fast food truck business plan sample

We came up with this idea called the Ravioli Club, which is essentially a membership that you buy from our online store, and you get three mystery deliveries of ravioli delivered to your house every two weeks.

Mikey wasn’t always an ecommerce expert: “I was very green in learning how to do all the online sales, and I’m still learning a lot,” he says.

"And even with the small increments of learning that I’ve done, sales are going up exponentially. Not only has it boosted our sales, but it decreased the amount of time that I have to spend doing back and forth work with people. Because once you have all your information laid out on the website, you get a lot less tire kickers and you get a lot more people that call you and want to hire you [for catering]."

5. Create customer personas

This area of your food truck business plan is where you’ll outline your ideal customer. Where do they live? How old are they? What kind of foods do they like? How much disposable income do they have? You’ll need to do some serious demographic research to fill in this section, since every city and neighborhood is different. Then use it to inform your menu and pricing.

One person hands another person an ice cream cone out of the window of an ice cream truck

If you plan to set up outside rock concerts and baseball parks, caviar and foie gras could be hard to sell, while home-cooked barbeque might not do well on the street in front of your local opera house. Ask questions to determine what your potential customers want.

6. Put together a marketing plan

You can make as much delicious food as you want, but if no one knows about it, you’re going to have a hard time making a profit. Your marketing plan is essential to the success of your business and this section is where you’ll outline it for yourself or your loan officer.

Branding and communications

Start by detailing where you’ll park and what your truck will look like , since these are the two biggest factors in attracting walk-by customers. Next, show how you’ll raise the profile of your business beyond passersby using traditional marketing techniques and, especially, social media.

Sugar + Spoon in Seattle has done an amazing job of coordinating the look and feel of its food, trucks, website, and excellent Instagram account to reinforce its brand recognition wherever customers may encounter it.

If you intend to park in different locations on different days, having dedicated followers on Instagram, Twitter, and/or Facebook is a great way to let people know where they can find you. Social media is also the perfect place to update your followers on new menu items. Remember to take great photos of your food for maximum impact.

Your marketing plan should also account for what makes your offerings different from everyone else on the road. In the Products and Services section, we discussed how your menu should fill a niche, whether it is the type of cuisine, quality, or cost. In this section, you’ll need to provide details on how you plan to communicate those differentiators to your customers.

women carrying basket of local ingredients

For example, Eats Amoré publicly refers to its cuisine using the acronym S.S.O.L (seasonal, sustainable, organic, local), which sets it apart from other food trucks that may be serving Italian dishes without the care, ingredients, or legacy that go into everything Mikey and Natalie cook.

Natalie finds that “people are so liberal with mac and cheese. … There’s other trucks that put mac and cheese on a hot dog or they put mac and cheese on a grilled cheese.” Not particularly authentic.

Mikey agrees: “I think there’s so much room in the culinary world for creativity that if you are not being creative and you’re just trying to mimic someone else, customers will see that. Would you want some Italian food from the Italian truck or the one that kind of looks like a burger or hot dog truck?”

Online ordering

Speaking of technology, this is a good time to explore the possibility of having your customers interact with you via smartphones and computers.

You may want to offer online ordering with delivery or pickup, which can be accomplished using third-party services like DoorDash , Skip the Dishes , Uber Eats , or any number of apps preferred in different markets around the world—be sure to find out which app most restaurants and delivery services use in your area.

Not having to wait in line could be a boon for hungry, busy office workers and increase the amount of business you’re able to do in a day.

A less obvious facet of your marketing plan is your start date. If you plan on opening right when the good weather hits, you’re likely to be too busy to spend a lot of time building a brand identity and online presence, though your cash flow will probably be in good shape.

Conversely, opening during a slower time of year may result in fewer sales but will allow you to get organized and accustomed to the pace of running a food truck. If you live somewhere with proper winter weather, you may want to consider taking some time off through the darker months.

“A huge mistake that we had in our first year’s business plan was that we were going to work through the winter,” says Mikey. “But what I forgot was that the people in Kamloops are very fair weathered. They’re used to nice weather. So a little bit of cold and they’re like, No, we're out of here. It wasn't until last winter that we actually did become a year-round business when we opened our Shopify account."

7. Create a logistics and operations plan

This section is where you’ll need to dig into the nitty-gritty, day-to-day operations of your food truck.

Supply chain

You need ingredients in order to sell food. But where will you get them ? Let’s look at your options.

Restaurant wholesalers

Example: Sysco

Pros: Reliable and cost effective.

Cons: Large volume-packaged products could be hard to store on your truck.

Wholesale clubs

Example: Costco

Pros: Convenience—shop whenever you want.

Cons: Prices may be higher than restaurant wholesalers.

Grocery stores

Example: Trader Joe’s, local greengrocers, specialty markets

Pros: The greatest variety of ingredients, including local, organic, and specialty items. Smaller package sizes.

Cons: High prices.

