sample business plan for food cart pdf

Food Cart Business Plan [Sample Template]

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business Plans » Food Sector » Food Truck & Cart

Are you about starting a food cart business ? If YES, here is a complete sample food cart business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE .

Starting a food cart might be one of the nicest moves to make. This is hinged on the fact that there are a whole lot of people who are into the consumption of food. In fact it is very essential to human health. Look around you and you will find that there are an avalanche of restaurants that are saddled with catering to the food needs of people.

However, the food cart business is also gaining ore grounds as more and more people are making money from this trade. One thing is however sure, and that is that if you are able to draft a great business plan, you can be sure to work and run with it whilst building your business. Here below is a sample plan to work with;

A Sample Food Cart Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

The Food Trucks industry has skilled people and van be said to have witnesses a remarkable rise over the past five years, as consumers have increasingly favored unique, gourmet cuisine at budget-conscious prices.

Despite the efforts which the entrepreneurs in this field put into the trade, there is still a high competition and an unfavorable regulatory conditions in some cities in the united states of America that have limited the growth of industry vendors.

Nonetheless, the industry has overtaken the broader food-service sector over the period in terms of revenue growth. Research has shown that soon in 2023, favorable consumer trends will continue to support moderate revenue growth. However, the industry will need to work with community governments to resolve the numerous legal challenges to food cart operations.

The Food Carts industry is in the increasing phase of its life cycle. Nonetheless, growth has increased slightly over the past few years and revenue is still growing at a much faster rate than the larger food-service sector. In the past food carts have progressed better than their food-service counterparts, primarily due to the budget-friendly features of their products and the expanding style of consumers seeking new food concepts.

Besides, the industry continues to progress and new creations are still entering the industry with new concepts. Figures have it that by 2022, industry value added (IVA), which has its measure an industry’s contribution to GDP, is predictable and is likely to grow at an average annual rate of 6.4%.

2. Executive Summary

Buena Foods ® is a leading and standard food cart Company that will be based in Boston – Massachusetts, USA that covers a wide range of clients both individual and corporate clients.

We have been able to lease a standard corner piece facility that is centrally located in the heart of Boston and few minutes drive to Harvard University Community. We have put plans in place to also sell our franchise and offer consultancy services in line with our area of business.

Buena Foods® is established by the Massachusetts awarding winning food nutritionist and caterer – Andrew Hago – Hugo who has B.Sc. in Food Science Technology and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School.

He also has a robust experience in the food business having worked both in the public sector and the private sector prior to starting his own business.

We are in the food cart Industry to favorably compete with other leading and brands in the industry. Our corporate business goal is to be among the top 10 food cart chain brand in the United States of America.

As a company, we are willing to go the extra mile to invest in some of the finest professionals we can find and also we have set plans in place to acquire the best of equipment when it comes to setting up a standard and first class food cart business.

When it comes to hygiene and proper packaging, we have put plans, process and structures in place that will ensure that we are always at the top of game when it comes to that. We have been able to secure permits from all relevant departments in Massachusetts.

Beyond every reasonable doubt, the demand for goo food isn’t going to plummet any time soon, which is why we have put plans in place to continue to explore all available market around the cities where we are going to be located and ensure that we create a wide range of distribution channels via franchising. With that, we know that we will be able to maximize profits in our business.

Our strongest selling point at Buena Foods ® is the unique taste of the different types of delicacies that we will make and sell. There is hardly any customer that will taste any of our meals who would not want to come back and make more purchase or order more– we take great delight in welcoming repeat customers over and over again.

Buena Foods ® will at all times demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as a firm, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible. We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our customers need precisely and completely whenever they patronize our products.

We will cultivate a working environment that provides a human, sustainable approach to earning a living, and living in our world, for our partners, employees and for our customers.

Our plan is to position Buena Foods ® to become the leading brand in mobile food industry in the whole of Massachusetts, and also to be amongst the top 10 food cart brand in the United States of America within the first 10 years of starting our business.

This might look too tall a dream but we are optimistic that this will surely come to pass because we have done our research and feasibility studies and we are enthusiastic and confident that Boston – Massachusetts is the right place to launch this type of business before spreading to other cities all across The United States of America.

3. Our Products and Services

At Buena Foods ® we make a wide range of pizzas in terms of sizes and flavors et al; we prepare and serve our meals and other related items. We will also adopt full-service restaurants and quick-service style. As part our strategy to create multiple sources of income in line with our core business concept, we will run a consultancy service and trainings.

Our intention of starting Buena Foods ® is to make profits from the industry and we will do all that is permitted by the law in the US to achieve our aim and ambition. Here are some of our products and services;

• sell lunch (assorted meals)
• sell snacks
• sell assorted drinks (Soft Drinks, Wines, smoothie, and punch, Fruit Juice, amongst others)
• Sell franchise
• Training and consultancy services on mobile truck food business

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• To become the leading brand in mobile food cart business in Boston and the whole of United States of America.
• We are in the mobile food truck industry with the aim of constructing a brand that can readily meet the needs of our valued clients in places where they can hardly access standard cafeterias.
• And also to offer entrepreneurs the opportunity and training needed to successfully lunch their own mobile food truck business in other cities in the US.

Our Business Structure

Most people who go into the mobile foods business usually choose the business over the conventional restaurant business; this is because it is perhaps less expensive to manage especially when it comes to taking care of overhead and operational cost.

On the average, mobile food companies usually have 4 or 5 employees under their payroll. Because of the type of mobile food business brand that we intend building, we have been able to make provision for the following employees;

• Chief Operating Officer (Owner)
• Chef / Caterer
• Assistant Caterer

Office Administrator

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Operating Officer (owner)

• Responsible for providing direction for the business
• Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for the day to day running of the business
• Responsible for fixing prices
• Responsible for recruitment
• Responsible for payment of salaries
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Evaluates the success of the organization

Chef / Caterer /Cooks

• Responsible for preparing delicacies
• Makes lists and budget for kitchen supplies
• Oversees the entire kitchen staff
• Responsible for training new cooks
• Makes sure that the meals being whipped up tastes really good
• Kitchen Assistant / Utility Staff

Assistant the chef/ cook in the kitchen

• Ensures that all the needed cooking ingredients are in supply
• Runs errand for the chef / cook and every member of the workforce
• Ensures that the kitchen area of the truck is clean and hygienic at all times
• Responsible for washing cooking pots, utensil and dishes when necessary
• Assists in packaging food and snacks
• Responsible for moving packed foods from the kitchen to the cubicle / point of sale
• Ensures that various types of drinks are present in the fridge per time (get them replaced as soon as they are sold)
• Any other duty as assigned by the line manager
• Interfaces with our highly esteem customers
• Collects orders and issues foods as demanded by customers after payment
• Keeps proper records of daily sales and then reconcile with the cashier
• Responsible for manning the fridge and every stuffs that are up for sale
• Any other duty as assigned by the Chief Operating Officer
• Receives payments on behalf of the company (POS, cash, mobile money et al)
• Issues receipt to customers
• Prepares financial report at the end of every working week
• Handles all financial transaction on behalf of the company
• Responsible for driving the cart to sales venues and back to base
• Ensures that the cart is in top shape at all times
• Ensures that maintenance schedules for the cart are strictly followed
• Responsible for renewing the vehicle license, insurance and any other documentation for the vehicle as at when due
• Any other duty as assigned by the food cart manager
• Responsible for managing the daily activities of the back end office
• Prepares payroll for the organization
• Prepare monthly financial report for the organization
• Interfaces with vendors and third party suppliers ( drink suppliers, raw food suppliers and maintenance team et al)
• Responds to enquiries on behalf of the company
• Handles phone calls for the company
• Manage the company’s e-mail and website
• Interfaces with our bankers (lodgment of cash, checks and bank drafts et al)
• Responsible for payment of tax, levies and utility bills

6. SWOT Analysis

As a team together with our paid business consultants, we have been able to look both inward and outward, as well as critically assess ourselves and business ideas to know if we are truly ready to launch our mobile food truck business in Boston.

No doubt, we have a lot of factors working in our favor but at the same time we have some factors that we must contend with if we intend becoming the number one brand when it comes to mobile food cart business in Boston and the whole of North America. Below is a summary of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Buena Foods® Mobile Food Company;

Aside from the trainings that have been acquired, as well as the hands on experience attained over the years prior to starting Buena Foods ® Company, our strength lies in our financial capacity and determination to succeed in the business at all cost. We have been able to acquire a brand new mobile food preparation vehicle (MFPV).

It has the capacity to meet the needs of well over 500 customers per day. Our strength also lies in the fact that we have relationship with brand experts who are working almost for free for us. With that, will be able to build our brand to a level where we can start selling franchises and offer trainings and consultancy services on mobile food Cart business.

The fact that we are planning to roll out our mobile cart business alongside other similar business offerings like training, consultancy services and sale of franchise could distract us from concentrating and channeling our energy in one direction. We are quite aware of that and we are working towards blocking any area that will sap our energy and make us under performed in our core business area – sale of foods and drinks from a mobile cart.

• Opportunities:

The opportunities that we stand to leverage on are much. The fact that we are not tied down to a location is indeed a good opportunity for us to grow our business to the level we want to grow it to. For example; we can afford to trade foods, snacks and drinks in more than two locations within a day. It is all about knowing when to arrive and leave for another location.

There is hardly any business venture that doesn’t face its own threat. Regarding mobile food cart business, one of the threat that we may likely face is; vehicular traffic in key cities.

Traffic can delay one and as a result of that one may get to the location where one intend selling the foods and drinks late- this could be when the lunch break is over (basically for organized events). Yet another threat is; the government policies, which could also pose a great threat to the mobile food cart industry.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

In this dispensation more than ever before, people no longer have sufficient time to do all they would want to do within the available 24 hours. Hence, the rise of fast food restaurants all over the cities. As such, mobile food cart business is another business that is designed to fit into a dispensation like ours. Part of the marketing and sales strategies that we shall adopt include but not limited to the following;

Submit proposals to event management companies to become their official mobile food vendor. Submit proposals to management of public facility (sport centers, beach and schools, et al) to become their official mobile food vendor. Send proposals to schools and corporate organizations to become their official mobile food vendor. Sponsor relevant events, such as cooking competitions, and cultural events, et al.

8. Our Target Market

When it comes to mobile food cart business, there are no restrictions to the market you can explore, as long as you are operating within the law of the state where you are conducting your business. We do not intend to place any limit to the scope of our target market and these are the places / locations where we intend operating our mobile food cart business with the aim of maximizing sales;

• Construction sites
• Tourism locations
• University Campuses
• Carnival ground
• Stadiums and sport centers
• Community Outdoor Events
• Blue Collar work locations
• Farmers Markets
• Industrial Parks
• Movie Recording Location
• Farmers Market
• Military Bases
• Office Complexes
• Mechanic Villages
• Open air shows and programs

When it comes to foods, there is indeed a wide range of available customers. In essence, our target market can’t be restricted to just a group of people, but all those who eating out and of course those who would want to try it out. In view of that, we have conducted our market research and we have ideas of what our target market would be expecting from us. These are the groups of people we intend marketing our pizzas to;

• Corporate Executives
• Government Officials
• Business People
• Celebrities
• Military Men and Women
• Sports Men and Women
• Everyone who resides in our target locations.

Our Competitive Advantage

Loads of factors count towards our advantage as a mobile food cart business operator. The fact that we have the ability to determine where we want to sell our foods and drinks per time gives us the leverage to make as much sales as we can make in a day.

It has been observed that any organization that offers training and consultancy services is always amongst the leaders in their industry and we at Buena Foods Company are set to tow along this part because we want to become experts and amongst the leading mobile food truck company in the whole of the US.

We have put plans in place to facilitate continuous improvement on what we do, because we know that is one of the factors that will be give us competitive advantage in the market place. Another competitive advantage that we have as a company is the size and condition of or food truck.

We have been able to purchase a brand new retrofitted food cart with the entire required gadget. It is big enough to accommodate all that we would need for the business, we are going to spend less on maintenance and we can easily obtain approval from the appropriate authorities.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Businesses that do pretty well are businesses that have more than one source where they generate revenue. It is risky to run a business where you can only generate income from just one source. The truth is that if anything goes wrong with the source of income, the business might likely collapse.

