A Guide to Getting Started in the Food Truck Business

As far as businesses go, restaurants can be tricky to manage. This is especially true during the first year in the industry when startup costs soar high. On top of that, capital investments, like restaurant equipment, continue to require maintenance for years.

Despite this, food service establishments remain some of the most viable businesses out there, mainly because these offer food, one of man’s basic needs.

With this in mind, you may be looking for a way to try your luck in the industry without shelling out massive capital. The answer? Food trucks.

Although challenges will still exist, food trucks offer an unconventional way of entering the business. In fact, they offer plenty of advantages over traditional restaurants that make it hard for enterprising individuals to resist its appeal.

In this article, you will learn the different advantages of running a food truck business and how to start one with success.

The Food Truck Draw: 3 Advantages

Most of the time, famous lunch spots also serve as parking spaces for food trucks trailed by dozens of people queueing for a bite. But what is it exactly about the food truck business that makes it so appealing?

Here are three key advantages you can look forward to once you decide to start a food truck business:

1. Perfect location all the time

Finding the right location is a crucial aspect of running a food business. After all, there’s no way you can reach your target market without being in the right place, at the right time.

For food trucks, you will get to enjoy being in the best location, every single time. Unlike restaurants with permanent brick-and-mortar venues, these mobile food service providers have the advantage of not being limited to a single location.

If you have food trucks, you can even bring your business to where the customers are rather than the other way around. You can test out several locations at different times to see which ones offer you the most business at specific times of the day.

2. Free advertising

Do you recall driving down the road next to a food truck and being able to determine the food truck’s name, its specific products, and even its Facebook and Twitter handles from the vehicle’s body art and design? Everywhere the truck goes, the people who encounter it will be able to see its branding, and if they are interested in trying out the food, they may be inspired to look up where the business will be headed next.

Food trucks provide free advertising for a brand. This is equivalent to roughly 7 to 8 percent of additional revenue saved.

3. Low operational costs

Another huge draw that might convince you to start a food truck business is its low operational costs. From the very beginning, you will spend less to get the business going than if you were running a traditional restaurant. Plus, trucks also offer opportunities for expansion with significantly lower costs compared to other food service establishments.

How to Start a Food Truck Business in 4 Steps

Now that you know why food trucks can be an advantageous business option, it is time for you to start the grind. To make your food truck business as profitable as it can be, you have to find a business strategy that suits the specific type of business you chose. This means you would need more than just a truck and a handful of recipes to get started.

To help you out, below are four steps you need to take to launch a food truck business:

Step #1: Research

Doing research on the food truck business means digging up information on three important things: your target market, the available space, and the competition.

Specifying your target market begins by identifying the group of people whom you think would enjoy your food truck business best. This could be office employees, college students, and even schoolchildren. The key is to pick a specific group according to the demographics you set.

Once you determine who you’re going to sell your food to, the next thing you should consider is the available space where you can meet them. As you already know, mobility is a major advantage food trucks have over other restaurants. However, you still need to have a specific area of business in mind so patrons would know where to find you.

For instance, you can establish a home base near a school or university if your chosen market include schoolchildren or college students, respectively. However, you must remember to familiarize yourself with local food truck regulations first, especially if you’re planning to park your business on a busy street.

Step #2: Create a memorable concept and offer unique food

An exemplary concept and unique food are two more crucial aspects of a food truck business.

When thinking about a concept, you must make sure that it has that “recall” factor that people will want to talk about. Keep in mind that word of mouth is your best friend when it comes to the food truck business, so take advantage of it while you can.

You have to come up with a clever brand name and cohesive design. If you are unsure about how to create a memorable brand, you should consider getting help from a reputable branding agency.

Also, you must make sure that you have an offering that is unique from that of others. Check out the most popular cuisines in your area and steer clear from those.

For this particular type of business, it will do you good to go against the grain to bring in more customers. You have to find something that nobody else has ever offered before.

Step #3: Gather your tools

The next step in starting your food truck business is to gather the tools you will need for your startup. This covers all the tangible things that you require, like the food supplies, utensils, equipment, and packaging.

Obviously, you would need to have a truck where you can sell your food. Aside from the most apparent necessities, you also need to gather pertinent business tools, like a POS system specially designed for food trucks and inventory systems, among others.

Step #4: Craft a business plan and get the necessary licenses

Like other businesses, food trucks also need to follow a specific business plan. Coming up with a strategy to reach the right customers is the single best way to determine whether you have achieved your goals or your food truck business needs a revamp.

Some of the elements a food truck business plan should have are:

● Business description – This covers an outlook and future possibilities of the industry in your locale, its concept, your chosen theme, and other industries or markets that may have a direct impact on your business.

