When talking about food trucks, we primarily mean mobile kiosks, carts and auto-buffets. For the most part, it is “mobility” that attracts many beginners to this business. It didn’t work in one place - nonsense, the snack bar on wheels moves to a new retail location without much difficulty. Small investments in business, a relatively “easy start”, low market saturation and a large selection of franchising solutions make street fast food on wheels a very attractive business...
Before planning the placement of a point and drawing up a menu, you need to go through competing food service outlets and look at the range of their products. As a rule, it is not very wide, but includes various delicious foods and baked goods. You can offer visitors:
Hot dogs and shawarma are always in demand. It will be good if you can offer a wide range of hot and cold drinks. You can also open a snack bar, for example, in the format of a pancake or national cuisine. If you decide to work as a franchise, you will already be offered a ready-made set of dishes.
What types of eateries are there and which one is best to open? Snack bars can be quite varied in format. There are mixed-type eateries that sell a wide range of fast food: pies, donuts, pancakes, hot dogs, etc. Or a snack bar can be based on one product: pancakes, pie, donut, dumplings, tea, grilled chicken and shawarma.
The type of products sold depends greatly on the location of the eatery. For example, in residential areas of the city, it is more advisable to open grilled chicken or dumpling eateries for those who do not have time to cook at home. But on central streets and train stations this type of product will not be in demand, since it is not possible to consume chicken or dumplings on the go. Pies, shawarma, pancakes and hot dogs - this is what is best sold to “pedestrians”. At the same time, in residential areas, pies are not so good, since most people prefer to eat nutritious food at home.
A lot in this business depends on the location of the outlet. The assortment, design of the diner, and polite staff will not play the same role as the right location. It happens that a snack bar in one place earns several times more than a similar point 50 meters away.
If you plan to open a 24-hour retail outlet, then the issue of choosing a location becomes even more important. For such a point it is necessary to have a continuous flow of visitors at any time. The best option in this case is to locate the snack bar near the highway. In this case, the main clients at night will be taxi drivers and young people.
You should start a “snack business” not by purchasing equipment, but by agreeing on the location of the point. Just because your cafe has wheels does not mean that it can park in the same place as regular cars and freely sell fast food. Such an action will certainly attract the attention of regulatory authorities, district administration and police officers. An administrative fine may be imposed for such a violation.
To avoid such persecution and gain a foothold in one place, you should contact the owner of the land with a request to rent a trading place, or obtain the appropriate permission. If the land plot belongs to the municipal authorities, then regarding rental issues you should contact the city (municipal) property management committee. As a rule, it is this department that deals with concluding lease agreements. In addition, the administration’s trade department can present you with a layout diagram for non-stationary retail facilities, that is, those places where it is possible to place such facilities without any “administrative delays.” 
The advantage of such a business is relatively low start-up costs, in contrast to opening a stationary catering outlet. A canteen or trailer equipped as a snack bar will cost an entrepreneur no more than $20,000. The supported version will cost even less - from $10,000. Plus, some costs may go towards creating a corporate identity for the eatery, organizational costs (business registration, approvals and permits) and purchasing the first batch of products.
Opening a franchise business will help reduce the risks of a bad start. In some cases, this may turn out to be a slightly more expensive solution, but a businessman, opening under the wing of a well-known network, receives a lot of advantages. Firstly, you don’t need to worry about the design of the outlet, equipment, technology and range of goods sold - everything is provided by franchising.
Secondly, the franchise company will train your staff absolutely free of charge, give recommendations on how to increase the income of the diner, and will support your business in the future. Thirdly, by opening under a well-known brand, you begin to sell a well-known product that does not need to be further promoted - the consumer already knows what he is buying. Therefore, there is an almost complete guarantee that your point will be profitable, all that remains is not to make a mistake with the location. The only disadvantage of working with a franchise network can be described with this phrase: if you use someone else’s brand, be so kind as to work by its rules!
After purchasing a car buffet, you must register your business activity (individual entrepreneur or LLC) with the local tax service. When filling out the application, you must indicate OKVED code 55.30: “activities of restaurants and cafes,” which also includes the activities of eateries.
As a tax system for a snack bar, the special regime most often chosen is UTII, which sounds like “imputation” in business language. This is the most profitable type of taxation for a given business and the amount of tax largely depends on the area occupied by the facility (and it is usually small) and the mitigating coefficient k2 established by the regional authorities. The auto buffet itself, since it is a vehicle, must be registered with the traffic police.
After registering a business and installing a snack bar, the facility will need to be approved by regulatory authorities, namely Rospotrebnadzor and Pozhnadzor. To approve the operation of a snack bar, Rospotrebnadzor must provide: an agreement for disinfection, an agreement for cleaning clothes, an agreement for examining ventilation systems, an agreement for garbage and solid waste removal. In general, for general information, you can study SanPiN 2.3.6.1079-01 - “Sanitary requirements for public catering organizations.”
To ensure the smooth operation of one eatery, the employment of at least two sellers will be required. Work schedule - 2 through 2. It is better to pay wages according to the principle of salary + percentage of daily revenue, but not less than a fixed amount (for example, at least 400 rubles per shift). Thus, staff motivation increases significantly.
The image of the ideal snack bar worker: a woman between 30 and 50 years old with at least 5 years of experience in catering or retail. Finding such a person is not easy, but it is such employees that make the diner truly successful.