This is why we worked hard to provide you with a sample food truck marketing plan template to help you through the process. The big picture we have for Buena Foods ® Mobile Food Company is to generate income from the following sources;

• Sales of launch (meals)
• Sales of Snacks
• Offering training services
• Offering consultancy services in line with our business goal
• Sales of drinks
• Sales of our franchise

10. Sales Forecast

It is important to state that our sales forecast is based on the data gathered during our feasibility studies and also assumptions. This is for sales projections based on what we saw.

• 1000 lunches per day (on average), 12 months per year
• $20 per person on the average
• 1500 snacks per day, 12 months per year
• $5 per person on the average
• Sales of Drinks and Water et al:

On the average over 80% of people who purchase lunch (meal) and snacks would normally consume drinks as well.

• $1.5 for a bottle of coke

This equates to 2000 drinks in a day when you multiply 2000 by 1.5 we will make an estimate of $3000 daily from the sale of drinks alone

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

Before choosing a location to launch Buena Foods® and also the types and the types of foods we prepare, we conducted a thorough market survey and feasibility studies in order for us to be able to be able to penetrate the available market in the cities where we intend positioning our business.

We have detailed information and data that we were able to utilize to structure our business to attract the numbers of customers we want to attract per time and also for our products to favorable compete with other leading food cart brands in Boston – Massachusetts and the whole of the United States of America.

We hired experts who have good understanding of the industry to help us develop marketing strategies that will help us achieve our business goal of winning a larger percentage of the available market Boston – Massachusetts and throughout the United States of America where we intend selling our franchise.

In other to continue to be in business and grow, we must continue to sell our products to the available market which is why we will go all out to empower or sales and marketing team to deliver our corporate sales goals. In summary, Buena Foods ® will adopt the following sales and marketing approach to sell our pizzas and soft drinks;

• Introduce our food brand by sending introductory letters to residence, merchants and other stakeholders both in Boston – Massachusetts and in other cities in the United States of America
• Open our food cart business with a party and free meals so as to capture the attention of residence who are our first targets
• Engage in road show in targeted communities from time to time to sell our products
• Advertise our products in community based newspapers, local TV and radio stations
• List our business and products on yellow pages ads (local directories)
• Leverage on the internet to promote our mobile food brands
• Engage in direct marketing and sales
• Encourage the use of Word of mouth marketing (referrals)

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

Despite the fact that our food cart company is a standard one with a wide range of flavors and products that can favorably compete with other leading brands in the United States, we will still go ahead to intensify publicity for all our products and brand. We are going to explore all available means to promote our services ®

Buena Foods ® has a long term plan of opening outlets in various locations all around the United States of America and also to sell our franchise which is why we will purposefully build our brand to be well accepted in Boston – Massachusetts before venturing out to other cities in the United States of America.

As a matter of fact, our publicity and advertising strategy is not solely for selling our products but to also effectively communicate our brand. Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on to promote and advertise Buena Foods

• Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community programs
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, et al to promote our brand
• Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations all around major cities in the United States of America
• Engage in road show from time to time in targeted communities
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
• Position our Flexi Banners at strategic positions in the location where we intend getting customers to start patronizing our products.
• Ensure that all our staff members wear our customized clothes, and all our official cars and distribution vans are customized and well branded.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Generally food cart business sells meals, and snacks at a cheaper rate when compared to the conventional fixed – restaurant. We don’t have any plans to sell our foods, snacks and drinks beyond the prices that is obtainable in the industry.

That does not mean that we will fall below standard when it comes to the quality of our food. As a matter of fact, one of our strongest selling points will be the taste and perhaps the quantity of our foods when compared to our competitors.

From our market survey and feasibility studies, we are sure going to make reasonable profits even when we sell a little below the average price for package foods and snacks in the food cart industry, especially if the location we intend selling our foods and drinks is not far away from our base.

• Payment Options

At Biena Foods ®, our payment policy is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them. Here are the payment options that will be available in every of our outlets;

• Payment by cash
• Payment via Point of Sale (POS) Machine
• Payment via online bank transfer (online payment portal)
• Payment via Mobile money

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our payment plans without any itches.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

When it comes to starting a standard food cart business, one is expected to spend the bulk of the start – up capital on equipping for the business. Aside from that, you are not expected to spend much except for purchasing distribution vans, paying of your employees and utility bills.

This is the key areas where we will spend our start – up capital;

• The Total Fee for Registering the Business in Boston – Massachusetts – $750.
• Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services (software, P.O.S machines and other software) – $1,300.
• Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of Buena Food Cart Business Company®; in the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of – $3,580.
• Cost for hiring Business Consultant – $2,500.
• Insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $2,400.
• Cost for payment of rent for 12 month at $1.76 per square feet in the total amount of $105,600.
• Cost for construction of a standard bakery – $100,000.
• Other start-up expenses including stationery ($500) and phone and utility deposits ($2,500).
• Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $100,000
• The cost for Start-up inventory (raw materials and packaging materials et al) – $80,000
• Storage hardware (bins, rack, shelves, food case) – $3,720
• The cost for counter area equipment (counter top, sink, ice machine, etc.) – $9,500
• Cost for yogurt making equipment – $20,000
• Cost for store equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $13,750
• Cost of purchase of distribution vans – $50,000
• The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, Sound System, tables and chairs et al) – $4,000.
• The cost of Launching a Website – $600
• The cost for our opening party – $10,000
• Miscellaneous – $10,000

We would need an estimate of $500,000 to successfully set up our Food Cart delivery company in Boston – Massachusetts. Please note that this amount includes the salaries of the entire staff member for the first month of operation.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Buena Food Cart Business®

Buena Food Cart® is a family business that is owned and financed by Mr. Andrew Hago – and Family. They do not intend to welcome any external business partner which is why he has decided to restrict the sourcing of the start – up capital to 3 major sources.

These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

• Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings and sell of stocks
• Source for soft loans from family members and friends
• Apply for loan from my Bank

N.B: We have been able to generate about $100,000 (Personal savings $80,000 and soft loan from family members $20,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $400,000 from our bank. All the papers and document have been signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited with the amount.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of a business lies in the numbers of loyal customers that they have the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If any of these factors is missing from a business (company), then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.

Buena Foods ® will ensure that all the factors listed above are reinforced on a regular basis, we will continue to improvise with our products, come up with pleasant and acceptable flavors and also we will engage in continuous capacity building of our workforce. As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of five years or more.

We will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and re – training of our workforce is at the top burner. We have the plans of

Check List / Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check:>Completed
• Business Registration: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
• Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
• Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Leasing of facility and construction of standard Bakery: In Progress
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating capital from family members: Completed
• Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
• Writing of Business Plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
• Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: In Progress
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the Needed furniture, racks, shelves, computers, electronic appliances, office appliances and CCTV: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
• Opening party / launching party planning: In Progress
• Establishing business relationship with vendors – wholesale suppliers / merchants: In Progress
• Purchase of delivery vans: Completed

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Food Truck Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Food Truck Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your food truck business plan.

We have helped over 100,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their food trucks.

Food Truck Business Plan Example & Template

Below is a template to help you create each section of your food truck business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck is a new food truck located in Portland owned by local critically acclaimed chef, Zane Benedict. The menu will consist of popular food options that consist of burgers, sandwiches, gyros, and tacos uniquely made with the creativity and uniqueness that Chef Zane can offer. Chef Zane’s eclectic style and consistency make him a favorite among Portland foodies and his food truck will garner a loyal following amongst young professionals and college students.

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck will be located in the immensely popular food truck pod known as Cartopia. Chef Zane will receive lots of exposure by being a part of this community as there are plenty of neighboring food trucks, bars, nightlife, and entertainment options nearby. With the popular location of Cartopia and an impressive Instagram social media following, Zesty Zane’s Food Truck is destined to become a local go-to dining destination for anyone craving delicious, interesting fare at an affordable price.

Products Served

The following are the products to be offered by Zesty Zane’s Food Truck:

• Sandwiches & paninis
• Assorted non-alcoholic beverages

Customer Focus

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck will target customers in Portland who live, work, or socialize near Cartopia. This area is frequented by numerous young professionals, college students, and the late-night crowd who regularly eat at food trucks. Anyone seeking trendy dining options are the target customers of Zesty Zane’s Food Truck.

Management Team

Chef Zane has worked in the culinary industry for over ten years and is accustomed to the long, demanding hours of operating a kitchen. He attended culinary school in San Francisco and returned home to Portland to be a part of the world-renowned food scene that Portland has built for itself. After working under three award-winning chefs, Chef Zane is ready to venture out on his own and start his own business as a food truck.

Chef Zane Benedict will be the food truck owner and operator of his food truck. He will operate the food truck Tuesday through Sunday from 11:00 am until 1:00 am. Chef Zane will also employ two part-time cooks to assist him during peak hours of operation.

Success Factors

The following success factors will set Zesty Zane’s Food Truck apart from the competition:

• Exceptional cuisine made fresh with locally sourced ingredients.
• An eclectic menu that is unlike any other in the Portland food scene.
• Convenient location: Zesty Zane’s Food Truck will be located in a highly-trafficked food truck pod that is frequented by college students, young professionals, and night-life regulars.
• Delicious food at a good price. Zesty Zane’s food items will be cheaper than other food truck dishes without sacrificing quality.

Financial Highlights

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck is seeking $40,000 in debt financing to open its food truck. The funding will be dedicated for the purchase of the food truck, cooking supplies and equipment, working capital, three months worth of payroll expenses and opening inventory. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Purchase of food truck – $20,000
• Food truck kitchen supplies and equipment – $10,000
• Opening inventory – $2,000
• Working capital (to include 3 months of overhead expenses) – $3,000
• Marketing (website design and management) – $5,000

The following graph outlines the pro forma financial projections for Zesty Zane’s Food Truck:

Company Overview

Who is zesty zane’s food truck.

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck is a startup food truck business located in Portland, Oregon. The menu offerings are eclectic, made-to-order, bistro-type dishes served fresh and fast in the entertainment district of Portland. The ingredients are locally-sourced from independent food growers and artisans in and around the Portland region. The dishes are incorporated with an ingenious twist to commonly known popular food menu items. The menu options are simple dishes commonly seen at food trucks, but Chef Zane adds his own spin to the typical fare – sandwiches, gyros, burgers, and tacos all made his way unlike any other food establishment.

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck is owned and operated by Zane Benedict, a local Chef classically trained in culinary school and under the most prestigious chefs in Portland. Chef Zane is known for his creativity, consistency, and quickness in the kitchen and his dishes receive multiple positive reviews in the restaurants Zane has been employed. Chef Zane specializes in fine French, Italian, and Mediterranean cuisine with a creative twist not typically found in other restaurant establishments.

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck History

After graduating from culinary school in 2008, Chef Zane Benedict worked as a sous chef in three different restaurants in Portland. All of the chefs Zane worked under were award-winning, locally-acclaimed chefs that frequently trained their apprentices to prepare dishes up to their expectation and standards.

Chef Zane learned a great deal from these chefs and garnered a reputation himself for his creativity and consistency. Now that Zane feels he has learned as much as he can from the senior chefs, he would like to venture out on his own and start his own business. Due to the large amount of capital required to open a full-scale restaurant, Chef Zane decided a food truck business was the most cost-effective option for his operation.

Since incorporation, Zesty Zane’s Food Truck has achieved the following milestones:

• Developed the food truck’s branding image, social media, and website.
• Has a soft hold on a used food truck that recently went out of business.
• Developed and finalized the menu of the dishes Chef Zane will serve.
• Obtained a food permit license to be able to prepare and sell food and drinks in Portland County.
• Obtained a sales and use tax permit for use in Portland County.

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck Products

The following are the types of menu items Zesty Zane’s Food Truck will produce:

Food Truck Industry Analysis

Food truck vendors will continue to perform well over the next five years, benefiting from consumers with deeper pockets who are able to spend on pricier gourmet food options. Revenues are expected to increase to $1.4 billion during this time period.

Food Truck industry operators are expected to continue to experience growth, as generally positive economic conditions and momentum from the gourmet food movement propel growth.

Consumers nowadays demand higher-quality food, a wider variety of styles and tastes, better presentation and, most importantly, more healthy menu options. Therefore, operators that include healthy options on their menus will be best situated for success over the next five years. Vendors that continue to offer unique food options will also be in a strong position by carving out a niche and developing a loyal customer base.