Many food truck operators use a combination of suppliers to achieve their goals, so look at what is available in your area that fits into your menu and budget. Also consider your menu: if you have a fixed set of meal offerings, will you be able to reliably get the same ingredients throughout the year? If your menu rotates frequently, will you have time to source new ingredients on a regular basis?

Mikey has found that the sources of their organic and local ingredients are part of the appeal of their truck.

It is a slightly more expensive route to go because locally grown food is better. But our menu changes all the time. It’s seasonally rotating. And I think that creates a bit of a supply and demand thing too, where if you want that [ingredient] and it’s in season, get it now because it won’t be here in two weeks.

Your truck is your facility. So think carefully about what kind of vehicle you decide to buy.

Mikey says, “We got this HandyDART bus for a steal, and we spent the beginning of 2013 turning it into a food truck. We learned so much. It’s a fiberglass vehicle, which wasn’t ideal compared to a big stainless truck. But we made it work.” Retrofitting a vehicle that isn’t perfect may be an option considering your budget and skill set, or you may want to purchase a vehicle that was purpose-built to be a food truck.

But your facility requirements may be substantially more than just putting four wheels on the road. This is the place to outline the physical equipment and maintenance requirements for your business, such as:

Many cities also dictate that some aspects of food preparation, such as chopping vegetables, making soups, baking bread, or preparing other ingredients, be done in an off-site commissary kitchen outside of sales hours, rather than in the food truck or in your home. This is to ensure food safety, and you’ll need to factor the cost and logistics into your plan.

It’s also a good idea to determine if you can store additional ingredients at your commissary kitchen location.

Production capacity

How long does it take to make an item from your menu, on average? This is a major consideration that could limit how many customers you can serve in a day. And unlike brick-and-mortar restaurants that can bring on more staff during busy periods, a food truck is likely limited to just a few people, no matter how many hungry folks are waiting.

How do you intend to cope with changes in pace and demand over the course of a day, week, month, or year? Mikey notes, “I go home and do dishes for two hours. It's far more labor intensive than people realize.” So don’t forget to factor in how much work you can realistically do yourself.

If you plan on offering products for sale online, you’ll need to sort out a plan to ship them to customers. Fortunately, shipping can be accomplished quite easily at reasonable prices .

8. Write out your financial plan

Like most businesses, yours will likely live or die on the strength of your financial plan. You have to know how much money is coming in , how much is going out, and how those numbers are likely to change in the future. So be sure to dig deep into your prospective balance sheet to truly understand how profits and costs will affect your operation.

A person with headphones on works on the computer during sunset

Profit margin

Fortunately for you, startup costs on a food truck are a lot less than a brick-and-mortar restaurant, so your break-even point could come a lot sooner. That said, your profits could be limited by the food truck model.

Many municipalities don’t allow food trucks to serve alcohol; traditional restaurants tend to assume a 30% profit from alcohol sales, which you probably won’t be able to access. Instead, food trucks can expect to average about 8% profit , which means they are a volume business. You’ll need to work fast to serve a lot of customers in order to earn a profit.

In addition, certain cuisines, like burgers, have a perceived upper price limit in the minds of consumers. Regardless of how much it costs to make, it could be tough to get people to shell out $25 for a food truck hamburger, depending on where you set up shop—menu pricing is critical to your financial plan.

You’ll also need to outline your cash flow scenario . Since food trucks can’t store a lot of inventory (ingredients and supplies), you’ll need to sell and restock more frequently than a brick-and-mortar restaurant.

Additional costs

This section is also the place to factor in other costs, such as licensing, maintenance, and staff wages, if you have employees. And if you don’t plan on hiring help, remember that you probably can’t work 16 hours a day, seven days a week, which will limit your profits too.

Now write that business plan

Now that you’ve had a chance to think about how your food truck dreams will shape your food truck business plan, it’s time to actually sit down and write it.

Need a little push in the right direction? Check out some examples , then start filling in your template once you’re inspired.

Ready to create your business? Start your free trial of Shopify—no credit card required.

Food truck business plan faq, is a food truck a good business.

Yes, food truck businesses have generally lower overhead costs than a traditional restaurant and have the advantage of mobility, meaning they can re-locate easily to high-traffic areas.

How profitable is a food truck business?

Food truck businesses can be very profitable in comparison to a traditional restaurant business, since you don’t have to pay building fees (like rent) and they can be managed with fewer employees. You also have the advantage of being able to move locations in anticipation of high-traffic events.

What types of food trucks are most profitable?

What are the disadvantages of a food truck business?

Food truck businesses may be subject to local zoning laws, so you’ll need to check the laws in your city concerning where you’re allowed to operate. Food trucks also lack the space of a tradional restaurant kitchen, so it may get crowded at times.

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4 + Food Truck Business Plan Templates
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FREE Fast Food Truck Business Plan Sample in Google Docs, Word, PDF
Pin by Bits Catering on Bits- Ideas truck
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