If you're up to your neck in your year-end financials like I am (and still hungover from the holiday sales rush), you've probably started to ask yourself questions about your business' sales forecast in 2021. Of course, if you ask any business advisor, you should have been planning for 2021 in July. Well, such is the life of a small business owner -- you get around to things months later. As I look toward 2021, I'd like to share 5 areas for growth in your food business. I shared a few other strategies this past summer, but after I crunched [...]

America loves its baked goods, from cookies and snack cakes to donuts, cheesecakes, and other baked treats. And overall, the baking industry is worth around 30 billion dollars a year, making up some 2.1% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the US. Over 9,000 bakeries exist across the country, though 55% of that market is covered by just three major commercial bakeries. Of that industry, the market for cakes is valued at $1.9 billion dollars annually. Of all the cakes sold in the US, decorated cakes such as birthday and wedding cakes are top of the list, closely followed [...]

Struggling to get into a busy farmers market in your town? Here's our advice for getting your application noticed and accepted. This process works for food trucks, trailers, and pop-up tents. As a general rule of thumb, farmers market applications are available on the website ­­or social media page for the website. If not, you can ask the Market Manager to add you to the list of possible vendors who they send an application to annually (usually via email). The first step is filling our an application correctly and sending the document to the manager. BBQ grilling is better [...]

It's almost that time of year again - farmer's market season! Locally, our summer farmer's market starts only a couple months away. I'm incredibly excited. There are over 90 vendors with everything from produce, to jam, wooden crafts, bbq sandwiches and egg rolls. And always a ton of new vendors each season, too. While things are going to continue being a bit different this year than usual, I'm still hopeful we'll be seeing a strong crowd turnout at the local market. Be sure to support your local farmer's markets as well! If you're a new to the food truck or [...]

Struggling to come up with content for your blog? Maybe one of these ideas will help! Have you ever wondered what you would actually write about if you started a blog tied to your food businesses? The modern blog can come in many formats, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube blogs, or of course hosted on your own company website. Blogging is a time-consuming activity. You might have time for it, you might not. Hopefully, you do. And if you're making it a main part of your online marketing, chances are you run into the same writer's block I'm experiencing. [...]

"You guys are a traveling hardware store!" That's the line we get almost every weekend at the farmers market. And it's true. We've got everything you would ever need to support, fix, mend, display, and level out your farmers market display. Whether you operate a truck, trailer or a tent this is like a Swiss army knife of life savers for food vendors. BBQ Trailer built by M&R Specialty Trailers and Trucks. Does this sound like a typical morning? You pack "everything" into the food truck and head to bed, dreaming of an above-average sales day. The next [...]

Food carts have been a major part of American history since the founding fathers first landed on these green shores. And New York City was the original center of the food cart industry since 1691, when it was still known as New Amsterdam. Small wonder this vast metropolis is still one of the most popular food cart locations in the country. From the old-time chuck wagons to the more modern taco stands, food carts are a popular sight on street corners across America today, and are a viable business opportunity for anyone looking to start up their own business. So [...]

The biggest barrier to making money when you’re first getting started with your food truck seems like it should be simple to overcome, but it can become more problematic than you might expect. It’s a simple question: Where are you gonna PUT this thing to sell my food? Thanks to strict city ordinances, draconian zoning guidelines, and even protests from envious local brick-and-mortar establishments, who may view your food truck as unfair competition for their own businesses, finding a spot to park your truck or concession trailer can be complicated. Review Your Local Ordinances BBQ Trailer built by M&R [...]

Do you make a great product, but struggle to get a lot of customer testimonials? A lot of food truck owners find it hard to capture the excitement of their current customers to help them sell more product to new customers. After all, testimonials from real people convert wavering customers incredibly well. But, how do you get more customers to rave about your product AND tell you? The answer is simple: just ask. Customers who stand behind your product, purchase it often, and tell other people about it will often tell you, too. Ask for an online review after [...]

Struggling to find a unique name for your ice cream truck? We're here to help. The Frozen Dessert Industry in the United States is now worth more than $200 billion a year and is still growing. The United States is still also the largest in the world when it comes to the ice-cream market, and Americans regularly consume more than 91% of the overall global annual ice cream sales, according to market research reports. Working out how to name your new ice cream truck can be a little hard, since there are already a huge number of trucks across the country that [...]