A separate issue is the search for food suppliers for the snack bar. As a rule, some time after the opening, suppliers will make themselves known. Depending on the type of fast food, these may be local producers. For eateries in the “grilled chicken” format, the main suppliers are local poultry farms, for the “snack and pie” format – local bakeries. In addition, you can order semi-finished products (for example, puff pastries, pancakes), and bake the finished product directly at the point of sale.
You shouldn’t expect a lot of income in the first months of operation, since the point is still just gaining a regular clientele. It is also not recommended to set high prices and engage in dumping. Ideally, prices should be slightly higher than at the next counter with grandma, but lower than at McDonald's.
A well-promoted outlet with good service has revenues of up to $600-800 per day in the spring and summer. In winter, income drops somewhat, since eating “fast food” in cold weather is not always convenient, so many people prefer to eat in stationary establishments.
As for competition, you shouldn’t be afraid of it. Wise businessmen reason like this: “You don’t need to be afraid of competitors, you need to analyze them.” In general, street fast food has one feature. When a snack bar is located near well-known food chains, for example “Kroshka-Kartoshka” or “Stardogs”, revenue does not fall, but on the contrary, it increases. This is where the “food zone” effect comes into play, when the consumer knows that in such and such a place you can quickly have a snack. And therefore all the eateries in such places have a high income.
Before drawing up a business plan, you need to understand the features of a food truck on wheels and how it differs from restaurants and cafes. First, decide on your pricing policy, since you will have to work with low-income people: students, schoolchildren, public sector employees. Secondly, do not skimp on the quality of products - find good suppliers. The next step is choosing the location where your establishment and vehicle will be located. After this, you need to start purchasing equipment and recruiting personnel. About the work of snack bars on wheels.
A city of any size must have at least one kiosk selling pies, pasties, shawarma or other fast food dishes. Indeed, fast food is considered primarily the food of city dwellers - even if it is relatively harmful, but nevertheless tasty and satisfying. In addition, various hamburgers and hot dogs are inexpensive and can be prepared in a matter of minutes, which is why customers willingly buy them at every opportunity.
Since the question of how to open fast food from scratch is of interest to many novice entrepreneurs, the segment of cafes, stalls and even mobile eateries is rapidly developing in large settlements. However, even in conditions of active competition, it is quite possible to create a successful business in this area - it is enough to find a concept that distinguishes a new catering establishment from the rest: for example, a national cuisine menu, a special dish or an unusual service format.
The main feature of fast food is that it is far from a full-fledged catering establishment, most often with the most simplified menu. Unlike cafes and restaurants, such eateries cannot offer visitors a wide range of different dishes. In other words, the main disadvantage of this direction is the inability to meet the needs of absolutely all categories of clients.
On the other hand, this same disadvantage in certain circumstances turns into an advantage: as a result of standardization of production processes, food preparation is significantly simplified and accelerated, which fully meets both the interests of the business owner and the needs of customers. In addition, opening a small fast food is profitable for other reasons that attract people to it:
However, fast food products cannot be called healthy due to the high concentration of fats, carbohydrates and spices in them. Therefore, some part of the audience, consisting mainly of supporters of a healthy lifestyle, categorically does not accept such a diet.
In large cities, the bulk of eatery customers are office workers, students and working youth. Therefore, fast food establishments are located mainly in the center, close to shopping, entertainment and business centers. The outskirts and even densely populated residential areas are not suitable for these purposes, since the level of traffic here does not reach the required minimum.
However, to open a fast food restaurant in a small town, you need to use a slightly different strategy. Here, the visitors to the diner are most often families with children, schoolchildren and young people, and therefore the entrepreneur should place the main emphasis on affordable prices and the design of the premises. In the process of decorating a trading floor, he will have to use all possible artistic techniques to attract the attention of children and teenagers, install slot machines in the establishment, provide free Internet access, invite animators or come up with a program of entertainment acts.
Registration of a catering enterprise equipped with production is accompanied by the issuance of a huge number of certificates, certificates, and so entrepreneurs considering fast food on wheels as a business need to prepare for the fact that this process will be long and resource-intensive.
First of all, you need to submit an application to the tax service to create a new individual entrepreneur, indicating in it the selected OKVED codes and the preferred form of taxation (UTII, simplified tax system or PSN). After receiving the registration certificate, you need to start preparing the remaining documents - an entrepreneur will be able to open a fast food restaurant only after obtaining permits and contracts according to the following list:
Legislation classifies fast food on wheels as temporary catering establishments. The basic requirements for their arrangement, which are contained in the corresponding section of SanPiN, assume that:
Land plots in cities are divided into private and municipal according to their form of ownership. In the first case, you need to contact the land owner and conclude a lease agreement with him. In the second, study the legislation regulating the placement of non-stationary objects: according to the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, this issue is dealt with by the local administration, identifying locations for the possible installation of mobile fast food establishments and issuing the appropriate permits.
Thus, an entrepreneur who is going to open a fast food business must create a small list of five to six possible options for the location of the outlet. Preference should be given to the following sites:
You can also buy a fast food van on wheels and start servicing various public events: organizers of concerts, festivals and city events often offer owners of mobile eateries space and access to a huge audience of potential clients, charging for this a rent ranging from 3-20 thousand rubles per day. Such expenses pay off in full: sometimes the retail outlets located here fulfill the monthly sales plan in two days.
