For 10 years, John and Sally ran a successful restaurant. They rented premises in a high traffic area, hired nineteen staff, paid utilities, and curated a menu they loved for a loyal customer base who enjoy their food.
As the years went by their reputation grew, more and more customers came to enjoy their service offering and revenue increased year on year. They began to think about expanding their business and started to do their research to find another location.
During the research phase, John and Sally observed the trend of mobile food vendors and considered the benefits:
- Mobility – rather than being in one fixed location, they would have the ability to move further afield to different areas and reach a wider customer base,
- Flexibility – instead of needing to draw customers to their fixed location, they would be able to meet customers where they are – at local markets, street food evenings, festivals, and events,
- Costs
- although a food truck would have an upfront manufacturing cost, they would benefit from no longer having a fixed rent on a bricks and mortar location with ever increasing rent.
- as the mobile food unit would run on a generator, their variable costs for electricity would no longer apply,
- with little or no table service and a noticeably smaller commercial kitchen, staffing levels and associated costs would be reduced from 19 staff to 2 staff with the same turnover
- Revenue – with careful calculation and planning, a similar level of revenue could be achieved when the layout of their mobile commercial kitchen optimised efficiency and enabled a consistent volume of food production;
- Marketing – with an eye-catching, branded vehicle wrap their business is advertised wherever they are and with a listing on food truck apps, customers can quickly and easily find them.
Considering all these elements, in addition to the opportunity to create a custom commercial kitchen specific to their needs, John and Sally decided to capitalise on the need for social distancing and trend for mobile food and beverage options for outdoor locations and events.
The mobile version of their traditional food and beverage outlet was a cost-efficient option for their expansion and a decision they do not regret.