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❯❯ Sticking to one basic cuisine: Don’t try to compete directly with local full-sized restaurants that, based on kitchen size and seating capabilities, can offer more extensive menu options. Focus on a specific style of cuisine for your concept. This strategy allows you to fill your menu with crowd-pleasing items that you can consistently produce to a high standard.
❯❯ Keeping up with current food trends: Stay up-to-date with the mobile food industry and understand the latest food trends, such as the desire for healthy local meals and ingredients. Don’t hold strictly to these trends for your overall concept, though, because trends come and go. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t create a concept that allows you to update your menu to use trendy items, such as bison or elk. Check out Mobile Cuisine (www.mobile-cuisine.com) and Nation’s Restaurant News (www.nrn.com) for food trends making their way into the mobile food and restaurant industries.
❯❯ Being inspired by others: Don’t be afraid to take someone else’s idea and make it better. If you find a great food truck while traveling through different parts of the country and want to create one with a similar concept in your town, don’t be shy – go for it!
❯❯ Making sure you have the necessary staff or culinary skills: If you decide to serve Vietnamese cuisine but don’t have any experience with Vietnamese cooking, for example, you need to either hire a chef who does or learn how to cook Vietnamese food on your own. Take classes at a nearby culinary school or speak with restaurant owners in your area to see whether you can learn from them. (I provide information on hiring a chef in Chapter 11.) If these options don’t appeal to you, find a different concept for your truck.
❯❯ Thinking about the locations where you’ll operate: If you plan to operate in an area in which the demographics of the population don’t fit a specific style of cuisine or concept, you may need to consider another concept. Check out Chapter 3 for information relating to understanding market demographics.
❯❯ Considering the time of day you plan to operate: You need to contemplate whether you plan to work morning, lunch, dinner, or late-night hours. If you plan to work only morning shifts, having a concept that centers on heavy greasy food may not be a great fit. However, a truck that sells coffee and tea along with a variety of breakfast sandwiches for early morning commuters may be a fantastic niche to build around.
❯❯ Being passionate about your idea: Your food truck will become a huge part of your life; you’ll work long hours and deal with every aspect of running it. With all the time, energy, and money you’ll be putting into your mobile business, be sure you’re passionate about your concept. A few special signature dishes that you love to make for your friends and family can be a good indicator of where your passion may lie. If the idea of serving burgers and fries doesn’t really excite you, for example, your business may not last very long if you choose burgers and fries for your truck’s cuisine, and you may end up wasting a lot of your time and money.
Note: No matter how passionate you are about your idea, don’t forget to determine whether it’s viable. Is there enough demand in your area for your concept? Will people pay for what you plan to offer on your menu? Ask yourself, would you buy this item at this price? Flip to Chapter 3 for details on researching your local food truck market.
❯❯ Demographic survey: Use the demographic survey to determine the demographics of the market you’re going to be located in. This survey gives you information, such as the ages, occupations, and income levels, of your prospective customers; ethnic groups in the area; and the size of the market to help you see whether your concept is a good fit for the area. You may find that a large ethnic group in the area isn’t currently being catered to by existing food trucks or restaurants. You may want to lean your concept toward this demographic.
❯❯ Competitive analysis: This tool helps you understand who your local competition will be. You can use this information to compare your menu prices with those of your competitors. Do the prices required to give you a market advantage fit with your concept?
The atmosphere your truck presents may be one of the most important methods for achieving your food truck concept. When considering atmosphere for your truck, think about the experience you want and the senses that will be affected when a customer walks up to your truck. Read on for some important considerations.
Here are a few resources for finding the experts you need to help come up with the right atmosphere for your desired food truck concept:
❯❯ Food Fellas: www.foodfellasllc.com
❯❯ Mobi Munch: www.mobimunch.com
❯❯ Vucurevich | Simons Advisory Group (VSAG): www.vsag.com
Sight
What do you want your customers to see? A concept’s visual effect encompasses more than just the graphics you wrap your truck in (see Chapter 7 for the scoop). Lighting applies to trucks that work at night, but even if you plan to work only during daylight hours initially, considering lighting upfront is a good idea in case you later decide to start working shifts after the sun goes down. The lighting on the interior of the truck as well as the lighting inside the kitchen can help you achieve different visual effects. Think about the lighting in the area where you plan to park your vehicle in, too, because it can help you achieve a certain mood as well.
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