The menu of a fast food point is directly related to its location, therefore, before opening a fast food on wheels, it is necessary to develop an assortment in accordance with possible locations for trading activities. For example, in residential areas, dishes that can complement a full dinner are in demand - grilled chicken, sausages, pizza, baked potatoes, sushi. In places with high traffic, where people are in a hurry to do business, various pies, pasties, hot dogs and hamburgers are in greater demand, with which you can satisfy your hunger literally on the go.
It is impossible to buy all possible equipment for fast food, therefore, to create the menu of a mobile snack bar, they use specialization on any one product and its derivatives (pancakes, potatoes), or include in the assortment exclusively dishes of national cuisine (Chinese, Caucasian, Mexican, Italian). What you can find in fast food establishments:
The assortment must be supplemented with both hot (coffee, tea, chocolate) and soft drinks (juices, mineral water, kvass, lemonade). In addition, the presence of some original item on the menu will help attract and interest customers - for example, fish chippies (fillets in batter), Mexican tacos and burritos, Greek souvlaki (small kebabs on skewers).
The process of preparing each dish must be standardized so that employees have no doubts about the recipe or the oven aging period of a particular snack. Therefore, at the stage of developing an assortment, an entrepreneur should contact a specialist who can draw up technological maps - detailed instructions for cooks containing information about the correct dosage of ingredients, temperature conditions and duration of heat treatment.
When figuring out how to open a fast food restaurant, an entrepreneur must study the characteristics of various types of production equipment and draw up a complete specification, including everything necessary to conduct business in the chosen direction. Of course, you shouldn’t buy a full set of units right away: it’s better to start with one or two basic units, and then, in accordance with consumer demand, gradually expand the range, including new dishes.
In addition to equipment for fast food on wheels, the shopping list will have to include various equipment (spatulas, knives, cutting boards), gastronomic containers for ingredients, water tanks and trash cans, and employee uniforms.
The basis for a mobile eatery can be a full-size minibus, truck or trailer, equipped in accordance with the requirements for non-stationary fast food outlets: today suppliers offer entrepreneurs to buy fast food on wheels both in a basic version and fully equipped with a variety of equipment. All units should be securely secured to the floor to prevent them from moving or being damaged during transport.
Below is an approximate list of equipment intended for the production and sale of pizza, hamburgers, sandwiches, French fries and other deep-fried dishes, as well as hot drinks, juices and mineral water:
| Name | price, rub. | Quantity, pcs. | Cost, rub. |
| Vehicle | |||
| Two-axle trailer MZSA 815001 | 243000 | 1 | 243000 |
| Production equipment | |||
| Chest freezer | 24900 | 1 | 24900 |
| Cooled table | 39800 | 1 | 39800 |
| Pizza oven | 36600 | 1 | 36600 |
| Frying surface | 22600 | 1 | 22600 |
| deep fryer | 8900 | 1 | 8900 |
| Packing station | 136200 | 1 | 136200 |
| Slicer | 17400 | 1 | 17400 |
| electronic scales | 10500 | 1 | 10500 |
| Wall shelf | 2300 | 2 | 4600 |
| Production table | 4200 | 3 | 12600 |
| Exhaust umbrella | 16300 | 1 | 16300 |
| Multi-tiered rack | 8100 | 1 | 8100 |
| Shelf-cabinet | 11300 | 1 | 11300 |
| Coffee machine | 36000 | 1 | 36000 |
| Small refrigerator cabinet | 28800 | 1 | 28800 |
| Small proofing cabinet | 19800 | 1 | 19800 |
| Other equipment | |||
| Boiler for heating water | 8900 | 1 | 8900 |
| Sink with mixer | 3500 | 1 | 3500 |
| Clean water tank | 1500 | 1 | 1500 |
| Dirty water tank | 1500 | 1 | 1500 |
| Garbage bin | 1000 | 1 | 1000 |
| Pipes and electrical wires | – | – | 5000 |
| Inventory | |||
| Small gastronomic container | 660 | 12 | 7920 |
| Large gastronomic container | 820 | 10 | 8200 |
| Container with lid | 700 | 4 | 2800 |
| Pizza knife | 680 | 1 | 680 |
| Knife set | 2500 | 1 | 2500 |
| Culinary spatula | 430 | 1 | 430 |
| Oven brush | 1300 | 1 | 1300 |
| Cutting board | 630 | 1 | 630 |
| Pizza board | 540 | 1 | 540 |
| Pizza grid | 420 | 6 | 2520 |
| Garnish spoon | 260 | 1 | 260 |
| Juice container | 180 | 6 | 720 |
| Pepper mill | 1600 | 1 | 1600 |
| French fries net | 300 | 1 | 300 |
| A uniform | 1250 | 2 | 2500 |
| Total: | 731700 | ||
One of the basic principles of the fast food industry is minimizing the time spent on preparing dishes. Therefore, people working here must be able to quickly and accurately carry out the entire technological sequence of operations, starting from defrosting raw materials and ending with packaging the finished product. Also, tact, patience and goodwill are encouraged when communicating with customers.
To ensure the smooth functioning of the mobile snack bar, two employees are needed, alternately replacing each other every two days. In order to increase motivation, it is better for them to pay their salaries on the basis of “rate + percentage of revenue”, but not less than a certain fixed amount.
It is recommended to hire women between 30 and 55 years of age who have some experience in the field of trade or catering. Finding such people is quite difficult, since all experienced specialists are usually employed, but the owner of the diner should try - the success of the enterprise directly depends on the qualifications of the employees. In general, requirements for applicants include:
Entrepreneurs also pay attention to the distance between the candidate’s area of residence and the place of work: for those who use two or three modes of transport, it is much more difficult to be on time due to traffic jams and other unforeseen circumstances.