● Market analysis – This should include trends in the food truck industry, the target market, and an analysis of existing competitors.

● Organizational and management chart – This should explain how you plan to run your business. It includes staffing, task and responsibility distribution, and standard operating procedures.

● Product line – Your product line covers details of your menu, ingredients, and preparation procedures. It should also indicate the different costs of each dish and how much you plan to sell it for.

● Marketing plan – This entails the different strategies you will employ to make potential customers know about your food truck business. Aside from word-of-mouth, you may also use influencer and social media marketing.

● Funding proposal and request – This covers the amount of funding needed to launch the business. It should be specified, especially if you’re applying for a business loan.

● Financial projections – This is the breakdown of estimated expenses, revenue, and possible losses for your first three to five years in the business.

After completing these, it is time for you to get the necessary licenses and registration for your business. This will vary depending on where you’re establishing your food truck, so be sure to do some more research before you proceed.

Attract Success with Food Trucks

Finding success with a food truck business is possible as long as you are clear about what you want to serve and who will enjoy your offerings the most. Understand the benefits of running a food truck and make the most out of them all by using this article as your guide.

AUTHOR BIO

Ahmad Alzaini is the co-founder and CEO of Foodics, a fast-growing foodtech startup. A businessman by nature, Alzaini is an app aficionado, developing businesses in Saudi Arabia within several industries. Today, Foodics has extended to new markets across the MENA region, processing over 1 billion transactions, and offering the latest technology in POS and restaurant management.

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Let Your Loved Ones Indulge into The Lusciousness of Cakes!

Birthday is the celebration for welcoming one more fantastic year of your life. Without a cake, any celebration is incomplete and so is the birthday. A yummilicious creamy cake with a birthday song sung by can together make the celebration complete. Everyone’s family, friends, and relatives want to be part of the celebration. But, as time passes by and you grow older, the celebration becomes subtle. Still, there are some in which the spark of grand birthday celebration stays alive.

Life gives several chances to cherish, enjoy and love the moments with family and friends. In this fast pace life, when it is increasingly becoming difficult to stay connected with loved ones, online cake delivery in Bhopal gives you the option to send cakes online and spread smile on your loved one’s face. Listed below are the good reasons to order online:

The Convenience of Placing orders of online Cake Delivery in Bhopal

Once there was a time when in order to buy cakes one has to visit neighborhood bakeries. Earlier, cakes were only bought for a birthday celebration. But, nowadays, they have become the center of choice for almost every occasion. Even people order cakes without any reason just to add some sweetness in their lives. With several websites coming up with an innumerable collection of cakes, sending cakes to any part of the world has become quite convenient. No matter whether you reside in any part of the world, making online cake delivery in Bhopal has just become a matter of click while you stay comfortably in your home.

· Hassle Free Cake Delivery: Selecting the best websites for ordering cakes can help you to rest assured that your cake is being delivered on time. There are certain websites that offer midnight deliveries too. You just need to explore from the fantastic range of options that you desire to order.

· Safe Delivery: A best online store is the one who assures for the safe and secure online cake delivery in Bhopal. They ensure that the cake you ordered is being delivered fresh and in the good condition at the stipulated time frame.

· Unimaginable Range of Cakes: Online stores give you the accessibility to explore a wide range of cakes designed for different occasions. You just need to select the one that perfectly suits your requirement.

Different Types of Cakes to Dive In:

Mouth-watering Oreo Cake: For all those oreo lovers, this mouthwatering oreo cake is definitely a hit. The crème fillings in between two chocolate wafers when incorporated into a cake add more lusciousness. Its round shape and intense chocolaty flavor give really a heavenly taste. What would be the best idea of gifting a chocolate lover than this blissful oreo cake? Cricket Pitch Cake: Does your loved one has cricket fever? If yes then this cake is a perfect buy for them. If they love to cheer the IPL team, then this cricket pitch cake would definitely be a perfect choice to greet them. Available in pineapple, vanilla, butterscotch, and truffle flavors, select the one that is favorite for them.

Superhero Cakes: Superheroes are always in the imagination of kids. Their adventures are always being copied by them. It’s time to give your kids wing for their imagination with this beautifully designed superhero cakes.

Kit Kat cake: What would be more fascinating that sending Kit Kat cake to your loved ones. Bordered with lip-smacking bars of kit kat chocolates along with colorful gems spread all over, this would be a perfect option for your kit kat lovers.