The food truck industry will also benefit from an increase in the urban population, which is expected to comprise the majority of the US population in five years. The food truck industry benefits from agglomeration because it relies on high foot traffic. Additionally, urban dwellers are also more likely to purchase meals rather than cooking at home due to their above-average incomes and limited spare time.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck will target the population of Portland that frequently dines in the entertainment district. There is a large food truck area of Portland known as Cartopia, where Chef Zane will set up his business. This area is home to numerous dining establishments, nightlife, bars, clubs, and food trucks. The target market of this area are usually young professionals and college students who have disposable income.

The precise demographics for Portland, Oregon are:

Customer Segmentation

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck will primarily target the following customer profile:

• Local residents of Portland who partake in late-night activities such as socializing with friends or bar-hopping
• Business professionals that work and reside in the Portland Cartopia area – law offices, hospitals, clinics, insurance agencies, retail, and schools
• College students who are in search of fast, cheap, and trendy eats

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck will be competing with other food trucks in the Portland community. A profile of each competitor is below.

Potato Champion

Potato Champion is a local favorite of Portland foodies that is also located in Cartopia. Started in 2008, Potato Champion quickly established itself as a fan favorite for late night food. Potato Champion serves a limited menu of hand cut, twice fried Belgian style fries, a variety of dipping sauces, and their own version of the Canadian classic Poutine, as well as other fry related dishes. They pride themselves in using the highest quality ingredients and focus on an inventive menu that combines tastes from all over the world with one of the most popular foods found on the globe, the french fry.

Potato Champion is open for lunch, dinner, and late-night. They are available for catering and delivery through Postmates. Followers of Potato Champion are also able to purchase swag from their store that includes music, bags, pins, and hoodies.

Started by John Eads in 2009, Pyro Pizza was built out of a 8’x16’ food cart that he custom-built with a cast iron wood fire oven. Aside from wood fired pizza, John also makes his own sodas using all real ingredients and natural cane sugar. John’s belief is that good ingredients make good food. His crew makes many components in-house and sources regional flour, pepperoni, sausage, blue cheese, soda ingredients, and seasonal produce all from Portland businesses and farms. In 2015, Pyro’s expanded to a new sandwich cart, Pyro’s Wicked Wiches – a scratch-made sandwich, soup, chips and cookie food cart.

Pyro’s serves an assortment of wood fire pizzas made from scratch. Their choices are margherita, marinara, arugula and mushroom, pepperoni, quattro formaggi, fennel sausage, veggie bianca, breadsticks, salads, and sodas.

Chicken and Guns

Chicken and Guns is another local favorite among Portland foodies. Also found in Cartopia, Chicken and Guns serves up Latin American chicken, wings, tacos, salad, soup, and their “guns” are crispy seasoned potatoes. The chicken is served by the quarter, half, or whole bird. Another item they are acclaimed for is their peruvian aji sauce, habanero carrot sauce and chimichurri sauce. They have been named the best fried chicken in Portland by the PDX Eater.

Chicken and Guns is open everyday from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm for takeout and delivery options. With a large Instagram and social media following, there is always destined to be a line at the Chicken and Guns food truck.

Competitive Advantage

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck offers several advantages over its competition. Those advantages are:

Food Truck Marketing Plan

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck will offer a unique value proposition to its clientele:

• Delicious food made fresh with locally sourced ingredients using exquisite techniques.
• Located in the ultra-hip food truck area known as Cartopia.
• Great food at a great price. The menu offerings of Zesty Zane’s Food Truck will be accessible to customers of all walks of life.

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for Zesty Zane’s Food Truck are as follows:

Social Media

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck’s main source of marketing will be through social media, primarily their Instagram page. Chef Zane has become adept at taking appealing photographs of his dishes. He will post pictures of his menu and add details on the location and hours of operation. His food truck account already has over 3,000 followers and he posts daily “Coming Soon” teaser photos.

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck will be parked in the immensely popular food truck hub known as Cartopia of Portland. There are dozens of food trucks located in this pod and there is always a crowd of people. Cartopia hosts bands, art shows, shopping events, and other social gatherings to enhance the entertainment vibe of the pod. By being part of Cartopia, Zesty Zane’s Food Truck will receive lots of exposure and traffic.

SEO Website Marketing

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck plans to invest funds into maintaining a strong SEO presence on search engines like Google and Bing. When a person types in “local food truck” or “top food trucks in Portland”, Zesty Zane’s Food Truck will appear in the top three choices. Zesty Zane’s will also invest in their website also to ensure that it is user friendly, always up to date, and displays professional photographs of its menu items and location.

Third Party Delivery Sites

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck will maintain a presence on sites like GrubHub, Uber Eats, Doordash, and Postmates so that people looking for local food with the option of delivery will see Zesty Zane’s listed.

The pricing of Zesty Zane’s Food Truck will be moderate and on par with other food trucks so customers feel they receive value when purchasing their menu items.

Operations Plan

The operations plan for Zesty Zane’s Food Truck is relatively simple as its overhead and cost is small. The functional roles for its employees are as follows:

Operation Functions:

• Chef Zane will run the food truck operation. He will be in charge of inventory, menu creation, food truck marketing, customer service, and bookkeeping. Chef Zane will work every day that he chooses to open the food truck. Chef Zane plans on operating the food truck Tuesday through Sunday 11:00 am to 1:00 am.
• Two part-time cooks that will alternate helping Chef Zane during the hours of operation. As business picks up, there will be two cooks at the same time assisting Chef Zane during peak hours.

Milestones:

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck aims to open in the next 3 months. The following are the milestones needed in order to obtain this goal.

4/15/202X – Purchase food truck

5/1/202X – Finalize menu

5/15/202X – Social media and advertising campaign begins

6/1/202X – Finish cleaning up the food truck and prepare it for operation

6/10/202X – Purchase food and drink inventory, stock truck, and park it at Cartopia

6/11/202X – Grand Opening of Zesty Zane’s Food Truck

Zesty Zane’s Food Truck will be owned and operated by Chef Zane Benedict.

Chef Zane Benedict, Food Truck Owner

Chef Zane Benedict is a Portland native who attended culinary school in San Francisco and returned to Portland to become a part of the world-renowned food scene Portland is uniquely known for. Zane was trained under three different chefs at fine dining establishments in downtown Portland and was awarded Best Sous Chef of Portland in 2017. Chef Zane has won two local culinary competitions, placed runner-up in a statewide competition, and participated in a cooking competition show on the Food Network.

Chef Zane has received numerous awards for his creativity and consistency of his food while being able to prepare dishes in a short amount of time. His ability to prepare food under pressure allows him the unique skill of serving numerous customers without having them undergo long wait times. This will keep customers happy and coming back for more.

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenue drivers for Zesty Zane’s Food Truck will come from the menu items being offered daily.

The cost drivers will be the ingredients and products needed to make the menu items (oil, bread, meat, chicken, produce, drinks) as well as the cooking materials (pots, pans, bowls, plates, utensils, etc.). Other cost drivers will be the overhead expenses of payroll for the part-time employees and propane for the food truck.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

• Food Truck Marketing (website design and management) – $5,000

Key Assumptions

The following table outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and in order to pay off the business loan.

Initial Number of Customers Per Day: 50

Average Menu Item Cost: $9.00

Average Order per Customer: $15.00

Annual Cost for Maintenance of Truck: $10,000

Financial Projections

Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, food truck business plan faqs, what is a food truck business plan.

A food truck business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your food truck business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can  easily complete your food truck business plan using our Food Truck Business Plan Template here .

What Are the Main Types of Food Truck Companies?

There are a variety of types of food trucks, each specializing in a specific type of cuisine or food item. There are food trucks that sell burgers, cookies, ice cream, tacos, pizza, sandwiches, salads and more.  

What Are the Main Sources of Revenues and Expenses for a Food Truck Business?

The primary source of revenue for food truck businesses is its food and beverage sales. 

The key expenses for a food truck business are food costs, salaries, and transportation expenses. 

How Do You Get Funding for Your Food Truck Business?

Food truck businesses are typically funded through small business loans, personal savings, crowdfunding and credit card financing.  A well-crafted food truck business plan is essential to securing funding.

What are the Steps To Start a Food Truck Business?

Starting a food truck business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop A Food Truck Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed business plan for your food truck that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.  

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your food truck business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your food truck business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Food Truck Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your food truck business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your food truck business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 

7. Acquire Necessary Food Truck Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your food truck business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your food truck business. Food truck marketing includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising. 

Learn more about how to start a successful food truck business:

• How to Start a Food Truck Business

Where Can I Get a Food Truck Business Plan PDF?

You can download our free food truck business plan template PDF here . This is a sample food truck business plan template you can use in PDF format.

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Food Truck Business Plan

With the expanding popularity of street food and drinks, trying global cuisine, and busy schedules, the street vendor culture is increasing. The interesting thing is you are going to join this market in the period when the demand is growing.

With the selection of the food truck, buying equipment, and hiring the right people, have you forgotten to plan your business thoroughly? If yes, then here is our food truck business plan template with examples that will help you plan yours.

From industry trends to various examples; we have covered it all. So, let’s wait no more and proceed.

Key Takeaways

• A business plan offers strategic direction for your food truck business, helping you set and achieve your goals.
• The executive summary is an important part, so keep it briefly engaging.
• Conducting a thorough industry analysis is crucial to understanding the food truck market, including its size, trends, key players, and local demographics.
• With high competition in the food industry, you need a robust marketing plan.
• Keep your financial projections practical and do not have extravagant expectations.

Food Truck Industry Highlights

Before diving right into the business plan guide, let’s go through some food industry trends and statistics:

• The industry size of street vendors in the USA was around $2.29 billion in 2021.
• In the US, there were 67,271 food trucks in 2022, growing at an average annual rate of 18.1% per year over the five years 2017-2022.
• The popularity of plant-based diets as in vegan options is growing.
• From Thai food to spicy Mexican food, food trucks are serving everything and anything showcasing the popularity of street food.
• Food trucks are not limited to evenings, they are exploring new markets like corporate campuses, universities, and residential areas for breakfast and lunch time too.

How to Write a Food Truck Business Plan (Description + Examples)

1. executive summary.

An executive summary is the summary of the whole business plan. It is the first section of the business plan and probably the only section your readers will go through.

It is normally the part that business owners prefer to write at the end because, till then they will have a keen understanding of the whole business plan.

Start your summary with a brief introduction to your business (about who you are and what services you will provide). After that, mention the other things like:

• Products and services
• Business goals
• Food truck objectives
• Mission statement
• Market Opportunity
• Target market
• Food truck business concept
• Financial summary
• Financial projections

Here is an example of a mission statement:

Tip: the executive summary is a quick overview, so keep it simple and engaging.

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2. Company Overview

Provide detailed information about your food truck business in this section. It includes the food truck concept, name, location, legal structure of your business, and everything else about your business.

Here is an example of a business description made by the use of Upmetrics:

Also, do not forget to mention the type of food truck you are going to start, for instance, your business might be the one from below: 

• Gourmet food trucks 
• Taco trucks 
• Pizza trucks 
• Burger and sandwich trucks 
• Dessert trucks 

If you already have another local food truck and this is the other one, then write the business history about your food business.

After that, mention the vision and mission of your food truck business along with the future goals. Include the names, qualifications, and specializations of the owners.

3. Industry Analysis

The industry analysis will give you all the details about the food industry you are going to enter. It will support you in a better understanding of your business.

Here are some types of questions you might ask while conducting a food industry analysis:

• What is the current size of the food truck industry in the USA?
• What are the major trends in the food truck industry?
• Who are the huge players in the industry and what is their market share?
• How is technology affecting the food truck industry?
• What is the average price range and spending limit of the customers?

In short, industry analysis will help you have a better understanding of the market and support you in making informed decisions.

4. Competitive Analysis

Competitive analysis will help you to know the price point and positioning of your business in the food industry. This way you will also get to know about your direct and indirect competitors, as in other food trucks in your location.

Start your competitive analysis section by listing all your competitors with all their plus points and negative points. Some of the questions you might ask to know your competitors are:

• What food items does their menu include?
• What is their market share?
• What are their USPs and what do their customers like about them the most?
• How much does a food truck cost?
• What is their pricing strategy?
• What are the weaknesses through which you can have a competitive advantage?

After getting all the above answers, analyze your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to get a better understanding of your USPs.

This way you can get to know the USP of a food truck business. Once you get the USP, flaunt it in your own business plan.

5. Market Analysis

Competition in the restaurant industry is high, and to get a small gap to enter the market is a huge opportunity. Once you enter the market, it is time to define and mention your target market first.

Your target audience will depend on the type of food truck services you provide and the location of your food truck.