To build a successful business, it is not enough to know how to open a fast food outlet: without actively attracting customers, any type of commercial activity is doomed to failure. Visitors to fast food establishments usually prefer well-known brands, so the main efforts of the entrepreneur should be aimed at promoting the brand and increasing awareness of it among potential customers.
The implementation of a marketing strategy first of all includes the correct design of a retail outlet. The appearance of the eatery should attract the attention of passers-by, be different from competitors, be clearly associated with food and inform customers about the range of dishes offered. For these purposes, branding is used - a set of activities that includes:
A recognizable corporate identity is mandatory for successful promotion of mobile fast food. It is advisable to print a logo and slogan on packaging, napkins and tableware: of course, little things of this kind are difficult to foresee at the start, but in the future such an advertising move will have a significant impact on the amount of profit. You can also attract additional visitors using some competitive advantages:
To determine how much it costs to open a fast food restaurant, an entrepreneur needs to perform some economic calculations on his own, since the costs of creating a business in each specific case depend on the specialization of the outlet and the price category of production equipment. For example, for the pizza and hamburger food truck mentioned above, the initial investment list would look like this:
So, the first thing you need to open a fast food on wheels is a capital of 900 thousand rubles. At the next stage of drawing up a business plan, it is necessary to calculate the cost of maintaining and ensuring the functioning of the enterprise, taking into account all possible overhead and non-production costs - from renting a plot of land to paying for a car parking:
| Article | Amount, rub. |
| Rent of land | 15000 |
| Electricity | 8640 |
| Water | 1000 |
| Salary | 40000 |
| Salary tax | 12000 |
| Insurance premiums for individual entrepreneurs | 2300 |
| Raw materials | 330000 |
| Disposable tableware | 12000 |
| Marketing expenses | 10000 |
| Administrative expenses | 5000 |
| Payment for trailer parking | 2500 |
| Total: | 438440 |
Video on the topic
According to statistics, the average bill for mobile eateries is 180–250 rubles. To determine the possible number of visitors, it is necessary to count the traffic in the selected locations of the eatery three times a day. In this case, only representatives of the target audience should be taken into account - people under the age of 40 with an average level of income.
For example, an entrepreneur determined that 80–85 people passed by the point within an hour. You can expect that 10% of them will make purchases: accordingly, during the day the enterprise will serve about a hundred people. It should be noted that the minimum acceptable level of attendance is 35–40 customers per day - otherwise the diner begins to operate at a loss. However, to solve this problem, it is advisable to take advantage of the main advantage of mobile fast food - the opportunity to move to a new location.
An aspiring entrepreneur planning to open a fast food restaurant must take into account the presence of some seasonality factor in this business: indeed, in the cold season, eating food outdoors can hardly be called comfortable. To reduce the impact of negative circumstances on the level of sales, the assortment of the outlet must be constantly adjusted, adding more hot dishes in winter, as well as ice cream and soft drinks in summer.
A restaurant on wheels or a mobile cafe is relatively new for Russian conditions. Establishments of this type are gradually occupying their specific niche among restaurants and cafes and becoming popular among the population. The proposed material details all the nuances of opening such a diner.
A restaurant on wheels has its own specific features that must be taken into account both when planning an enterprise and in the process of economic activity. With the correct placement of economic accents, it can bring good profits and represent serious competition for stationary public catering establishments.
Among the main tasks that arise when opening a restaurant on wheels, several important points can be identified, which are covered in detail below.
Already at the design stage of such a specific business as a mobile restaurant, it is necessary to clearly understand who its visitors will be. Depending on the focus on certain categories of clients, the concept of the future activity of the mobile snack bar is built.
When designing a restaurant, you need to consider who will be its visitors. If you count on young people, students and high school students, then you need, for example, to provide affordable prices, youthful modern cuisine with a variety of invigorating tonic drinks. It is advisable to decorate it in accordance with youth tastes - with fashionable music, youth entertainment programs on TV.
If the restaurant is aimed at tourists, as they prefer to do in Western European countries, it is necessary to have a more refined and high-calorie cuisine, and also provide a guide who will tell you about the attractions that the cafe on wheels passes by.
Cafes on wheels are one of the most important factors in the success of this type of business. Therefore, travel patterns around a large city, in nature or along any tourist route must be worked out very carefully.
Tourist routes depend on the theme, duration, time of year and other factors. It is necessary to take into account the condition of the roads and the possibility of stopping. It is advisable to include a tour of historical sights, travel past beautiful natural landscapes, a trip to a picturesque place for corporate events, and so on.
An equally important issue when serving customers in mobile restaurants or cafes on wheels is the composition of the menu.
When the main visitors of a mobile establishment are young people, it is recommended to exclude strong alcoholic drinks from the kitchen. In the main menu, it is better to focus on dishes that do not spill when shaking or turning and are easily reheated without loss of taste. Hot baked goods, sandwiches, and various confectionery products are best suited for mobile catering.
At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that the menu always contains some signature dish that is served only in this establishment and would be the calling card of the restaurant.
A mobile restaurant works more successfully if it has its own additional stationary kitchen. Most often, mobile cafes are an additional point of sale for existing restaurants. This option allows you to prepare dishes that are most suitable for your specific needs. In addition, in a stationary kitchen you can quickly prepare a large number of dishes for a large party.
