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 [...]
Increasing the Average Spend Per Food Truck Customer
In difficult times, identifying ways to deliver more value to the same number of customers can be an effective business approach. After you’ve been running your food truck for a few weeks or months, you’ll probably start noticing some trends. For example, you may have noticed that on a typical day, you serve 50 customers, but your sales numbers have plateaued. There are only a few ways to fix these “stalls” in income. You can decrease the amount of money you’re spending on food, but there’s probably not a lot of wiggle room here, without sacrificing quality. You can raise [...]
Can You Install an A/C 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. Let's face it. It gets hot in the summer even if you operate in a Northern state. When you combine summer heat inside a food truck kitchen while running a hot oven or deep fryers, the temperature can quick climb over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. This [...]
COVID-19’s Impact on the Food Truck Industry–And What to Do About It.
COVID-19 (AKA the coronavirus) has disrupted the food truck industry. Concerts, events, and food truck festivals around the nation have been canceled as the public is strongly encouraged to stay inside their homes in an effort to minimize the spread of this nasty disease. But you already knew this. The goal of this post is to remind you that this too shall pass and to keep this health crisis in perspective. We'll also offer some practical ideas to keep your food business operating during these difficult times. Do we know how long the current situation will last? Nope. No one [...]
How to Reduce Your Food Truck Suppliers and Simplify Operations
Operating a food truck business can be complex, but sometimes we as owners / operators make things more complicated than they need to be. One simple way I've found to make things easier to operate is by cutting back on the number of suppliers I work with. If you can narrow the number of suppliers you use, you can drastically simplify your life (not to mention your bookkeeping). For example, at one point, we had a sandwich menu that used six different types of bread. The rye and the sourdough were easy; they came from a commercial bakery and could be [...]
37 All-Time Best Grilled Cheese Food Truck Name Ideas
Thinking about starting a grilled cheese truck, but can't find a good name? We're here to help you out. We've categorized a list of some of the best ideas we could come up with that make sense for a grilled cheese truck. In case you didn't know, you can build a really solid business around the based around this beloved sandwich. You can go upscale serving sandwiches with artisan French baked bread and cheeses. You can attract meat lovers by adding bacon or prosciutto. Finally, you could get creative by making a dessert grilled cheese made with cinnamon toast bread, [...]