Once you know who you are going to serve, then understand the market by knowing the current trends and customer preferences. For example, some of the market trends for a food truck are:

• Health conscious diet
• Local sourcing
• Food transparency
• Kiosks (contactless ordering and payment)
• Creative menu items

At the end of the market analysis, do mention the regulatory environment a food business needs to follow in the particular location.

6. Sample Menu

One of the most necessary steps to launch your food truck business is designing the sample menu. Generally, food truck businesses provide fast-preparing meals.

A sample menu forces you to think about what will you make and serve your customers. Consider where you will store uncooked food, what you will need to prepare that food, and what you will use to serve that food to your customers.

Your menu should be in coordination with your target customers; for example, if you have students around the corner then design your menu with fast-serving dishes.

The menu is also a part of your branding, so keep the color and design of the menu the same as your food truck. Here is an example of including your menu in the food truck business plan:

7. Sales and Marketing Plan

You can see a food truck in the corner of every alley, so you need to reach customers and not wait for them to come to you. For that, you will need a food truck marketing strategy in place. Some of the strategies are:

Create a professional and mobile-friendly website including your location, contact information, and images of the food items you offer. This will help local customers find you online.

Social media marketing

Maintain active profiles on TikTok, Twitter, FaceBook, Instagram, and all other major social media platforms to spread your reach. It will help your target market to recognize you and will interest them to visit your food truck.

Loyalty programs

Think of implementing a loyalty program to reward your existing customers. You can offer free food dishes, BOGO offers, discounts, or any other such thing. These programs can help you increase the customer retention rate and encourage them to visit your business more.

Community engagement

Participate in food truck gatherings, local events as a stall, and other fun food festivals. Engage with the local community by sponsoring or collaborating with local organizations. Building a strong local reputation can help you reach a wide customer base.

Email marketing

Send regular newsletters, special offers, discounts, and event invitations to everyone whose details you got from your website. Email marketing can be a powerful tool for customer retention and engagement.

8. Management team

Letting your readers or investors know who is behind your food truck will allow them to understand your business more.

The management team is all about who is behind the wheels of your food truck and what are their roles. If you are starting a new food truck, then showcasing your experienced managers or head chef will make your business look stronger.

Here is an example of a management team:

9. Business Operations

In the entire business plan we have talked about goals, but here is the point where you have to mention what will you do to fulfill those goals.

Everyday goals

They are the heart and soul of your food truck business. From buying the most qualitative food items to fulfilling customers’ needs and everything in between is included.

Long-term goals

It’s all about milestones: the moments that make you pop the champagne. Picture celebrating your 10,000th delivery, hitting that milestone sales figure you’ve dreamt of, or expanding your team.

10. Financial Plan

For a successful food truck business, you will need a proper financial plan with realistic financial projections. In this section add the financial statements like income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet for 3-5 years.

• Income statement

An income statement is also known as a profit and loss statement, which describes the profitability of the business by deducting expenses from revenue.

The income statement is one of the important things your investors will focus on. So, don’t be greedy and display huge impractical numbers.

• Balance sheet

Balance sheets display your assets and liabilities. Although they can contain a lot of details, like equity, goodwill, other intangible assets, etc.

• Cash flow statement

Your cash flow statement helps you see how much money you need to start or grow your business and avoid running out of money. This cash flow should be maintained even for certain months after launch that is before you start making profits.

Surprisingly, you can make a profit but still face financial problems that could lead to bankruptcy. Therefore, you will need proper cash flow planning to avoid such circumstances. Here is an example of a 5-year cash flow statement:

Why Do You Need a Business Plan for Your Food Truck?

If you are wondering why there is a lot more voice for a business plan, then consider this:

• A food-truck business plan offers a strategic direction to your business goals and helps you achieve them.
• A business plan will also help you understand the finances of your business and help you to secure funding.
• It will clarify the vision of your food truck, so you can focus on the daily operations.
• Also, it allows you to know specific risks you might face in the future, as a result, you will be prepared.

Now that you have plenty of reasons to have a food truck business plan, start writing one.

Related Food Truck Resources

• Food Truck Financial Plan
• How Much Does It Cost To Start A Food Truck
• How to Start a Food Truck Business

Download a Food Truck business plan template

Ready to kick-start your business plan writing process? And not sure where to start? Here you go, download our free food truck business plan pdf , and start writing.

This intuitive, modern, and investment-ready template is designed specifically for food truck businesses. It includes step-by-step instructions & examples to help in creating your own food-truck business plan.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

Write Your Business Plan with AI

Lastly! With the help of our food truck business plan template, you know how to write a business plan. So, you are a step closer to starting or expanding your food truck business exciting, right?

You know what else is exciting? Making your business planning process a lot smoother than this; yes, it is possible with the AI assistant of Upmetrics.

So, take a deep breath as we will take care of your business plan, and focus only on your business operations.

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Frequently asked questions, can i start a food truck business without a formal business plan.

You can start a food truck business without a professional business plan, but it is not advisable, as a business plan will act as your roadmap. If you are going to start your business with bootstrapping, then you can take the risk of not writing a food truck business plan.

How often should I update my food truck business plan?

Your food truck business plan is a live document. So, you can edit it wherever and whenever you want. Ideally, you can read and edit your business plan once a month or as many times as required.

What should I include in the financial projections section of the business plan?

In a food truck business plan, you will need various estimated financial statements like

• Break-even analysis
• Sales forecast
• Uses of Funds
• Financial ratios

What are some tips for writing a food truck business plan template?

Some tips for writing a food truck business plan are:

• Be clear and concise about your goals
• Use data and statistics to support all your claims
• Be practical and realistic about your financial projections
• Ask friends and family to give feedback on your plan
• Read and re-read it before presenting it to your investors

What is the ideal length for a food truck business plan template?

Generally, the length of a business plan is around 15-35 pages. It also depends on the audience of your business plan, the type of your business, and the type of your business plan. As for a one-page business plan, the length is going to be 1 page.

About the Author

Vinay Kevadiya

Vinay Kevadiya is the founder and CEO of Upmetrics, the #1 business planning software. His ultimate goal with Upmetrics is to revolutionize how entrepreneurs create, manage, and execute their business plans. He enjoys sharing his insights on business planning and other relevant topics through his articles and blog posts. Read more

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Food Truck Business Plan Template

Download our template and start creating your food truck business plan today.

Updated June 25, 2023 Reviewed by Brooke Davis

Are you ready to start a food truck business? You will have many questions at this beginning stage, and a sample food truck business plan can help you find answers.

With the right food truck business plan, you will be better prepared to find investors and get your company on the road.

A food truck costs less to start up than a brick-and-mortar business, but it still requires capital to get going.

Once you know how to write a business plan for a food truck, you can seek the money you need to get started and outline a plan for success.

Why You Need a Business Plan for Your Food Truck Business

How to write a business plan for a food truck, food truck business plan sample.

Many people think: “It’s a food truck; it’s simple. Why do I need a business plan?” A food truck requires planning, just like any other successful business. It would be best if you answered questions like:

• What food will you sell?
• Is there a demand for your product?
• Who will be your customers?
• Where will you travel?
• What are your startup and ongoing costs?
• What will your revenue look like?

A business plan sets the essential details you need for yourself and anyone looking to invest. Successful food truck businesses create a consistent schedule of where they will be and how they will communicate their location.

They know how they will buy their products and how much they will mark up to make a profit.

You must plan accordingly if you invest tens of thousands into a food truck. If you want others to support you, they need to know what they are getting into.

A food truck business plan lays out important details to attract the right kind of capital investors.

To develop your business plan, you must be prepared to cover critical topics and include the correct information.

If you use the template and complete each section correctly, you will have a well-formed business plan for you and potential investors.

1. Executive Summary

The first section of your food truck business plan should be the executive summary. This is an introduction and overview for whoever is reading the plan. It should make an excellent first impression and offer concise information without too much detail.

The executive summary highlights what your food truck business will look like and how it will be successful. It is considered by many to be the most crucial section of your business plan.

As for any startup business, you must build a solid case for the idea’s merit and why others should get financially involved. A typical executive summary includes sections such as:

• The target market for the food truck
• The business model
• Marketing and sales strategies
• Competition in the area
• A financial analysis
• Who the owners and staff will be
• An implementation plan
• What food will you offer, and why is it appealing

This section can contain a mission statement that describes your business values and philosophy. It should focus on concrete and achievable future goals for the company.

2. Management Team

Your business plan should include ownership information and details about the management team. A detailed outline of responsibilities sets the tone for how your food truck will run and makes expectations clear to everyone involved.

It also demonstrates to investors that you have considered how you will run your business effectively.

Ownership information should include the following:

• Full names of all owners
• The legal structure of the business (limited liability company, sole proprietorship, partnership, etc.)
• Percentage of ownership for each owner
• Types of ownership (partner interests, capital expenditure basis, stocks)

You also want to include information that fully outlines and profiles your management team. For each individual, this should have their

• Full legal name
• Position and summary of responsibilities
• Education and background
• Any relevant prior employment
• Past business success
• Food industry training or recognition
• Salary and benefits information

3. Products and Services

This is the section where you talk about the most essential part of your business — the food you will sell. Your business plan’s products and services section should include the full menu you plan to use at the opening.

If your full menu isn’t yet prepared, get it done to include it in the business plan. Including a fully designed menu shows you are ready to start your food truck immediately.

This section will also address:

• How will you order supplies
• Product costs and sale prices
• Why customers will eat your product over others
• How the product offerings will change over time
• How will you measure product sales success

Addressing each of these details is important to investors. It also provides guidelines to keep your good ideas practicable and achievable in a competitive food truck business market.

4. Customers and Marketing

Knowing who will buy your product is vital to a food truck business plan. This section will outline who will be interested in your food and why they will buy it. Are you focusing on a certain demographic, or is your food pleasing to many different types of customers?

You must outline this information and provide sufficient facts. One of the most common mistakes in business plans is to make statements without supporting evidence.

Your market research should be included here to show why you will have customers who will utilize your business.

Marketing is a key factor in the success of a food truck. How you advertise can make or break your brand recognition and ultimately affect your sales.

Your business plan should answer questions like:

• Will your truck contain brand advertising and logos?
• Will you have a social media presence? If so, what will it look like?
• Will you advertise on TV, radio, or other methods?
• Where will you go to sell your food? How will you let customers know where you will be?

This information is crucial and should be addressed in detail in this section. Be specific with your marketing strategies.

Vague information demonstrates that you have failed to clearly outline how you intend to advertise your food truck to the public.

5. SWOT Analysis

This section should address your business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The SWOT section is a framework used to evaluate how a company will compete in the market.

It analyses internal and external factors affecting your food truck’s success. It uses realistic and fact-based data, not your best hopes. This section should utilize actual data-driven market research.

The analysis should focus on why the product line will be successful against its competition. It should answer questions like:

• What is our competitive advantage?
• Where can we improve?
• What threats does our company face?
• What technology or other resources can we use to expand our market?

Answering these questions in detail provides key insights into how your food truck business will succeed despite any challenges.

With this information, investors can be assured their capital is wisely invested, and you are the right choice.

6. Financials

This section focuses on financial projections for the food truck company. It offers information about how your business will perform. Your financial information should address your break-even point and how you will exceed that amount.

The owners and investors must know how much money it will take to cover expenses, much less see a profit.

This section should also include:

• Financial projections based on mathematical models
• Monthly expenses for the business for supplies, employees, and more
• Price points for products
• Variable costs of goods, gasoline, truck maintenance, and more
• Projected revenue

This information should be backed up with complex data from your market research.

7. Operations

This section will outline the nitty-gritty operational details of your food truck business. It will include information related to products and services but will also outline crucial details like:

• Potential vending locations
• Business hours
• Business licensing and other legal requirements
• How many employees will you hire, what are their wages, and any benefits
• Food truck design
• Cooking and cleaning procedures

These crucial details show how you will get the job done each day. Every business owner understands it takes work — not just a great idea — to succeed.

Investors know this too, and will look for your business operations plans.

8. Appendix

The appendix is the place to include legal documents and other important information relevant to the rest of your business plan. Here you can provide the following:

• Copies of legal permits
• Photos of the product
• Customer reviews
• Market research on which your data was based
• Other relevant information
• Letters of reference
• Regulatory and Compliance Requirements

This section is meant to bolster the rest of your business plan and end on a positive note. Pictures of smiling people eating your food may leave a positive image for anyone who has read your business plan.