In the absence of a classic establishment with an equipped kitchen, it is recommended to have a permanent supplier who would provide the mobile restaurant with tasty food in the required quantities.
In addition to a special ration of dishes, it is necessary to keep in mind that the dishes for a mobile restaurant must be unbreakable. Disposable tableware is best. It is convenient when it has special lids that prevent spilling.
The main thing for a mobile restaurant is the vehicle on which it is installed. To do this, you need to rebuild the bus. There is, of course, a more exotic option, which is to purchase a franchise. For example, the famous Western company TheBus. But this option will turn out to be a trap when any part of the branded double-decker bus breaks down or the franchise expires, and it will be impossible to sell the bus.
Therefore, the best choice would be to re-equip a domestic bus.
To do this, it is necessary to install an air conditioner with a 220-volt voltage converter in the vehicle, as well as a refrigerator and coffee maker. It wouldn't hurt to cover the bus body with a special soundproofing coating. In addition, you cannot do without a high-quality audio system with sufficiently powerful sound amplifiers and, of course, a wide-screen TV. Don't forget to install comfortable tables.
The team of a restaurant on wheels usually consists of three to four people. It includes an administrator, a bartender, a waiter and a driver. The administrator can combine his duties with the work of a bartender, and the ideal administrator must simultaneously have the knowledge of a good tour guide and the skills of a toastmaster. When selecting personnel, special attention must be paid to the candidacy of a driver who, in addition to professional skills, must have an excellent knowledge of the layout of the city and its environs.
The inseparable components of the financial side of the mobile restaurant business are:
Initial costs include the cost of the bus, the cost of equipment and the cost of creating the necessary exterior and interior. The approximate cost of a mobile restaurant is about 3 million rubles, which includes the cost of a bus - 2.8 million rubles, the cost of installing equipment - 120 thousand rubles, interior design of the premises - 100 thousand rubles.
Operating expenses consist of the cost of fuel, bus and equipment maintenance, and staff salaries. If we take the daily average mileage of a restaurant on wheels to be 100 km, gasoline consumption is 30 liters per 100 km at a cost of 35 rubles per liter, then the cost of fuel per month will be about 31.5 thousand rubles.
Based on domestic experience of such a business, monthly maintenance costs for a restaurant on wheels are approximately 15 thousand rubles, and salary costs are 60 thousand rubles.
Thus, you can take the amount of total monthly expenses in the amount of 100–110 thousand rubles.
The above expenses for creating and running a restaurant business on wheels will pay off within two years if during this period the eatery generates at least 125-150 thousand rubles of net income. Calculations show that such a profit is quite achievable. To do this, it is necessary that the cafe serves at least 120 visitors daily, and the average bill with a 50% markup is approximately 100 rubles.
The restaurant will reach self-sufficiency if the average bill and the number of visitors are maintained Despite its apparent exoticism, a mobile restaurant is a completely profitable business. And taking into account the fact that this form of entrepreneurship is not yet very widespread in Russia, any entrepreneur has a chance to occupy a free niche.
If you have your own experience of opening a restaurant on wheels, you can tell about it in the comments to this article.
26Jul
This business plan, like all others in the section , contains calculations of average prices, which may differ in your case. Therefore, we recommend that you make calculations for your business individually.
In this article, we have compiled a detailed business plan for a food truck with calculations.
The street trading market has been under constant stress since 2011. By the beginning of 2016, the number of street food operators decreased threefold. There are several reasons for this:
With all this, interest in mobile cafes is growing. A coffee shop, pizzeria or burger joint on wheels is a new format that has yet to compete with classic fast food for first place in the HoReCa destination rating.
The food truck, as the embodiment of street food, stands apart from the already boring formats. This fresh trend, coming from the West, is promising both for beginning entrepreneurs and for those who have decided to go beyond a stationary business and “go among the people.” A food truck is a cafe based on a truck. The car is re-equipped, a kitchen is made inside, restaurant equipment is installed, the outside is branded and placed in places with high traffic.
Yellow food truck selling fast food
— Mobility. The food truck does not wait for the client to come, but goes to him himself. Knowing that the target audience is concentrated in a certain place, a cafe on wheels comes there and offers its product.
— Savings on construction and rent. There is no investment in finding premises, repairs, redevelopment or design projects. Taking into account the increased prices for rental real estate, this is a serious help.
— Fast payback. When serving 100 people a day, a food truck will pay for itself in an average of 4-6 months.
— Quick entry to the market. When purchasing a ready-made food truck project, which includes a car, a set of equipment and inventory, branding and design, it is possible to enter the market in just 45 days. This is enough to install the equipment, develop a menu, decorate the car and choose a location.
You can watch a video on how to open a food truck:
The food truck is interesting not only for its unusual form of sales organization, but also for its approach to the quality of dishes. There is nothing here from the street food of the past, which guaranteed the consumer gastritis. The food truck offers delicious, fresh and high-quality food and drinks.
Popular food truck formats
- Coffee house. The menu includes at least 20 items of coffee, coffee drinks, cocktails, and smoothies. From food - desserts, sandwiches, pastries. The main thing is an expensive and powerful coffee machine that brews real coffee, superior to the drink from vending machines.
- Pizzeria. Pizza is prepared in the kitchen of a food truck; the menu includes at least 10 items + salads, drinks and ice cream.
- Burger shop. Burgers are trendy today, but to differentiate yourself from the giants of this segment, you need original recipes.
