is to see the business grow to become as big as possible in their industry. But the truth is that for a business to experience growth, the business must be self-sustained. At On The Track® Mobile Food Company, our major goal and aspiration is to build a world class mobile food truck business from just one food truck in the city of Los Angeles to fleets of trucks in major cities in the US and Canada.
In order to sustain the business, we have been able to create channels that will help us access multiple streams of income within the same food industry. We are aware that in the bid of pursuing business expansion, we might lose focus which is why all what we intend to do with the business revolve around our core business offering.
Check List / Milestone
- Culinary Training Plan : Completed
- Business Name Availability Check: Completed
- Business Registration: Completed
- Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
- Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
- Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
- Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
- Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
- Obtaining a Commercial Vehicle Operator’s Registration for the truck: Completed
- Obtaining a food handler certificate
- Obtaining appropriate driver’s licenses for the driver: Completed
- Obtaining permits for each municipality we intend to operate our business : In Progress
- Purchase of business and liability insurance for the Business: Completed
- Renting and furnishing our office facility: completed
- Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
- Generating capital from family members and friends: Completed
- Applications for Loan: Completed
- Writing of business plan: Completed
- Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
- Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: Completed
- Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
- Graphic Designs (on the body of the truck) and Printing of Marketing / Promotional Materials: In Progress
- Recruitment of chef and other key employees: In Progress
- Purchase of the needed food truck: Completed
- Purchase of Kitchen Utensils, plates, cups, cutleries, and other accessories: Completed
- Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
- Creating Awareness for the business both online and in the neighborhood: In Progress
- Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: Completed
- Compilation of foods, snacks and drinks on our menu list: Completed
- Design and preparation of our training modules: Completed
- Establishing business relationship with vendors – suppliers of raw food ingredient and drinks: Completed
- Proof of ownership, proper identification and license (of the vehicle): Completed
- Proof of District-issued Food Manager Identification Card: Completed
- Food-purchase record storage and record keeping software: Completed
- Copy of license for the service support facility and/or a recent inspection report: Completed