If you are like many of the visitors to our website you are probably in a research phase of your food truck business. That could be this is your first food truck start up or you have some experience and you are planning how to do things better this time around.
That seems to be the 2 types of clients we attract, one group we serve are first-timers. By drawing off of decades of fabrication know how and offering state of the art solutions to more easily produce the (sometimes very creative) things they want in their truck.
We also have clients that very well established and continue to come back as they scale their businesses because of the excellence in our craftsmanship. Now I don’t tell you those things to brag, I simply wanted point out that no matter which category you land in there are things you need to keep in mind when you commit to creating your custom food truck.
What Truck Do You Need For Your Concept?
The answer to this question is more complex than just the make and model of a step van. What we need to look at is the usable space inside the truck, and make sure it can accommodate your concept, and how you plan to efficiently use every inch of that space.
If your concept calls for a 1 person crew it will be planned for much differently than a 3 or more person crew. Every concept also comes with its own set of layout and equipment needs.
All of the things we’ve touched upon determine the size of the truck you will need. Step vans range in size from 14-20 feet long. The challenge here is to work closely with your custom builder and figure out the size truck for your needs.
If you go too big with your truck you could incur unnecessary expenses that can eat into profits. If you go too small you could jeopardize service efficiency and scalability.
What Appliances Does Your Food Truck Concept Need?
Every food truck concept comes with its own set of appliance needs. On top of what appliances are needed we have to ask, what size appliances are needed? We can answer these questions by taking a glance at the figures in your business plan, knowing what your projections for sales are, and how much capacity your trucks kitchen will need to hit those projections will help to determine the size of appliances needed.
After you have looked at all that data, you can go to work with your custom builder to put the puzzle pieces together and plan out the proper size and most efficient food truck layout.
When the approach I just mentioned isn’t followed you could end up with a truck who’s supply can’t keep up with the demand and you will lose business to another truck that can. That’s why we go over all needs and expectations with each of our custom build clients.
I have included concept, appliances and sales goals as things to use to plan, but we should also include, an aspect of business that continues to change. When it comes to technology we need to be forward thinking yet take advantage of the today’s tech, using it as a way to help maximize our service efforts and serve more people.
A few things that fall into this category are quick and easy payment systems, online ordering, as well as efficient LCD menu screens. Using technology as a tool can save time and increase daily orders.
How Does Your Marketing Fit Into A Custom Food Truck Build?
Much of what we’ve covered so far is all about setting up for successful sales. Sales falls under the larger category of marketing. So essentially it’s all about marketing.
If you have an efficient kitchen, that creates better service and that creates word of moth advertising. That can include everything from customer recommendations to 5 star reviews.
Everyone starts with their concept, but it’s all the behind the scenes stuff that makes those concepts successful. We have a lot of articles on this site about how to use different forms of social media to promote you food truck and those are the things we usually think of when we think marketing.
Those tasks are also very important pieces to this entire puzzle, and I encourage you to check those out. Because we are specifically talking about the building of a custom food truck we need to mention how your concept is represented in the look of your truck.
Your wrap is your rolling billboard, it should represent your concept well, announce to your fans that you have arrived and provide them with all the ways they can follow you.
Your food truck’s look will work along with your menu, your efficiency, your service, and all parts of online and offline branding to create and grow your concept.
Are You Ready To Build Your Custom Food Truck?
We would love to help you with any of the things we mentioned in this article, we love to work with first-timers as well as established brands. If you have an idea of what you will need click on our Free Quote button and one of our team members will give you a call to discuss your options.