The appendix is flexible and meant to give you options.

Legal Templates can provide a free sample food truck business plan to help you get started. Whether you are just beginning the process or ready to look for investors, we can help.

Use a template builder to build your business plan step-by-step. See the food truck business plan sample below:

You can download a business plan in Word format here  or start creating your food truck business plan using our document builder.

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How to Write a Food Truck Business Plan – Download Template

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Want to look inside the business plan of a real food truck business? We’ve organized detailed business plan templates from successful food trucks and made them available to you in PDF and Word doc in this post. In addition to offer templates, we give you detailed instruction how to complete each section of the plan using this guide.

Before we dive in, keep in mind that it could take weeks if not months of planning to develop a business plan that’s helpful. Whatever time takes for you to write the business plan will be well spent. When researched correctly this document serves as the “game plan” for operating your entire mobile food business and sets the direction of your company.

Approach this document seriously because it can become the roadmap to operate your business and ensure you’re set up for success. When you’ve finished writing your plan, you should know where you plan to vend, estimated food costs, the marketing plan, and how you’ll raise money for the food truck. Pretty important stuff right? Let’s dig in.

Introduction

I want you to get the most value possible out of your business planning process. Why? I believe having an accurate business plan gives you the best odds of success for operating a profitable food truck.

And if you’re going to be investing tens of thousands of dollars into a food truck or trailer, cooking equipment, and permits, why not invest a few days creating a detailed plan for how to run the business.

Here’s one example why going through this process can be helpful from our Annual Food Truck Academy class, where train future food truck owners how to start a food truck. One student completed her research estimating food cost, overhead, and anticipated sales as part of her business plan. Then she came back and revealed that based on her current plan, the food truck wouldn’t be profitable. After factoring in tax, labor, and food costs there were no profits left over.

Our student was initially discouraged by the numbers, but I was happy. It’s much better to identify a revenue short-fall before you start the business than months after when you see sales coming in, but can’t figure out why there’s nothing left in the bank account. As a result of the work invested on the front end through planning, she was able to evaluate her ingredient cost and pricing to create a business plan that set herself up for success.

Still, many first time food vendors don’t take the time to put in this work. It’s a shame because it’s so easily avoidable.

One more tip before we get into researching and writing the business plan, don’t get overly hung-up on the structure of the document. Unless you plan to apply for a small business loan (then you will need to be more concerned about formatting, but let’s worry about that later), you’re not going to be graded on how pretty the document looks or how nice the nice fonts and illustrations. This isn’t an assignment for school where you’re going through the motions to get a B.

Instead focus your energy on making this plan useful for your business. Find specific locations that you plan to sell food. Get the contact information for these venues to learn how you can get into them. Figure out your exact food cost and how much it’s going to cost to get permits in your area. Putting ink to paper or word document is going to make the operations of your business real.

Now let’s get on with making your game plan!

Note to Reader: This is part of a series of posts following the process of starting a food truck with Anthony Salvagno (featured in the image below) as he writes a business plan, seeks funding, develops a concept, builds a menu, and ultimately launches his first food truck. Listen to the audio lesson inside this post to learn more about writing a winning food truck business plan.

The person that doesn’t have one [a business plan] sets themselves up for failure. – Anthony Salvagno on the importance of thinking before leaping into a business.

Serious about Starting a Food Truck?  Click Here To Get Our Free Food Truck Business Kit.

Download Business Plan Templates

In my opinion, this case study is most effective when listening to the audio and downloading the example that Salvagno was kind enough to provide for this post. I’ve also linked to other resources that can help you write your own business plan.

Download Business Plan – Yes, this is the PDF business plan used to acquire $5,000 for a food truck during a business pitch competition. This document is referenced in the companion podcast.

Download Business Plan Template – Here’s a sample template you can use and edit for your own truck.

SBA – Create Your Business Plan – The Small Business Administration (SBA) does an excellent job outlining the steps needed to create a business plan. It’s not food truck specific, but it gives you what you need and there’s plenty of valuable information here.

You can learn a lot by reading business plans for other food businesses like restaurants as well. Operating a profitable restaurant is similar to operating a successful mobile food business. The main different is that a trailer is that it’s mobile.

Components of a Business Plan

Below is an outline of the key sections you’ll need to complete for a standard business plan with a description of how each section applies to a food truck or trailer business. Complete each section and you’ve got yourself a real plan for your business my friend.

Keep in mind that if you’re creating this document for yourself and not a banker you don’t need to get fancy with the formatting. The important thing is to have a detailed plan for the business before you open. If you feel the burning desire to make this look nice, you can make formatting updates after the

Executive Summary:

This is an overview of the information contained in the business plan and should introduce the name of your food truck and the food you plan to serve. This section should only be one page in length. Give readers the high-level overview of what the plan. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to dive into the nitty gritty in the next sections of the document.

The purpose of this section in most business plans is to give prospective investors information about your startup. Lenders reviewing a small business loan might be another audience, although they will be much more focused on financial side of things. But for most of our readers this section is for you, a business partner, and potentially a spouse.

For our Executive Summary we included 2 – 3 sentences describing these important aspects of the business. The provides anyone reading this document with a general understanding of what the business is and how it expects to make money:

• The food item we plan to sell and specialize in.
• The key people that will manage the business. In this case, the food truck will be owned and operated by two partners.
• The business entity we plan to form. We formed an LLC.
• Where you plan to operate the business and hours of operation. Our initial plan had us operating 5 days per week for lunch and dinner.
• The basic marketing plan. Again you’ll dive into the details in the marketing and sales portion of the document.
• Projected cost to fund the business and anticipated revenue.
• Future goals. How will you know you’ve won? For some this will be a specific revenue number and for others this could be opening up a franchise with 100s of locations.

Again, unless you plan to bring on outside investors don’t worry too much about perfect formatting in the executive summary. This is to ensure you and your partners are clear on the high-level plan for the business.

Food Truck Mission Statement:

The mission statement for a food truck can be as short as a sentence or as long as a paragraph. This statement should define what you plan to serve, who you will serve, and the ultimate vision for the business. When done right the mission statement should guide every major decision you make for the business.

Here’s the mission statement from our business plan as an example: 

To provide the residents of our city, young and old, an out of this world gourmet peanut butter and jelly inspired sandwich experience. We use local ingredients and provide gluten-free, contaminant-free products for those with special dietary needs.

When a mission statement is done right it should actually influence how you operate and run your business day to day. For example, since the utilization of local ingredients is part of our mission statement, we’ve got to actively be looking for local suppliers to buy inventory. If we don’t, we’ve failed.

We also need to consider the dietary needs of different groups of people. This impacts the sandwiches we put on our menu every day. Again, if we don’t do this, won’t reach the goal we’ve set out to achieve.

A mission statement can be the most influential part of the business plan when it’s used the right way. On the other hand, this guide can be forgotten when it’s not used to guide decisions. To learn more about making impactful mission statements, watch this interview to go deeper on the subject.

Company Concept and Description:

This is the fun part. Here you will describe what you hope the food truck will become, the food you plan to serve, and why you believe it will be a successful business. For most food trucks this section only needs to be a few paragraphs in length.

Make sure to include information on why your food is both desirable and unique to customers in the area. Also, if you have some type of theme, like an island theme for example, include little details like this in the description.

If you plan to operate something more mainstream like taco truck, take the time to express what it is that makes you different in your market. A common way food trucks differentiate themselves is through their ingredients or style. For example, you could be the only taco truck in town that uses organic, locally raised meats. Or you might be the only one in town that specializes in making fish tacos. Find a way to standout and offer something that isn’t available elsewhere.

You want folks that read this section to be able to clearly envision the kind of overall experience they’ll enjoy when visiting your food truck. Here are a few guidelines for writing this section:

• What food will you serve?
• How is your food different than other vendors in the area?
• Is there a specific type of consumer you want to attract?

As you can see from our own business plan, we differentiated ourselves through seasonal menu changes all the time and have menu options that cater to people that require a gluten-free diet. It’s also worth noting that our core product of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches is unique to the market.

Market Analysis:

Understand the players in your market before starting a business.

For smaller markets with a couple hundred thousand people living nearby this section might be short and include just 4 – 5 other trucks. However, if you’re entering a market like Los Angeles this section will be larger and more in-depth.

If you’re planning to enter a market that has 10 traditional taco trucks and you plan to start a traditional taco truck too, it will be to differentiate yourself from other vendors in the area.

Consider adding a spin to your own food concept like serving Asian tacos instead to provide local consumers will more variety and fill a potential need. If you’re not sure about the type of truck you want to create yet, looking at the market and seeing what type of food is missing can be a smart way to approach this.

In this area you’ll also want to identify the type of customer that will frequent your establishment. Any data about local trends that you can find will be useful to include as well like this report from IBIS World that forecasts growth in the United States food truck industry for the next 5 years. Google can be a good friend in locating the data to include in the document.

Management Structure:

Most food truck owners start with a management structure of one.

This section is straightforward for most food vendors. You can list yourself as the owner and operator if that applies. But don’t forget about key employees or partners too. Many food trucks need a team of 3 – 5 employees to operate successfully during a lunch rush. Make sure these long-term players are accounted for.

In our business plan, it’s a partnership between brothers. The work load is split up between one brother operating the front of the house and marketing: accepting orders, booking new business and events, emailing and calling catering leads. The other brother focuses more on the chef duties including sourcing ingredients, cooking food, working with suppliers, and ensuring food quality.

Industry Survey Results: What is the Average Income of a Food Truck Vendor?

If you have more than one owner of the business this is where you want to take the opportunity to clearly define roles. This is an extremely important section of the document when multiple parties and their money are involved. By outlining everyones responsibilities in this document, it serves as a record of who was in responsible for certain aspects of the business. The more people involved, the more diligent you need to be with assigning tasks.

If it’s not written down, it’s easy for partners to recall things differently. This will help avoid conflict in the future for all parties involved. You need this.

The more stakeholders involved, the more complicated this section will be. You should also include investors and advisors in this section even when people aren’t excepted to help with the daily business operations. Outline what value these people have delivered to the business and what return they can expect in the future.

Product Line:

Ready-made meals can be a great way to diversify your product line.

Finally… This is the section you finally get to describe your food. I recommend outlining the main menu items and any signature dishes that you have in this section. But don’t stop at just the food that you plan to serve.

Other products and services that you plan to offer could include corporate catering gigs or weddings. These can be the biggest money makers for a mobile food vendor.

It pays to think outside the box too in this section. Some vendors that started out by serving food out the window of a truck exclusively have now begun to sell their trademark dishes in stores, online, or at restaurant. Don’t forget to think about possible paths for growth in the business.

• Previous guest of the show Martie Richie of Motley Crews is an excellent example of someone that is doing just that. They’ve expanded to selling snacks online through their e-commerce website and at local gas stations.
• Malcolm decided to open a restaurant to attain more consistent sales, especially through the slow winter months.

Sales and Marketing:

A food truck can serve as a mobile promotional platform.

How do you plan to market your business and get sales? One of the biggest factors that determine the success / failure of a lunch truck is location. Will you be able to get into major events or areas with a lot of potential customers?

One of the biggest favors you can do for yourself to input into your sales and marketing plan is to create a tentative list of places you might be able to vend. Get extremely granular with this task. In fact, it might even help to print out a map to evaluate where the best potential vending locations are in your area.

Here’s the information you should gather as part of this process. You can add this information inside the sales and marketing section of the business plan as you gather it. 

• Name of the vending location and cost details.
• Contact information including telephone, email, and address. Ideally a dedicated point of contact in charge of booking vendors.

Here are some locations that work well for food trucks:

• Farmer’s markets: You can usually find vendor information listed on the website.
• Annual events: Browse your cities website for a list of upcoming events like car shows, fairs, or parades.
• Social Media: One of the easiest ways to find good vending locations is to monitor the social media accounts of popular food trucks in your city. If they are vending somewhere, it’s probably a lucrative location that you might be able to vend at as well.
• Corporate Workplaces:  Big corporate employers with a few thousand employees working at a single location can be a good option for generating consistent lunch sales.
• Breweries and Wineries: Places like this often don’t want to build in a restaurant into their operations and partner with mobile food vendors to supply food to guests.

Pro Tip: Make sure to have a a lot of  different parking location options before getting started. Not every location you try is going to be profitable. By developing a big list of opportunities upfront, you won’t feel stressed about vending options because your dream vending location didn’t work out.

