Learn How to Demo Food like a Pros: Ultimate Guide
Before people taste your food, they see it with their eyes. They smell it. Here's some tips you can use to improve the appearance of your food to encourage more people to give your truck, trailer, or food stall a shot. Retailers are more likely to carry your product if they know they can move it quickly off the shelves. Shelf space is always at a premium and no retailer wants to carry a line that will simply sit and sit and sit. When you’re selling-in to a retailer or vending at an event, you need to build confidence that: [...]
What I Learned from Two Food Pricing Experiments
Pricing is one of the most challenging parts of running a food business. The right price on the shelf (and in turn, to stores, distributors, and brokers) determines your success. You could sell very little of a premium product and a ton of a low-priced product. The challenge? You need to know where you fall. And the strategy that's going to get you there. It took me six months to decide I wanted to test my prices. One of my mentors kept nudging me. "Test your prices! What's the worst that could happen?" he'd ask me every month. I wouldn't do [...]
Can You Install Air Conditioning in a Food Truck Kitchen?
Can you install an air conditioner into the kitchen of a food truck? This is a frequently asked question we receive from prospective clients contacting our manufacturing center. The short answer is yes! You can get an air conditioner installed into a mobile kitchen. In fact, this is an extremely common feature in our builds. But here's the problem with air conditioning in a mobile kitchen. Air conditioning unit works great for prep work and cleanup. But once you turn on the cooking equipment and exhaust hood most of the cool air will get sucked out of unit. These are [...]
8 Tips to Improve Your Food Truck Catering Pitch
As the country moves toward reopening the economy, summer events are expected to gradually pickup. Even though we are likely months away from returning to normal, now is actually the perfect time to work on improving your business. One opportunity is to improve your pitch for lucrative catering clients. Most years the start of summer means a busy food truck schedule. That means produce lots of outdoor festivals and celebrations. If your schedule is anything like mine most years, it's jam-packed (pun intended) with events, shows, store demos - you name it, I'm doing it. Now is a great time [...]
The 7 Food Business Reports You Need to Run at the End of Every Year
December is a crazy month. You've got holiday parties to attend and maybe even cater to (which for many of you represent a large chunk of your annual sales). And of course you have year-end accounting (unless you've hired a bookkeeper). Oh, and did I mention, holiday parties, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, and New Years? It's a lot to handle. But you can't lose steam. Finish strong. Hit your sales targets and sell your heart out. It's a busy time of year, but I know you can do it. And if you get stuck I'm here to help. That's why I'm [...]
Ways to Demonstrate Your Food Product Deserves a Premium Price
Congrats! You've made a food product. Whether it's sauce, dip, brownie mix, or a beverage, it's a huge accomplishment to see your product hit the shelf on your local grocery store. But, it's hard to ignore one thing..... Your product is priced significantly higher than everything else on the shelf. There's several dollars between your national competitors - and maybe even other local companies. But, you think - "Well, it's got to be that high!" Yes, costs are always higher for small manufacturers. And even if big companies replicate your product they could still make it for less than you [...]
22 Food Business Terms You Need to Know
Slotting fee? Food broker? LTL? For many entrepreneurs, starting a food business means having to learn new vocabulary. Sure, you know what a spreadsheet is, what your price is, and what the post office is, but what about the terms specific to the food industry? Below, you'll find 25 terms to better acquaint yourself with the food industry. Some I've stumbled over the years - and others are essential to your success. Let's get started! Financial terms Food Manufacturing terms Shipping terms Sales and marketing terms Financial Terms COGS: This stands for "Cost of Goods Sold." In other words, it's [...]
Mobile Pet Grooming Industry: Poised for Growth in 2020?
Pet services is an estimated $5.5 billion dollar industry with pockets of opportunity due to national lockdowns requiring people stay at home. If you're looking for a recession resistant mobile business opportunity this is one worth evaluating for 2020 and beyond. The Opportunity: As weeks of social distancing is turning into months, it's not just humans that need a trim. Pets are in need of a cut and clean as well. In the past, dog owners might head to the local Petco for their dog cut and cleaning. But why go out and put your pet's health at risk when [...]
Five Critical Mistakes First Time Food Truck Owners Make
When you start any type of business, you're bound to make a few mistakes along the way. But the important thing is that you learn from these mistakes. In today's blog post, we share some of the top five mistakes first time food truck owners make so you can avoid them. Some of these mistakes end up costing people their business because they aren't able to course correct in time. Others never recognize they are making these errors at all and ultimately fail. Don't let this happen to you! Saving Money on Branding Built by M&R Specialty Trailers and [...]
Pros and Cons: Getting Started as a Mobile Caterer
A solid catering business can be an amazing extra revenue stream for any mobile food business., or even the primary source of income for many concessionaires. But before you bake catering services into your business plan, let’s consider a few of the pros and cons. BBQ Trailer built by M&R Specialty Trailers and Trucks. Pros: Booking a catered event for your food truck or trailer removes a lot of the doubt and anxiety that can surround the food truck business. After all, with a scheduled, catered event, you’re not roaming the streets, looking for a place to park [...]