- Steaks. The main thing for this format is good meat. A good quality grill and frying surface will do the rest.
A food truck with professional equipment is suitable for preparing sushi, noodles, pasta, pastries, pies, Ossetian pies, etc.
For an approximate calculation of investments, let’s take the “Burgernaya” food truck project from the company “ MAPLE" Recommended area - 8 m², made on the basis of a BAW vehicle.
This is a step-by-step guide to starting a business. In the case of a food truck, the concept necessarily addresses the following issues:
Where to be located?
Today, Russian legislation does not regulate the activities of food trucks in any way. Although a bill on the status of mobile cafes has been prepared and is being considered by the Federation Council. While this is a white spot, food trucks are still subject to requirements similar to stationary food establishments.
First of all, you need to decide where the food truck will be located. There are several options:
— Take part in the auction for the provision of a plot of municipal land. But, as practice shows, lots in the form of plots go mainly to large retail chains for seasonal or permanent activities. And in Moscow, placing a food truck on municipal land is completely prohibited.
— Rent of private territory. This option is real and profitable. You rent a plot of land at a shopping center, entertainment complex, business center and get a place to visit, as well as access to utilities, bathrooms, etc.
— Participation in events. A rental agreement is concluded with the organizers of festivals, fairs, food fests, concerts, and picnics. The rental amount depends on the size and status of the event. Price range - from 3,000 to 30,000 rubles. in a day. But the traffic is also different - the first provincial food market will be visited by only 200-300 people, and a large rock festival - more than 20 thousand.
It is important to calculate the throughput of a food truck, that is, the maximum number of dishes per unit of time. To avoid queues and long waits for orders, you can rent a corner and additional equipment from the organizers, as well as hire temporary staff to speed up the operation of the facility.
— Unauthorized trade. At your own peril and risk, you can park a food truck in any crowded place, but this is fraught with administrative liability and loss of permission to operate.
Which car to choose?
Red food truck selling burgers
The brand and capabilities of the car depend on the business goals.
— BAW optimal for working within megacities - parks, city streets and squares, recreation areas, beaches. Convenient, maneuverable and compact machine.
— Gazelle Suitable for covering medium distances and working in rural areas, sanatoriums, boarding houses, holiday homes, and small towns. You can use Gazelle to travel to events in other areas. A wide dealer network throughout Russia guarantees quick car repairs in force majeure circumstances.
— MAZ has a large, multifunctional and productive kitchen based on a powerful but economical tractor. In this car, large volumes of dishes are prepared per unit of time. A MAZ food truck is ideal for operation in mountainous areas, in any climatic zones, at a considerable distance from the main base.
What target audience is it intended for?
What is the project environment?
State
Equipment
Equipped food truck, ready to prepare food.
Development prospects
For a food truck, light truck classes are chosen, where there is enough space for installing equipment and working staff.
Approximate prices for common food truck vehicles:
Designing a food truck is a significant expense item. There is difficulty in connecting machines and equipment to utility networks. Let's take electricity supply as an example.
If a food truck operates autonomously, that is, semi-legally, without paying rent to anyone, it is equipped with either a generator or a converter. Both are expensive and have their own shortcomings. The generator must meet the power requirements of the equipment in the kitchen and at maximum load it will only last for 5 hours.
Model of a car equipped for a food truck
The converter runs on batteries, and in order to have enough power for a working day, the car is often started, and this inevitably leads to engine wear and gas consumption. The most reasonable solution is to connect to the network.
Another problematic issue is ventilation and air conditioning. The kitchen of a food truck is a small room. The concentration of equipment and people per m² is almost extreme. Heat in the room and air pollution by combustion products are unacceptable.
A food truck project with equipment placement and connection to utility networks costs an average of 100,000 rubles. When comprehensively equipping a food truck in the company " MAPLE» this service is free.
The set of equipment is designed for the production and sale of burgers, sandwiches, rolls, panini, French fries, tea and freshly brewed coffee beans. Capacity - 40-60 people per hour.
Equipment (prices in rubles)
Inventory (prices in rubles)
Vehicle selling meals on wheels
The appearance of a food truck is the basis of success. A food truck should attract attention, stand out in the area, be different from competitors, and inform the consumer about the product.
Branding includes:
The basic cost of the service is 25,000 rubles.
An author's approach to the food truck menu will allow you to differentiate yourself from competitors. This is especially true if the food truck is located near a shopping center, where there are many similar operators in the food court. The guest chef will develop a menu based on business requirements and equipment capabilities. The average cost of menu development is from 40,000 rubles.
Approximate basic menu for a "Burger"
For a food truck, the optimal form of ownership is individual entrepreneur. Its advantages:
To register an individual entrepreneur you need
Documents for obtaining permission to operate in Rospotrebnadzor
The maximum payback period for a food truck when starting a season is 4-6 months. If there is no payback after six months, it means:
The markup on burgers, French fries, and sandwiches is 200-250%. This is not the highest figure for HoReCa, because profits in fast food are driven by traffic.
Average check - 350 rubles.
Do you want to master a new promising format? Thinking about where to invest your money? Company " MAPLE» will help you open a food truck and become a leader in the still free segment.
A van with selfie pancakes, a snack bar on wheels from the Russian army and a food truck with Donald Trump’s “nonsense sandwiches”... Read these and other examples of unusual types of mobile fast food trade and more in the material of the portal “1000 Ideas”.