There are an endless number of tactics you can use to attempt to drum up business in the early days, but for most successful food business getting into events with big hungry crowds is the first step to building a brand locally and gaining traction. Learn more about finding profitable vending locations here.

Funding Request:

Just another day on the food truck.

The key to a good funding request is knowing exactly how much money you need and having a detailed plan explaining how you plan to use it. For food truck owners, the biggest early expense will be in buying a food truck and the kitchen equipment installed onboard.

You should also account for the amount of money you’ve raised or have on hand in this section. In our business plan for example, we were looking at $55,000 all-in to start the business. This would include the purchase of a food truck, our initial inventory of food, and permits. Be extremely diligent in outlining how you intend to spend every dollar in this section. It will safe you time late in the process and lenders will appreciate your attention to detail.

We were able to bring $14,850 or 27% of that total investment to the table that was raised mostly through personal savings, a small crowd funding campaign, and winning a business plan contest. The remaining 73% was acquired through the help of a small business loan. Being able to start a real food business like this for below $15,000 out of pocket is pretty cool.

Reader’s Note: If you’re not planning to seek funding through a traditional bank (or are simply planning to take out a personal loan based on your credit history) you can technically disregard this section, although you should still analyze closely how you intend to spend your money.

If you plan on asking for friends and family for money this attention to detail can help too. Even if they’re not in the food industry, it’s easy to understand that a commercial oven or fridge could cost a few thousand dollars. If you have a specific use for funds that makes sense, it increases the likelihood of obtaining a loan with friendly terms amongst family.

Financial Projections:

This is an extremely important area to spend time on before starting a food truck. I’d argue this section is as important as the product, sales and marketing plan of the business plan. This section will offer your first insight into whether or not the business idea you have is going to work or not in its present form.

From a practical standpoint, the main thing you want to figure out is what your break-even point for the business is. In other words, how much food do you need to sell in order to pay all of your monthly expenses? This is a simple, but critical question you must find the answer to before getting started.

You can determine the break-even point for a food truck business with this formula: 

Fixed Costs / (Price – Variable Costs) = Bread Even Point

Here’s the due diligence you’ll need to complete to find the break-even point for your food truck:

• Add up the total monthly expenses you expect for the food truck to find your fixed cost number. This number will include loan payments, insurance, cell phone, and everything else you need to pay on a monthly. Use our guide to create a quick estimate of monthly costs.
• The price refers to how much you plan to charge customers and how many sales you anticipate in a given month. From your perspective the less sales you need to break even the better as it will.
• The variable costs is the expenses you put into cost of goods sold. In your case this if the food you’re selling. As you sell more, your variable cost will also increase because you need to buy more product. This is a good thing!

Based on your current fixed cost and variable cost estimates, find out how many total sales of your food total you would need to generate to pay all your bills. Does that number seem seem attainable based on the frequency you plan to vend each month?

Figuring out what your sales is going to be in the future will be the biggest leap of faith you make in the business plan. I always urge people to be being super conservative with sales estimates. You are going to have slow days and extremely busy days when you get out into the real world. Being financially ready for challenging times will make your business more resilient.

Forecasting Financial Projections:

In the financial projections, focus on estimating how much money you will make in the first year of the business. Investing too much time on longterm projections 5-years out doesn’t make any sense since you haven’t actually started the business yet. After the business has been operating for about a month, you’ll want to go back and review the previous estimates to ensure everything is making sense.

While estimating the projected revenue will require some guessing, figuring out startup and monthly operating expenses once the business gets going is much simpler. While there might be unexpected expenses that pop up before opening the business, you already know the monthly bills like insurance, phone, inventory, loan payments (if you have one), commissary.  Read our post that includes a spreadsheet on the Complete Breakdown of Food Truck Operation Costs for help researching this section.

Here are a few other quick tips for the financial projections section: 

• Always start a business with some extra capital on hand and establish an emergency business fund. We suggest $3,000 – $5,000 minimum. You don’t want to find yourself underfunded going into the second week so and not be able to purchase supplies. Unfortunately, break downs also happen in this business so you want to be ready for them.
• You’ll need to be comfortable making a few “educated guesses” in this section especially when it comes to revenue projections. Always be conservative with sales estimates. If you do end of exceeding expectations then that’s fantastic.
• The primary goal of completing this process is to understand how much money you’ll require to operate the business and break even on a monthly basis. After determining a break-even, find out how much it will require to pay yourself a comfortable wage after taxes.

This is the place to include your permit from the health department, photos of the vehicle, and other legal documents needed to operate a mobile food business. This is a good spot to add photos of food or people smiling and enjoying your meals at events (if you’ve vended at an event already). Add in anything else you feel could be helpful too.

Bonus Tips When Creating Your Building Plan

Here are a few key concepts pulled straight from the audio companion of this guide.

• Don’t be afraid to ask current food truck owners for help when writing a plan. They have the best understanding of what the market looks like and may even help you to create more accurate market projections. Not everyone will be willing to lend a hand, but some might.
• The financial projections section is the most important and practical element of the business plan. You need this to be able to evaluate how much money you’ll to start the business and what prices you’ll need to charge for longterm success.
• Don’t invest a ton of your time into longterm projections especially years 3, 4, and 5 of the food truck. Restaurants come and go. You won’t be able to make accurate projections out that far anyway.
• You should be extremely detailed when estimating expenses. Including often overlooked items like sandwich wrappers, napkins, mops, buckets, and cleaning supplies. Knowing how much cash you need for day one of starting the truck right is critical.

Is Creating a Business Plan a Total Waste of Time?

Good question. That really depends on who you ask.

There’s a whole group of like savvy entrepreneurs and business people who don’t believe in the business plan at all. They’re like okay, you have this written document that you never ever use again. But then there’s this whole other group of people that actually believe in the business plan.

If you’re planning to try to get a traditional bank loan you will need to create a business plan. Having a written plan does not guarantee you will be approved for a loan. In fact, you might get turned down even with an okay credit history.

While it’s not perfect, I firmly believe going through the process of writing a business plan, when taken seriously improves your chances of success. You want to understand your competition. You want to understand where you plan to park. You want to have a few ideas about how you might market your business and what your overhead is going to be before starting the business. This document helps you make more educated decisions based on the work you’ve put in.

The Bottom Line: Will drafting a detailed business plan like this one take a long time? You bet it will. If you do it right, it could easily take a month or two to complete. But the benefits of doing so can be worth it and pay dividends for the life of your business.

So what’s the next step? I suggest enrolling in our free food truck business kit to learn more about the startup process. 

Want to start your own food business?

Hey! 👋I’m Brett Lindenberg, the founder of Food Truck Empire.

We interview successful founders and share the stories behind their food trucks, restaurants, food and beverage brands. By sharing these stories, I want to help others get started.

If you liked this story, sign up for our newsletter that includes our food business startup kit and most popular interviews sent straight to your inbox.

Know someone interesting that should be interviewed on the website? Tell us about them here. 

About the Author: Brett Lindenberg

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Sample Food Cart Business Plan

Food cart business plan sample.

If you are a startup entrepreneur, I am sure you must have made adequate preparation towards starting that food cart business, and you are familiar with all the requirements needed to start a food cart business.

Perhaps, you want to write a business plan because you need it to source for a bank loan.

Well, the purpose of this article is not to tell you why you need a business plan.

This article is here to give you a template to help you write a business plan for your food cart business .

BUSINESS NAME: Stevens’ Foods

• Executive Summary
• Vision Statement
• Mission Statement
• Business Structure
• Products and Services
• Market Analysis
• Target Market
• Sales and Marketing Strategy
• Financial Plan
• Exit Strategy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Stevens’ Foods is a fully registered food cart business which will be established in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. This food cart business will offer food services to a broad range of clients ranging from corporate clients to the individual clients. We will offer various types of food delicacies with unique taste to nourish our customers.

MORE: Starting a Food Kiosk Business Plan

Stevens’ Foods will be owned by Jones and Catherine Stevens, and it will be situated in a building facility located in a strategic location in Ann Arbor, only a couple minutes bus-drive away from the University of Michigan. In due time, we will be able to execute our plans of offering franchise sales of our food cart business in the United States.

We have ensured we give adequate attention to hygienic practices and packaging of our products. We have made this possible by first obtaining all the relevant and statutory licenses and permits from the health departments in Michigan.

VISION STATEMENT

At Stevens’ Foods, our vision is simple and straightforward: To become among the top 10 leading food cart businesses in the whole of the United States. We will accomplish this vision by employing the right staff; employing the perfect sales and market strategy to our business; and most important, by serving our customers quality and unique food delicacies.

MISSION STATEMENT

Here at Stevens’ Foods, our mission statement is to establish our business to become a renowned brand that especially takes interest in readily fulfilling the needs of our esteemed customers. We will offer our products to our customers whenever and wherever.

We will also establish our business into a successful business franchise and give trainings and support to prospective franchisees to help them successfully establish their own food cart business anywhere in the United States, under our brand name.

BUSINESS STRUCTURE

We will start Stevens’ Foods as a promising food cart business, and overtime, we will grow it big into a renowned business that also offers franchises for sale to prospective franchisees. We will grow big into a leading food cart business in the United States. Because of our vision, we will do well to hire employees that are qualified, competent, and motivated, who are ready to share our vision and take part in something huge.

The following are the key employees we will employ at least for the first few years before we will review our business plan:

– Chef (caterer) – Sales Person – Office Administrators – Drivers – Cashiers

Jones Stevens and his wife Catherine will be the owners.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Stevens’ Foods is committed to nourishing its customers with unique and good quality foods that will keep them happy. Because of our strong desire to be counted among the leading 10 food cart businesses in the United States, we will also offer both full-services restaurants as well as quick-services to ensure we leave no stone unturned when it comes making our customers happy and accomplishing our vision.

We will offer a broad range of pizzas that will include a variety of sizes, as well as several other snacks and assorted meals and drinks (such as fruit juice, wines, and other beverages).

MARKET ANALYSIS

There is an ever growing trend in our today’s society. People are becoming much busier by the day, the 24-hour period is no longer sufficient enough to complete all the daily tasks let alone time allotted for cooking meals.

As a result, the growth of fast foods is on the high. The food cart business richly caters for the needs of all people.

TARGET MARKET

The food cart business is one that allows you to operate anywhere within the area you are doing your business without any sort of restriction, unless any restriction as made known by law. The scope of our target market is vast, and we will not put too much limit on where to take our business.

The following are some key areas or places we will operate our food cart business:

– Tourism sites. – Institution campuses. – Carnival grounds. – Construction sites. – Relaxation areas. – Small and big businesses locations. – Schools of all sorts. – Office complexes. – Industrial areas. – Stadia and other sport facilities. – Hospitals and Clinics.

In fact, the above list only outlines a few of the places we will target. As long as there is a gathering of people anywhere, we will surely stretch our services to that area.

SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

Our business vision is again, to become one of the leading food cart businesses in the United States. We will ensure we make this vision a reality by making sure we create good sales and marketing strategies.

First, we will send introductory letters to business corporations, public and private residences and others. We will also write and submit proposals to event management companies, schools, small and big business corporations, and management of public facilities, requesting to be their official number one food vendor.

We will register our business and the products we have to offer on local directories. We will publicize our business on newspapers, magazines, social media platforms, and television and radio stations. FINANCIAL PLAN Pricing Strategy

On a general note, the prices of food sold in food cart are a little less than the price of foods sold in the conventional food restaurant. We will do well to ensure we do not sell our foods at prices above the typical prices of food in the industry. This does not however mean that we will sell our food at very low prices that will not guarantee us profit.

In fact, we will not by any means reduce the quality of our products just to fit within the typical prices in the industry. We will ensure to keep the prices of our products reasonable and affordable by our customers. Payment Option

We will accept payment for purchases in the following payment options.

– By cash – Through the use of Point of Sales (POS) machine. – Through mobile money.

Startup Costs

The total startup investment sum required amounts to $400,000.

Sources of Funds

The startup investment sum will be sourced from the owners, Jones and Catherine Stevens; and from our Bank in the form of a loan. $200,000 out of the $400,000 will be generated from our personal savings and investments, while the other $200,000 will be obtained as loan from our Bank.

EXIT STRATEGY

Of course we do not see our food cart business heading in the exit direction because we have made enormous preparation and plans to grow it from scratch into a renowned business and a leading franchise in the industry.

However, in the event that Stevens’ Foods decide to head the exit door, we will not completely fold up the business, rather, we will sell Stevens’ Foods to any of our top franchisees. This is what a food cart business plan should look like, share.