Blissful Fruit Cake: Especially for those who are health conscious and consume more fruits, this cake would be the best. Targeted especially to such type of consumer, this cake is garnished with some seasonal and crunchy fruits. It is significantly gaining popularity among the health-conscious person.

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A Beginner's Guide to Eating Healthy - Eight Tips That Will Help You Be Successful

Contrary to what many people may believe, eating healthy isn’t something that is just meant to be adopted when you are trying to lose weight, or get fit; rather, eating healthy is a lifestyle choice that people of all ages and all levels of fitness should be making. Whether you suffer from chronic illness or pain, are over or under weight, have specific health concerns like high blood pressure or cholesterol, or you’re an ideal weight and have a clean bill of health, eating healthy can benefit you both inside and out.

Of course, saying that you want to eat healthy and make better food choices is one thing - following through is a whole other beast. If healthy eating is something that really hasn’t been on your radar in the past, you may not even know where to begin. In order to take all the mystery out of it, we’ve gone ahead and put together eight tips that will help you to adopt a healthy eating lifestyle and be successful in your quest to better health.

Stop Eating Out

One of the first things you’ll want to do is drastically reduce, if not completely cut out the amount of times you eat out. This doesn’t just apply to fast food restaurants - which most people are well aware of the fact they aren’t healthy - but any type of restaurant. The fact is that, unless you are cooking it, you can’t be sure of what ingredients are used and how the dish is prepared. The only way you have full control is to take over meal preparation yourself.

The great news is that you’ll be able to eat healthy well-balanced meals that you have prepared, and you’ll be saving money by not eating out so often.

Get into the Habit of Planning Meals in Advance

The main reason people opt for fast food and restaurant meals is for convenience. After a long day at work, people don’t always have the energy to go home, search the cupboard for ideas, hope you have the right ingredients to whip up a good recipe, and then prepare the meal.

A great workaround is to start planning your meals in advance. Typically, a one-week meal planner is a great tool to use. Once you’ve planned your meals, you can then build your shopping list based on what ingredients you’ll need, and you can even prepare meals in advance and store them in the fridge or freezer. Sticking to the plan will help ensure that you are eating well-balanced nutritious meals rather than just a fast option.

Fill Your Grocery Cart with Fresh Items

Another tip is to start getting into the habit of filling your grocery cart with fresh items. Try to make fresh items the majority. This includes fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and seafood. When you are using fresh ingredients, you’ll be getting the maximum health benefits out of each food.

Make Water Your Beverage of Choice

Here's a tip that can do wonders for your health, your energy level, your focus, and even help you to cut down on food portion size. Making water your beverage of choice means you'll be passing up all the sugar filled drinks like juice and soda. These don't offer anything good for your body, and they can even elevate your risk of developing anxiety, liver damage, and gaining weight.

Stop Adding "Extras" to Your Food

Are you guilty of adding salt to whatever you eat, maybe hunks of butter, and thick sauces and condiments on everything? The majority of these items are packed with sodium, sugar, and other ingredients that won't do your body any good. If you find your food is lacking in flavor, start to experiment with fresh and dried spices and herbs instead.

Embrace Whole Grains and Beans

Whole grains and beans are something that many people simply aren't consuming enough of, and the fact is that they offer incredible health benefits. Besides all the nutrients and minerals that they contain, they are also known for helping you to feel fuller faster, and keep you feeling fuller for longer. This means you’ll eat less, and won’t feel as inclined to snack between meals.

Portion Size Matters

Even if you have all the best intentions, and are making excellent food choices, portion size still matters. You don’t have to think of it as a diet, rather just a healthy amount of food that you are consuming. One trick is to start eating on smaller plates. The plate will appear full, so it tricks your mind, but in reality, you are eating less.

Use a Meal Prep Service

One of the hottest trends in the food and meal category at the moment is the use of meal prep and even food subscription services. The idea behind these services is that it takes all the guesswork, shopping, and coming up with a recipe out of the equation. You will be able to benefit from healthy, freshly prepared meals with little to no work on your part.

A great example is Athletics Fit, a healthy meal prep company that services the area of Miami, Florida. The way it works is that Athletics Fit offers a few different plans - a healthy traditional meal plan, a weight loss meal plan, or a healthy custom plan, each of which addresses specific health and wellness goals. Simply pick that one that works for you needs, and the rest is up to them.

Considering that people seem to be working more hours than ever before, even working two or three jobs at a time, there is little time left for grocery shopping, let alone healthy meal preparation. These services can act as the perfect solution.

Getting a Hold on Your Eating

These tips and tricks are designed to help you take control of your eating habits, and start to make much healthier decisions. Remember, healthy eating doesn’t just benefit you now, rather it provides long-term benefits, so you will be glad you made the change.

