Food truck distribution is quite different from a brick-and-mortar location in a whole lot of ways. Note that food trucks are attributed to modifying the culinary business landscape, and this has made it a lot more attractive.
Distribution especially in the food industry describes both the middlemen that take part in distributing food products from manufacturers to consumers.
Enterprises, programs, and organizations are known to take part in the collection of food products from producers, storing them in warehousing facilities, and distributing them to restaurants, grocery stores, cafeterias, and government aid programs such as Feeding America, food banks, and emergency food assistance programs.
Food trucks especially in modern America are effective channel partners of a wide range of larger distribution channels. Another way food truck distribution differs from a brick-and-mortar location is in its mobility. We all acknowledge that nothing ever remains the same.
The hot spot one week might not be the same the following week, and a company’s intended audience can indeed move from place to place depending on what is happening that weekend. As such, the food truck goes where its customers go.
Top Reasons to Choose Food Trucks over Brick and Mortar Locations
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Food trucks have a higher success rate
According to food service industry reports, the success rate within a restaurant’s first year is around 35-40%. It costs more to invest in a brick-and-mortar store, and it is also a high-risk venture that can crumble owing to factors like food industry inexperience, lack of investment capital, location/real estate, poor staffing, mismanagement, and pricing structure.
However, trucks report a greater success rate, especially since the initial investment is quite lower, and it offers willing entrepreneurs the platform to control their brand and image while gaining and retaining customers.
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The financial aspect
It is also important you take into consideration the financial aspect of both business concepts. For one, it costs around $500,000 to start a brick-and-mortar food business, while it costs around $40,000 to $180,000 to start a food truck business.
Also keep in mind that going down the food truck route rather than a brick-and-mortar offers the flexibility of reaching your customers and engaging in events, but limits the everyday stress that comes with paying your staff, suppliers, vendors, rent, etc.
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Expanding your customer base
Another thing that sets a food truck business apart from a brick-and-mortar location is that it provides a viable platform to expand your customer reach by moving continuously and ensuring that your business gets the right exposure.
It also makes it easy to understand your patrons more, and you can modify your menu easily. You can also leverage its flexibility to test menu options, evaluate the success with smaller sample sizes, and make modifications accordingly as your business grows.
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Quality Control
It is easier to gain control of your business when it is within a 16 to 20-foot truck as against a full brick-and-mortar foodservice location.
One thing people tend to complain about in brick-and-mortar locations are lack of food consistency. You wake up one day and enjoy visiting a particular restaurant due to their entrée, then two weeks later you return and order the same dish, and it is not well seasoned, and is cold.
Howbeit, with a food truck, you have fewer people interacting with the customers and orders, and as such it makes it easier to solidify your quality control.
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Versatility
With the abundant flexibility this business offers, savvy entrepreneurs have everything they need to attain substantial success.
As a food trucker, it is normal to wake up one morning and cater at a cooperate luncheon of 250 executives and the next day you are on your way to a music concert in Atlanta.
With a food truck, mobility is not an issue especially since you have the wheels to travel to different locations. Howbeit, when you run a brick-and-mortar restaurant, you will always have to work to draw people’s attention.