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How to Write a Food and Beverage Business Plan + Sample Business Plan PDF

Elon Glucklich

7 min. read

Updated May 10, 2024

Free Download: Sample Food and Beverage Business Plan Templates

The food and beverage sector is booming. Restaurant openings rose 10% in 2023 compared to 2022 — even higher than in pre-pandemic years.

From fine dining to food trucks, farmers to brewers, and wholesalers to coffee makers, there are opportunities across the food and beverage industry. 

But starting a business without covering the basics — your operations plan, marketing tactics, financial strategy, and more — carries huge risks. 

That’s why we recommend you write a business plan.

• Why write a food and beverage business plan?

Writing a business plan is an easy first step that you can start for free. Plus, businesses that take time to plan are significantly more successful than those that don’t.

Many food and beverage establishments fail because of one of the following:

• Poor inventory management
• Underestimated expenses
• High employee turnover
• Misjudged the size of their market

Writing a business plan can help you:

• Develop processes for managing inventory and logistics
• Understand your cash flows and create a realistic expense budget
• Budget for competitive employee pay that increases worker retention
• Analyze your competition and determine how big your market is  

If you’re looking for funding from investors for your business, you’ll definitely need a business plan.

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• How to write a food and beverage business plan

Many business plans follow a standard format and you can use it as a starting point when writing your own plan. Here’s what that includes:

Executive summary

• Company summary and funding needs
• Products and services
• Marketing plan
• Management team

Financial plan

For food and beverage companies, you must give extra attention to your market analysis, operations plan, and financial forecasts.

If you’re ready to start, download a free business plan template and fill it out as you read this article.

Every business plan should include an executive summary . It’s a brief outline summarizing the plan, no more than one or two pages.

We recommend that you write the executive summary last after fleshing out the details of your plan. 

Just summarize the vision for your business, describe your offerings and target market , and touch on your management team and financials. Don’t go into tons of detail — just provide a high-level sense of what you want your business to accomplish.

Opportunity: problem and solution

This section of your food and beverage business plan describes the opportunity you hope to capture.

Maybe you’re a farmer looking to diversify your revenue streams by distributing to grocery stores. Or a bar owner with high-end liquor that competitors in the market aren’t serving. 

Whatever your business is, describe the gap in the market and how you aim to fill it.

If you’re operating a more common type of business, like a restaurant , you can probably keep this section short. But it’s useful to document what makes your business unique and it will help focus your sales and marketing efforts later on.

Market analysis

In a field as crowded with competitors as the food and beverage space, a detailed market analysis is essential. 

Your focus should be on identifying the specific customer segments you aim to serve. 

Maybe you’re a butcher with connections to fresh livestock. Will you be more successful selling directly to consumers, or should you focus on selling to grocery stores and markets in your area?

Or, you’re opening  a diner. Should your menu focus on healthy meals or easy-to-make child-friendly options?

These are the types of questions that market research helps you answer. This section should detail the defining characteristics of your target market, including the demographics and preferences of your ideal customer and the size of the market you’re targeting. Market research questions specific to a food and beverage business could include:

• Business location and characteristics
• Area income
• Local food and beverage preferences
• Existing food and beverage options 

Elaborate on how your food and beverage offerings align with that target market ’s needs. Remember, you can’t please everyone, so focus on a specific group of people or type of person and build out from there.

Marketing and sales

For food and beverage businesses promotions are how you stand out and seize a share of your market.

The marketing and advertising chapter of your business plan is where you’ll detail your strategies for capturing the attention — and loyalty — of the customers you identified as your target market in the previous section.

With so many options for consumers in the food and beverage space, you’ll likely have to rely on multiple marketing channels , including::

• Advertising on websites, television, and in relevant publications.
• Content marketing — developing an engaging website and writing blog content that’s search engine optimized to drive traffic to your site.
• Engaging with your customers on social media.
• Offering discounts and customer loyalty programs.
• Appearing at food and beverage industry trade shows and community events.

It doesn’t matter how delicious your recipes are, how fresh your crops are, or how innovative your cocktails are — if you don’t operate efficiently, your business probably won’t last long.

The operations strategy may be the most detailed section of your business plan, especially if you’re writing it for a bank loan or investment. This section describes how you will run your business day to day.

When writing the operations section, describe the following:

Physical space

Whether it’s a restaurant, a farm, or a food transportation business, describe the space you’re operating in, and all of the physical assets and equipment you’ll need to be successful. 

If it’s a sit-down restaurant, consider including a floorplan mockup in your appendix.

Supply chain 

List the suppliers and partners that get your product to customers. Think about the businesses you purchase ingredients from, the warehouses that goods are stored in, and the trucking companies that deliver your products to grocery stores. 

These are your supply chain partners. It’s crucial that you maintain good relationships with them.

Production processes

How long it takes to make your product, and what materials and equipment are required. Documenting how you produce your goods or services demonstrates that you understand the costs of making them. 

You may also uncover ways to produce them more quickly, or at a lesser cost.

Detail how you’ll handle matters of efficiency like order fulfillment, storage, shipping, and returns, as well as customer satisfaction. If you provide delivery services, document how you will handle the process of getting your product to customers’ homes or businesses.

List your staffing needs, training, and experience requirements for key staff. Also, document the management structure of your business. 

This helps ensure that important tasks you don’t have time to monitor are being done and that workers are being supervised.

Describe investments in payment processing systems, inventory management software, and other tools that support sales or operations in your business. Cataloging your technology systems will help you determine where it might make sense to invest in upgrades for efficiency.

Take some time to write a financial plan . Create detailed financial projections, including sales , expenses , and profitability .

If that sounds intimidating, take a deep breath, and remember that financial forecasts are really just best guesses. If you’re running an existing business, you can start with your previous year’s numbers. If you’re starting, make an educated guess about where you hope to be financially a year from now.

Investors will want to see a: 

• Sales forecast
• Income statement (also called a profit and loss statement )
• Cash flow statement
• Balance sheet 

If you use a tool like LivePlan , you’ll be able to build out your financial forecasts relatively quickly, even if you don’t have experience with business numbers.

Even if you aren’t seeking investment, the financial plan is crucial for understanding the viability of your business. It allows you to adjust your business model based on projected performance, and make informed decisions about where to spend your money.

• Food and beverage business plan templates and examples

If you want to see how other food and beverage businesses have created their plans, check out our free library of food and beverage business plans . 

You can download all of them in Word format and jump-start your own business plan.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Elon is a marketing specialist at Palo Alto Software, working with consultants, accountants, business instructors and others who use LivePlan at scale. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism and an MBA from the University of Oregon.

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Hot Dog Cart Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their hot dog cart businesses. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a hot dog cart business plan template step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What is a Hot Dog Cart Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your hot dog cart business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for a Hot Dog Cart

If you’re looking to start a hot dog cart business, or grow your existing hot dog cart business, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your hot dog cart business in order to improve your chances of success. Your hot dog cart business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Hot Dog Cart Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a hot dog cart business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for hot dog cart businesses.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

If you want to start a hot dog cart business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. Below are links to each section of your hot dog cart business plan template:

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of hot dog cart business you are operating and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a hot dog cart business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of hot dog carts?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the hot dog cart industry. Discuss the type of hot dog cart business you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.  

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will detail the type of hot dog cart business you are operating.

For example, you might operate one of the following types of hot dog cart businesses:

• Hot Dog Kiosk Cart: this type of hot dog cart business is operated via kiosk carts, which are gas-powered with low-heat burners and have plastic awnings or umbrellas that the vendor stands under.
• California Hot Dog Cart: due to strict regulations, hot dog carts operating in California must have four sinks (as opposed to the usual two), refrigerators, thermometers and sneeze guards. This makes the carts more expensive than typical kiosk carts.
• Hot Dog Vending Trailer: this type of business operates out of a trailer as opposed to a cart. The trailer is hitched to a car or truck to be relocated, and it is totally enclosed, so it can operate year round. Because there is more space inside, there is room to prepare and store other types of food. Trailers typically come with coolers for beverages as well as propane-fueled grills.
• Hot Dog Food Truck: this type of hot dog cart can hold more food and drink than trailers or kiosk carts. The truck portion cannot be separated from the cart portion.

In addition to explaining the type of hot dog cart business you will operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to question such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of customers served, number of positive reviews, total number of hot dogs sold, etc.
• Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of the hot dog cart industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the hot dog cart industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy, particularly if your research identifies market trends.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your hot dog cart business plan:

• How big is the hot dog cart industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your hot dog cart business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your hot dog cart business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: working professionals, students, tourists and event attendees.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of hot dog cart business you operate. Clearly, working professionals would respond to different marketing promotions than students, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve. Because most hot dog carts primarily serve customers living in their same city or town, such demographic information is easy to find on government websites.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other hot dog cart businesses.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t direct competitors. This includes grocery stores, restaurants and food trucks or other kiosk carts. You need to mention such competition as well.

With regards to direct competition, you want to describe the other hot dog cart businesses with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be hot dog carts located very close to your location.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

• What types of customers do they serve?
• What types of hot dogs and other food or beverages do they sell?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide better hot dogs?
• Will you provide types of hot dogs or other food, toppings or beverages that your competitors don’t offer?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a hot dog cart business plan, your marketing plan should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of hot dog cart company that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific products you will be offering. For example, in addition to hot dogs, will you provide vegan hot dogs, burgers, sodas or any other products?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your hot dog cart company. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your hot dog cart business located in a busy retail district, business district, event district, university, park, etc. Discuss how your location might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your hot dog cart marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertising in local papers and magazines
• Reaching out to local websites
• Social media marketing
• Local radio advertising

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your hot dog cart business, including performing inventory and purchasing, preparing hot dogs, selling hot dogs, transporting and maintainancing the hot dog cart.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to sell your 1,000th hot dog, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your hot dog cart business to a new location or city.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your hot dog cart business’ ability to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing hot dog cart businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing hot dog carts, other food kiosks or restaurants, or successfully running small businesses.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.

Income Statement : an income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you sell 1,000 hot dogs per month or per quarter? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets : Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your hot dog cart business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement : Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a hot dog cart business:

• Cart acquisition and build-out
• Cost of equipment and supplies
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Taxes and permits
• Legal expenses

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your cart location permit or the menu of food and beverages you will sell.  

Putting together a business plan for your hot dog cart business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the hot dog cart industry, your competition, and your customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful hot dog cart business.  

Hot Dog Cart Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my hot dog cart business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your Hot Dog Business Plan.

What is the Goal of a Business Plan's Executive Summary?

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of hot dog cart business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a hot dog cart business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of hot dog cart businesses?

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your Hot Dog Cart business plan?

OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.  

Click here to see how Growthink’s professional business plan consulting services can create your business plan for you.

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

Food Truck Business Plan

Planning to start your own food truck business? Well, you need to have a business plan first. Although it is not a requirement in starting a business, having a business plan serves as a blueprint and itemizes the processes you will be doing before you start a business.

• 25+ Free Business Plan Examples
• 18+ Examples of Simple Business Plans

To help you create your own food truck business plan, we have provided some examples (in PDF) that you can use when you will be creating your own business plan. You may also see  importance of business plans .

Basic Food Truck Business Plan Example

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Simple Food Truck Business Plan Example

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Editable Food Truck Business Plan Example

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Essential Components of a Food Truck Business Plan

1. company profile.

Every business plan, or any type of business plan always starts off with a company profile or company background. The company profile acts as a summary of the entire business plan, but important details are also being discussed in the said section. Among the contents of the company profile includes the products or services in which the company is selling, the company’s vision and mission, organizational structure, and marketing/financial strategies. You may also see  self-catering business plan examples

All of the mentioned contents are not discussed thoroughly in the company profile, as they will be further discussed in the succeeding section of the business plan.

Since the business plan is not meant for company use only, it is always suggested that information written in the company profile should be concise to detailed (despite being a summary) so that the readers will have a clear understanding of the company and its products before they start reading the rest of the business plan. You may also see business plan guidelines examples .

2. Marketing Structure

The marketing structure (or otherwise called as the marketing plan) is one of the most important sections of a business plan. The marketing structure thoroughly discusses the company’s products and services as well as marketing strategies to help the company gain an advantage against competitors. The marketing structure also identifies marketing strategies to help the company achieve long-term sustainability. You may also like business operational plan examples .