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5 Food & Food Tech Trends That Are Shaking the Global Culinary Scene

It's 2018, which means, along with everything thing else it influences, technology is transforming the way buyers think about, shop for, and obtain food.

From more sustainable diets to Amazon's dominance, here are five food and food tech trends that are shaking the global culinary scene.

1. Healthier, more mindful diets

As consumers around the world, continue to learn about and gain access to healthy food, the shift to more sustainable diets is going to continue to grow throughout 2018.

Mindful, sustainable diets are a result of buyers wanting to know every detail about a food or beverage and the company producing it. This section of consumers wants to ensure that their values align with that of the producer and retailer.

Movies, documentaries and books have had a massive influence on cultural knowledge and have inspired many people to become vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, or merely reduce the amount of meat and animal products they consume on a regular basis. For this reason, vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free dishes are going to become more and more mainstream.

Additionally, soy products such as tempeh and tofu will continue to grow in prominence, while consumers increasingly obtain their protein from legumes, nuts and other plant protein sources.

The Impossible Burger is a good example of how the tech-driven innovations are changing the way we eat. The makers of this burger engineered a new brand of food technology platform that made it possible to create juicy, meaty burgers made 100% from plants. Similar technology disruptors and pioneers all over the world are now working double time to provide good food with low impact to the environment.

To keep up with these demands, brands, retailers and food distributors in UAE are shifting to a new mindset that focuses on and values social responsibility, consumer health and wellness, and nutrition.

2. Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is entering all parts of our modern-day lives, and nowhere is this more obvious than when it comes to obtaining our food. There is no escaping it — the Internet, and our food have started a relationship.

According to studies, by 2020 there will be 55 million smart devices in our homes, a number that will make these home-based assistants (such as Amazon's Alexa and Sonos) undoubtedly the largest supermarket chain on the planet. These devices enable homes to simply and efficiently restock fridges and cupboards.

No doubt, soon, we will all be installing best commercial freezers/smart freezers and cupboards that will then be in a position to automatically replenish the necessary food items and products. To keep up with this, physical stores will need to focus on fresh, artisanal and speciality foods that AI replenishing can't be substituted for.

Furthermore, AI allows retailers in the grocery industry to have a better understanding of customer data which can be utilized as a means for controlling pricing, advertisements, product distribution and lots more. Not only does AI promise to help retailers price products more precisely, but it can also assist in forecasting demand.

3. Amazon's dominance

In 2017, Amazon shook up the food industry when it bought Whole Foods, enabling it to have a physical presence in the US to considerably grow its grocery delivery services. Earlier this year, Amazon opened its Amazon Go concept shop which is located at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters and is cash- and cashier-free.

When consumers enter the store, they scan an app and shop around using a virtual cart. Once an item is pulled off the shelf, it is added to their shopping cart, and then invoiced to their Amazon account.

In 2018 and beyond, expect to see Amazon create entirely new markets, products, and trends for the food industry.

4. Customized meal kits

In the fast-paced world of 2018, households want to consume easily accessible yet delicious food regularly. For this reason, customized meal kits are growing in popularity — packaged meals that have healthy offerings to satisfy customers' individual dietary and taste needs.

Over the course of 2018, anticipate hearing a lot more people talking about their customized meal kits and plans, and expect significant transformations in the prepared meal kit market. In fact, this segment of the industry has led to an undeniable increase in services involving food delivery in the UAE.

5. “Pretty” food

Of course, the desire to Instagram (yes, used as a verb!) and share everything we eat on social media means that dishes are going to have to continue looking just as good as they taste. Colorful plates, smoking cocktails, glamorous-looking salads, and fanciful wraps and sandwiches are going to continue to be staples in the food trends of 2018.

Aside from good old fashioned plating, new technology plays a key role in making food prettier today. Global food innovation companies, for example, are now making good-looking and great-tasting food through 3D printing.

Many food items and beverage products also now prioritize ethical packaging – while keeping everything good looking. They’re now prepare to invest in new technologies that promote sustainable packaging design and materials.

Some of these new tech-driven food packaging solutions include aqueous barrier coatings, lightweight insulation as an alternative to conventional foam, fiber for packaging extracted from plant waste, soy-based inks with a wide range of colors and molded fiber printing that offers various possibilities for high-resolution, visually enticing graphics.

Just like with everything related to technology, the food industry is going to evolve at an exponential rate over the next few years. What do you predict is going to be the next food trend? Let us know in the comments below!

