Food trucks have gotten hugely popular in recent years. Chances are you’ve seen them, and probably eaten at one at least once. Despite their popularity, there are nine surprising facts you may not know about America’s food truck trend.
1. Food trucks are on the move
The industry is growing in a way that may surprise you.
- The food truck industry makes over 200 billion in estimated revenue across the United States.
- Food truck growth is passing traditional restaurants, due to their ability to pop up anywhere.
The food truck service continues to speed along, gaining more money and popularity as it goes.
2. The hype is real
Food trucks get to find and cater directly to their customers. It can be a lot of work on the marketing and advertising end, but it’s worth it when they draw big crowds. Here’s how they hype up their audience.
- Themed menu items
- Decorative trucks
- Maintaining active social media accounts
- Location tagging on all of their social media posts
- Using custom hashtags so customers can talk about their experience
If you’ve seen the crowds that a popular food truck can draw, you know the hype is working.
3. Employees are easy to find
Food trucks don’t require many people to operate. In fact, with limited space involved, you’re usually looking at two to three people. Many employees are found through candidate attraction services to guarantee that they’re the best person to serve you, the customer.
4. There is an average customer
There are a few traits the average food truck customers have in common. The average customer is between 18 and 44-years-old, is all about speed and efficiency, and lives in the digital world.
5. They keep coming back
The customers can be extremely loyal.
- Over 90% of diners rate food truck cuisine as excellent.
- Almost all diners come back for more after their first food truck experience.
- Happy customers will go out of their way to promote their favorite food truck to others on social media.
It would seem it’s easy to turn a happy customer into a life-long customer when it comes to food trucks.
6. It’s all about promotion
Because food trucks regularly move location, branding is incredibly important. Not only do they need customers to know about them, but they also need them to be excited enough to come to them. Here’s how they do it.
- They build a brand on social media and promote their new or next location.
- They use promotional products to build up the business.
- They offer the customer a unique food experience. This is usually something themed or something that’s hard to find in the area.
Promotion is what allows these businesses to thrive.
7. Starting out is expensive
The average start-up cost is between $50,000 and $60,000. In addition to that, one year of running a food truck can rack up almost $30,000 in permit fees and license fees.
8. The pay off is worth it
Despite the high cost of the legal requirements, operating a food truck can really pay off.
- Food trucks can make $250,000 to $500,000 a year depending on where they operate.
- That means that the average food truck could pay off their start-up costs and fees and still have over $150,000 in profit for their first year.
With risk comes reward, especially in the case of food trucks.
9. Anyone can do it
Chefs, dreamers, former restaurant owners, and all other forms of entrepreneurs have jumped into the food truck game. The only real “requirements” are:
- Being social media savvy.
- The ability to cook (or have someone else cook) great food.
- An understanding of how to brand the business.
If you have these qualities, maybe a food truck business would appeal to you too. If not, you can always just enjoy being a customer.
Next time you’re waiting in line at one of America’s many food trucks, feel free to bust out these nine surprising facts to impress your fellow customers.
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