As previously mentioned, the marketing structure discusses the company’s products in detail. But if the company sells hundreds of products, then there is no need to discuss all of the products in the business plan. It will take up too much space which might cause the reader to avoid reading the remaining contents of the business plan. In this case, if the company sells a large variety of products, then it is highly suggested that important details of the product will be listed instead of writing down each and every product specification. Some of the important product details include the name of the product, product number, available colors, price, and manufacturing date. You may also check out hotel business plan examples .

Take note that listing down the products is not enough as you should also explain how each product will be beneficial to your customers and clients. Products are being manufactured because they always provide benefit, and they are not manufactured just for the sake of it. Take for example for a food truck business. There is a need for food truck businesses so that people don’t have to go far just to eat affordable and delicious food. For food trucks, they go to the customers instead of the other way around. You might be interested in market analysis business plan examples .

Marketing structure also includes the marketing strategies being implemented by the company to achieve high revenue and long-term sustainability. There are numerous marketing strategies that companies deploy for their respective products or services, but the strategies they use always align to the products they are selling (for example, a person who underwent numerous plastic surgeries cannot be used as an actor for a natural skin care ad). You may also like business plan outline with examples .

Marketing strategies are based on established marketing theories. They have proven to be very effective and are still being used by companies around the world today. But when technology suddenly moved at a very fast pace during the dawn of the 21st century, new marketing strategies also were introduced. Some of these marketing strategies specifically include social media.

The great thing about social media is that most of these platforms are free to use, and have also proven to be much more effective than their traditional marketing counterparts such as posters, flyers, brochures, and billboards. But did you know that these traditional marketing materials can now be created using graphic design software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Corel? And you won’t have to spend a single dollar in printing and distribution as you can insert the designs in your online profile. You may also check out implementation plan examples .

3. Financial Structure

Aside from the marketing structure, a well-written and well-researched business plan should also comprise another important section—a financial structure. Since you are still creating a business plan, most likely that you have not even began spending any amount for your business yet. This is completely understandable as you will still be creating forecasts on how the business will be earning once the operations go underway. You may also see advertising and marketing business plan examples .

The financial structure is composed mainly of financial forecasts. These types of forecasts include details on your initial investment (raw materials to purchase, business requirement and legal fees to settle), working capital, and yearly revenue/income projections for the next five years. You may also like company plan examples .

Financial forecasts are very important to a business plan because it gives a map on how the company will earn in the next few years. Additionally, business plans are also presented to investors so that they can give out necessary investment for your business. Of course, they will still decide if your product is worth investing in, since they also want to earn from your business through the interest fees you will be paying back to them once they have fully recovered the amount that they initially invested. Even if you have a large and sizable initial capital, you will still need investors in case there are additional costs that you won’t be expecting. You may also check out advertising plan examples .

The financial structure also includes the revenue and income projections for the next five years. You may be asking, “Why five years?” The five-year time span is usually where start-up businesses recover the full amount of their initial investment. Although some companies, especially large corporations, take longer than five years to break even, five years is usually the benchmark if the business can actually earn in the long run. When making the five-year financial forecast, you should consider inflation as well as customer preferences.

For example, the prices of raw goods that you will be listing down in the forecast (specifically in the income statement) will certainly be different in the succeeding years. Your investors will certainly be looking at how the forecast is being analyzed, so make a forecast or projection that considers and analyzes all options, as well as not being too optimistic nor pessimistic. You might be interested in annual plan examples .

The financial structure is one of the hardest sections to create in an business plan, so make sure that the management team consists of a financial specialist (preferably a CPA or an individual who has long-term experience in financial services) to create the financial structure. If your management team does not comprise any specialist, you can always hire a third-party CPA to do the work. Just make sure you discuss with the third party on the details you want to incorporate in the forecast or projection. You may also see implementation plan examples .

4. Socioeconomic Structure

The socioeconomic structure involves social and environmental aspects of the business. Usually, the socioeconomic structure discusses how the business impacts the community and natural environment in particular. The business obviously collects resources from the natural environmental, and it is only understandable that the resources should be returned to its natural state. Additionally, the business also has the responsibility to provide not only jobs for the community but also makes sure the individuals in the community do not get displaced or do not suffer any negative effects from the business’s operations. You may also like quality plan examples .

Socioeconomic structure is also called corporate social responsibility (CSR). Every business organization, no matter how large or how small, has a responsibility to its stakeholders (most specifically the community and the environment). That is the reason why these companies should give back especially if they are attaining revenues from their operations. You may also see management plan examples .

When you are creating a business plan, it is not yet necessary to provide details on how you are going to give back to the community. You just need to give a short background on the activities you will eventually be doing. It is not only investors who will be reading your business plan, as various social welfare groups or non-government organizations might also get a copy of your plan. You may also see  coffee catering business plan

New Food Truck Business Plan Example

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Printable Food Truck Business Plan Example

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Customizable Food Truck Business Plan Example

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Food Ideas for Your Food Truck Business

Listed below are some food ideas you want to try out for your food truck business. Even if you already have a menu planned, you can still add some of the food items listed below to increase variety.

1. Shawarma

Shawarma is one of the most popular wrapped foods in the world. Shawarma consists of chopped beef or chicken, mixed with a variety of vegetables and sauces which are then wrapped inside a pita bread or toasted dough. You can always mix it up by using different combinations of meat and vegetables as well as adding new ingredients such as pork, potatoes, bell peppers, olives, etc. You may also see desert catering business plans .

2. Ice Cream

Everyone’s favorite dessert also makes this list. Whether the temperature is scorching hot or freezing cold, ice cream is still being sold by the millions every day. Ice cream is quite easy to make as long as you have the right equipment. You can sell different flavors depending on the availability of ingredients, but you can always start with the most basic flavors (i.e., vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, etc.) then increase the variety once you get more customers. You might be interested in daily plan examples .

3. Grilled food

One great way to entice passersby to buy your food is to let them indulge in the smell of grilled food. You can either grill pork, chicken, beef, seafood, or even vegetables (onions, corn, bell peppers, etc.). No matter what meat you are going to grill, it will certainly become a hit with your customers. You may also check out sales plan examples .

Grilled food is another favorite that is not only served as snacks but served as entrees and full course meals as well. If you want to maximize the grilled food experience for your customers, serve them together with mashed potatoes or with grilled/steamed vegetables. And don’t forget the drinks!

Food Truck Business Plan Cover Example

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Easy Edit Food Truck Business Plan Example

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Minimal Food Truck Business Plan Example

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Template for Food Truck Business Plan Example

4. Fried Chicken

Fried chicken is another staple in the food truck business industry. According to research, 8 out of 10 food trucks or food stalls sell fried chicken. This is testament to people wanting to eat fried chicken for the rest of their lives. Similar to grilled food, you can serve fried chicken as a light snack or full course meal. It is highly suggested that you go for the full course meal route as chicken is always meant to be consumed with hearty (but unfortunately fatty) side dishes such as mashed potatoes, buttered vegetables, and gravy. Remember, fried chicken is never complete without gravy (unless you’re Japanese or Asian where you prefer fried chicken to be complemented with mayonnaise or soy sauce). You may also see  consulting business plan.

Your food truck business does not need to be a cholesterol-filled affair with your customers. Go for a healthier alternative by selling delicious salads. These colorful and flavorful dishes are very appetizing and they can be a great substitute for a meat-based dishes. If you thought salads are only limited to lettuce, tomato, onions, vinaigrette, and Caesar dressing, think again. There are hundreds of vegetable, fruit, and dressing combinations you can use for your salads. You may also see company plan examples .

6. Pastries

Selling pastries is another option you should consider for your food truck business. The great thing about pastries is that you can sell a number of variations, and not just being limited to one form of pastry. There are numerous options, such as cakes, cookies, puff pastries, tarts, and frozen desserts, just to name a few. Since you will be selling a variety of desserts, you may want to partner with different sellers so that you don’t only increase the variety of pastries you are selling but also increase revenues. You may also like implementation plan examples .

We hope you found this article to be informative as you will be creating your own food truck business plan.

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A SAMPLE BUSINESS PLAN FOR SMALL FOOD BUSINESSES

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• Sample Hot Dog Cart Business Plan

• Introduction to the Business Guide
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• Sample Menu
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Hot Dog Cart Business Plan

Executive Summary

I intend to open a hot dog cart vending business in the downtown Hungryville business complex, where I will serve the lunch hour business crowd from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, during the week.

Long lines were noticed at the three existing vendor carts and four sit-down or take-out eateries in this neighborhood, indicating that it is currently underserved. There are several existing venues, but many of the workers in the area must walk or drive a significant distance to get to them. I have determined that a fourth vendor cart, strategically placed in the ABC Business Complex, would be extremely beneficial to the business. Even without taking into consideration visitors, this business complex alone has a weekday population of 5000 people.

It is estimated that Americans consume 20 billion hot dogs every year, according to the American hotdog council. They are enjoyed by 95 percent of households in the United States. This equates to approximately 70 hotdogs per person every year. Approximately 15% of them are acquired from hotdog vendor carts in the style of the United States of America. On the basis of these data and a retail price of $5.00 per dish, which includes a side order and a beverage, the annual sales potential in the Hungyville business complex region is estimated to be $262,000.

The company will be known as “Bob’s Dogs Vending Co.” when it is officially established. It is owned and operated by a single individual.

It will cost me $10,000.00 over two years to get the business up and running, in addition to my own investment of $5000.00, which will cover the cost of the vendor cart and other necessary start-up materials. Please see the accompanying Start-Up Cost Estimate sheet for more information.

Beginning on June 1st, I intend to open my business.

Marketing plan (also known as a marketing strategy)

Sales of 200 average vendor servings each day are expected to generate gross annual sales of $ 175,000.00, based on predicted sales of $ 175,000.00. This level of sales can be realistically attained by serving only 4 percent of the total number of employees in the business complex on a daily basis.

Additional sales would be generated by servicing major events that take place throughout the evenings and weekends, such as athletic events, conventions, cultural events, parades, fairs, large sales, and corporate grand openings, among other activities.

Products will include normal and giant size quality sausage dogs, as well as related condiments and side order items such as coleslaw and potato chips. Soft drinks in cans and bottled water will also be available for purchase. Please see the menu sheet that has been provided.

Prices have been established after conducting market research on the prices charged by other nearby vendor carts. It has been possible to attain a profit margin of 66%. Please view the attachment for a comparison of item cost versus retail price information.

In order to attain success and market penetration, a business approach that is centered on professional quality must be maintained. Customer satisfaction and repeat business will be ensured as a result of this. Please review the attachments for the vendor cart dress code policy sheet and the employee rules of conduct policy sheet. These will become business policies and will be carefully enforced.

Three existing vendor carts and four sit-down or take-out eateries compete for customers’ business in the ABC Business Complex, which is a considerable walking distance away.

Execution Plan

A storage facility and service center will be located at the owner’s residence, located at 21 Green Park Drive in Pleasantview , Ohio. Every day at 10:00 a.m., it will be transported into its new place and ready for business. Each morning, perishable food supplies will be kept or purchased from John’s Deli, located at 123 River’s Edge in Hungryville , and loaded into the cart. This approach will also make it easier to comply with all applicable health department regulations. Please see the attachment for a copy of the agreement between John’s Deli and Bob’s Dogs Vending Co. regarding storage and supply.

The vendor cart complies with all applicable health department standards and regulations, and it will be appropriately licensed and inspected by the department. It will be maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s Vendor Cart Operations and Maintenance Guide, as well as any applicable county health department regulations and policies.

An operating permit and a location permit have been obtained from the local government. The administration of the ABC Office Complex has reached an agreement on a rental arrangement.

Food supplies and other essential materials have been procured from trustworthy and dependable local vendors and distributors. Please read the attachments for more information on the “Supplies List” and “Vendor Cart Reorder Form.”

Financial Plan

Monthly estimated sales are

Monthly sales profit margin after food purchase costs

Less the following costs (estimated monthly)

Estimated product spoilage

Commissary rental

Vendor Cart Rental

Business/ Health licenses

Business insurance

Business training

Other Business costs (tel, bank)

Cleaning supplies

Clothing allowance

Equipment repairs allowance

Business loan repayment

TOTAL monthly expenses

Monthly Net Profit

WHY CHOOSE US

We bring decades of real-life hot dog hot dog slingin’ experience! We design carts that we have loved and used for years and are confident you will feel the same way.  

Each cart is assembled by our team of skilled craftspeople and thoroughly inspected before it leaves our manufacturing facility. 

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