AUTHOR BIO

Jad Assad is the Marketing Manager at Horeca Trade LLC with more than eight years of experience in digital, online and offline marketing. He started his career in Beirut working in a creative agency and then moved to Dubai to further expand his career. He created and implemented award-winning high-impact digital and offline marketing campaigns that consistently generated revenue streams and improved performance in targeted segments.

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Sushi for Beginners: 5 Tips for Ordering and Eating This Japanese Delicacy

Source: http://jpninfo.com/84819

Despite the popularity of Japanese cuisine, many people are still hesitant about eating one particular dish: sushi. Even serious foodies are sometimes cautious about ordering this delicacy at certain restaurants because they are afraid they won’t like the taste of the raw seafood or other ingredients in it.

If you also haven’t tasted sushi and want to try it for the first time at one of the best Japanese restaurants in Abu Dhabi, here are some important tips to remember to enjoy this delicacy:

1. Know the different types of sushi

Sushi, simply defined, means “cooked rice with vinegar.” Since you’re new to the world of sushi, here are the more common types you will find in most Japanese restaurants:

• Nigiri – A dollop of rice with a topping that is usually made of fish or other types of seafood

• Maki – Rolled rice with fish and vegetables as filling and covered with a sheet of roasted seaweed or nori. It is then cut into bite-sized pieces.

• Uramaki – A seaweed wrap is filled with fish and vegetables then covered with rice. It is also served in bite-sized portions.

• Temaki - Sushi that has been hand-rolled into a cone shape to make it easier to eat with your hands.

2. Start by ordering sushi with familiar ingredients

Since it’s your first time to eat sushi, reduce your apprehensions by ordering rolls with ingredients you already like, know or have tasted.

If you already like salmon, consider ordering sushi with smoked or cured salmon. The smoked or cured salmon isn’t too different from the taste and texture of the cooked version so there’s a high chance you will like it.

If you don’t like raw seafood in the first place and you think a roll may taste too fishy, opt for sushi that has milder ingredients such as tuna, red snapper, or scallop.

California roll (sushi with crab, avocado, cucumber, and sesame seeds) is often a safe option for first-timers since most people are likely familiar with and have tasted these ingredients.

3. Try vegetarian rolls

You also won’t go wrong with ordering rolls that come with veggie or fruit fillings.

Most Japanese restaurants today serve kappa maki or cucumber sushi rolls. Other options you can choose from are avocado, sweet potato, and mushroom sushi rolls.

By trying different veggie sushi rolls first, you can slowly get used to this style of food. You can then decide later if you want to try the other menu items.

4. Get to know the condiments

A dish of sushi always comes with wasabi or Japanese horseradish. This is a green ball of paste which is very spicy and has an extremely strong pungency. Because it is spicy, be careful in adding this condiment to the soy sauce especially if you’re not particularly fond of hot flavors.

Sushi is also served with pickled ginger. These are the thin, pink, or white tan slices of veggies you see on the side of the plate. You are supposed to eat this to cleanse your palate in between bites.

Lastly, soy sauce always accompanies sushi rolls as well. To avoid overpowering the roll with this salty condiment, avoid submerging the sushi in soy sauce; just very lightly dip it.

5. Follow the recommended steps for eating sushi

Below are some useful steps and tips for you to enjoy eating your first sushi:

• Before eating, make sure your hands are clean. This is because you can eat sushi with your hands if you’re not comfortable with using chopsticks.

• To have the perfect dipping sauce, pour a small amount of soy sauce and a bit of wasabi in a small bowl. Mix them together.

• When dipping the sushi, make sure you dip the fish or topping first and not the rice. If you dip the rice first, the roll won’t stay together and you will have a harder time eating it.

• If the sushi already has sauce, do not dip it in the soy sauce anymore. Try enjoying it as is — seasoned and served by the chef.

• Most food experts recommend eating sushi in one bite. However, if the portion is too big, you can eat it in two bites.

• Once you’ve finished your roll, eat a slice of ginger to refresh your palate. Keep eating this in between bites. However, avoid eating it in the same bite as the sushi. Also, do not eat too much of this palate cleanser since it will overpower the taste of the sushi.

If you’re still overwhelmed by the menu choices or you’re not sure you will like what you will order, don’t hesitate to ask the chef for his or her recommendations. In case your dining companions have already tried sushi before, you can also ask them what items they love. You may end up liking them, too.

AUTHOR BIO

Franck Mottais is the Operations Manager at Tourism Development & Investment Company or TDIC. With a true passion for food and beverage operations, Franck's personal goal is to consistently deliver the highest quality of guest service and effectively run distinguished establishments such as KOI Restaurant & Lounge and Boa Steakhouse in Abu Dhabi.

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