There are a lot of ideas for creating snack bars on wheels. One has only to say that the first predecessors of modern fudraks appeared in the USA back in the 19th century. It’s quite difficult for a novice entrepreneur to come up with something new, but borrow one or more tricks - please. In this collection, the “1000 Ideas” portal has collected 35 examples of unusual food trucks and other types of food-related street trading on wheels.
A miracle called the Winnermobile from the Oskar Mayer company, selling hot dogs. The first such car was manufactured in the USA in 1936 according to a special order from the founders of the brand, the Mayer brothers. The drivers of the Winnermobiles were called hotdoggers, and their arrival greatly delighted local residents and children. Attention to this miracle on wheels has not subsided among Americans to this day: “winners” are still driving around in US cities today.
This mobile eatery is called Space Shuttle Cafe. Its story dates back to the 1970s, when a Californian decided to use part of the fuselage from a decommissioned American Douglas DC-3 transport aircraft and stick it on a school bus. Subsequently, the appearance of the diner was redesigned more than once, until the last owners decided to settle on the space shuttle.
This food truck from Amsterdam is famous not for its appearance, but for what it sells. Here you can buy dishes made from animals, the meat of which is either rarely consumed by humans or completely thrown into the trash. On the menu you can find pigeon rolls, pony burgers, as well as dishes from geese, parrots, crows and rodents.
This snowmobile was designed to deliver hot burritos to the slopes of California's Mammoth Mountain ski resort, giving skiers the perfect chance to grab lunch on the way down the mountain.
A masterpiece of Vietnamese engineering is the three-story bicycle restaurant Ta Di Oto from Hanoi. It is a pedicab with a structure made of somehow welded metal pipes. On the ground floor there is a kitchen, on the second floor there is a bar, on the third there is a restaurant and a lecture area.
Rollin' Grocer is a mobile grocery store in Kansas City, Missouri. Despite the fact that the city's business district is growing, residents in the very center experience a shortage of grocery stores. Inside you can find everything that you would find in a regular store, starting with fruits and vegetables and ending with canned goods.The truck mainly serves low-income urban residents who cannot afford to regularly shop in supermarkets.
This burger mobile is parked in front of the Wesport Flea Market Bar & Grill. The idea to create it came to the owner of the establishment, who “strained” one artist he met in New York with his idea. While running through Central Park in the morning, he came across a uniquely designed car selling vegetarian food, after which he decided that such an idea would be ideal for a meat cutlet.
It is not at all necessary to sell fast food, coffee, pizza or yoghurt from your car. For example, a van called Gray Goose is used by the owners as... a martini bar. Inside the converted Citroen H van there is only luxury: marble coverings of the bar counter, forged and metal parts, glass display cases.
This food truck called Maximus Minimus from Seattle makes money in any weather, and its owner, as the Americans say, is able to “bring home the bacon” every day, which literally translates as “bring home the bacon,” that is, making a living and providing for his family. The reason for this, of course, is the unusual and slightly creepy pig shape of the truck. By the way, the piggy food truck sells not only pork but also chicken sandwiches.
The Gastro Bomber food truck operates in the American city of Dallas. Its design is made in the style of World War II bombers. The aggressive, toothy appearance and holes in the body seem to let the buyer know that the van has been in more than one scrape, but came out of it well. The menu includes snacks like mashed potatoes with meat and various types of pies.
This is the world's largest ice cream van from Skoda. Its parameters cannot be called childish: its “height” is more than 6 meters, its weight is over 5 tons. To get to the window with the ice cream maker and get his portion, the child needs to climb a stepladder. By the way, the best-selling delicacy is also impressive in size.
The beer bar bike is a vehicle that is particularly popular in Germany, but is also found today in other countries around the world. You can rent it and travel around the city with a glass of beer and in the company of friends. Typically, a beer bike is equipped with seats for 10-16 people, a beer dispenser, a beer keg and... a sober driver.
This steampunk fast food trailer was put together by Artisan Cake Company. You may ask: what is the point of creating such a style? Nothing. The point is precisely in these very copper mechanisms and pipes, creating the aura of steampunk. The main thing, as they say, is that the idea catches the eye.
This food truck from Fayetteville, USA, is inspired by Star Wars. Here you can try themed snacks with names that refer to the film. For example, a bun with cheese, bacon, turkey and cucumbers and garlic called “Chewbacca”. The truck itself bears the parody name Grillenium Falcon. Let us remember that one of the main fictional Star Wars spaceships was called the Millennium Falcon.
You don't have to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to make your food truck popular. “Why not dilute the menu with something unusual, for example, banana cheeseburgers,” decided this gentleman from Florida. From his food truck called Tropical Point, he sells Brazilian fast food, and for some reason such not-so-exotic ingredients as fried bananas and burgers with them are especially loved by local residents.
The thing about the Gryph "N" Grille food truck is that it's designed to cater to students. The truck is at the disposal of the University of Guelph in Ontario. Students are not only offered affordable food, but also the ability to pay for it with their student ID. In addition to ordinary service at the walls of the educational institution, food trucks are involved in university events so that students do not remain hungry. The student food truck sells not fast food, but only healthy food.
The distinctive features of this establishment on wheels are visible to the naked eye. First of all, this is a double-decker bus. And secondly, this is a double-decker restaurant bus. It appeared in Los Angeles based on the idea of two friends, entrepreneurs Travis Schmidt and Jason Freeman. They decided to turn an old bus into a multi-cuisine establishment with gourmet dishes and an upstairs dining area.
During the presidential election campaign in Portland, Oregon, there was a food truck serving "Donald Trump's bullshit sandwiches." The staff of an establishment called “Donald Trump’s BS” handed out five types of sandwiches in special packages with the most inappropriate quotes from the presidential candidate, in the comments to which factual errors in his statements were indicated. The name of each type of sandwich represented one or another myth attributed to Trump. As if hinting at the billionaire's fortune, the creators did not skimp on the design of the trailer and laid out a red carpet in front of the entrance. In addition, the customer's order was first taken by the concierge, who then passed it on to the chef.
Seattle-based food truck Off The Rez was the brainchild of Mark McConnell and his girlfriend, Cecilia Rickard. Inspiration came to Mark when he started looking for his native cuisine in Seattle restaurants and couldn’t find it. After this, an authentically painted van selling Indian tacos appeared in the city.
This old Izh, tuned to look like a wooden barrel, spotted in Moscow, although not a snack bar on wheels, is so unusual that it would be a mistake not to mention it in our material. In this unusual way, the owners of one of the capital's restaurants decided to attract people to their establishment for beer and barbecue.
What's unique about this van, called Pancake Selfie Express, is that it sells pancakes with portraits of its customers. The customer is forced to take a quick photo of himself, and then the software in the truck prints his face onto the pancake. The van does not have a specific registration; the creators first decided to organize a tour of American cities such as Austin, Dallas, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The famous pizzeria on wheels is the mobile bakery Del Popolo from San Francisco. To create this masterpiece, owner John Darcy worked with four designers and spent about $180,000. Inside there is a real wood-burning oven for preparing classic Neapolitan pizza. At the same time, clients can observe the process through transparent glass.
Fugu fish is a Japanese delicacy that, if cooked incorrectly, can cause death. In many countries, you must have a special license to sell this fish. But if you're a Bostonian willing to risk your life on the street, then the Fugu Truck is made just for you.
It’s hard to think of better advertising for a catering establishment than positive customer reviews. And food trucks are no exception. This truck, called Giovanni's White Shrimp Truck, has long been indistinguishable from other shrimp snack trucks in Hawaii. But then one satisfied customer decided to leave a positive review on the board. And thus he started a chain: since then, the walls of the food truck began to be regularly covered with gratitude.
It’s not for nothing that the Randy Radish food truck has an image of a radish on its side. From these vans, customers can purchase exclusively healthy food made from fresh vegetables - no fast food. The home of the vegetarian van is Lauren County in Virginia, USA.
The Milck Truck was designed by American artist and mother Jill Miller. She drew attention to the fact that nursing mothers often do not have enough places to feed their babies in private. Then she bought an old van, converted it and placed huge artificial breasts on the roof. A conspicuous van has begun driving around the American city of Pittsburgh, offering women a free place to breastfeed their babies.
This food truck from Los Angeles is known throughout America for its interesting name. It's called Eggslut - the name combines the word "eggs" and the word "whore." The establishment itself mainly offers breakfast dishes to customers.
This mobile eatery based on a Smart car, called The Verts Kebap, was invented by two German students - Dominik Statten and Michael Haye. The guys studying at the University of Texas at Austin decided to surprise Americans with German engineering. Somehow they managed to fit a refrigerator, sink and oven into the Smart. All this could fit into the car only when assembled - for the restaurant to fully operate, a tent is also required. The restaurant specializes in Turkish cuisine: kebabs and shawarma, which are very popular in Germany.
This van was created by the French airline Air France and operated for only 5 days in Manhattan, offering free food to everyone. Typically, many passengers like to complain about the quality of food offered on planes, so Air France decided to show itself in the best possible light. For example, the menu included smoked salmon and shrimp dishes, and two lucky winners, in addition to delicious food, also received air tickets to Paris.
The three-wheeled E-Tuk Vendo was developed by the Dutch company Tuk Tuk Factory specifically for catering. It runs on electricity and can travel up to 60 km without recharging. At the same time, the creators made the three-wheeler powerful enough to withstand the operation of a refrigerator. For the convenience of street trading, the E-Tuk Vendo is equipped with a folding table and a folding window that opens outward.
Another example of a food truck powered by electricity is featured in Greg Alden Steele's vehicle called Philly Greens. Made a green truck based on Polaris Gem. The maximum speed is 40 km/h; without recharging, the food truck can travel 50 km. Not only does Philly Greens use sustainable energy sources, but its owner sells only organic, seasonal, non-GMO food.
The French company Peugeot has its own ideas about what a real urban food truck should look like. Le Bistro Du Lion is an elegant restaurant on wheels with a full kitchen, DJ space and coffee maker in the trailer. Among other things, the van leaves no waste behind, as it is equipped with waste recycling facilities.
One of the reasons to be proud of the Russian army is the presence of army food trucks. You can usually see such trailers under the Voentorg brand at major events. For example, this handsome man in the colors of his military uniform was spotted at the tank biathlon in Alabino.
This may seem surprising for Russia, but abroad you can find not only food trucks for people, but also for dogs. For example, this van called Milo's Kitchen, which toured US cities, offered our little brothers a taste of chicken meatballs, grilled burgers, beef sausages and much more.
The Dentyne company came up with an unusual advertising campaign to promote its chewing gum. To emphasize the importance of chewing gum after every meal, Dentyone decided to make its own branded van that followed the food truck around the country and stopped behind it at every stop. It was decided to call the campaign #FollowFood - that is, “Following the Food.”
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