How To Start A Coffee Truck Business In A Proper Way

A coffee truck is a type of portable business station that does not have a permanent location to serve or sell coffee. Different types of food are served from a truck, and it is a profitable business with a cheap investment. In the United States, more than 63,000 people are involved in the food truck business, but how to start a coffee truck.

There are some of the easiest ways to open a coffee truck, such as planning, creating a financial budget, purchasing a truck, coffee maker, kitchen equipment, truck decoration, furniture, and getting approval from your local government. 

However, suppose you think about starting a coffee food truck business but need clarification about where and how to begin. Then stay with us. In this article, you will be able to get all the information on how to start a coffee truck business.

What is a Coffee Food Truck Business?

The coffee food truck is a mobile coffee stand. The mobile coffee shop business has gained its popularity for their extraordinary and fast services. It is decorated with a well-working coffee machine, lighting, a better truck outfit, utensils, and along with the other essential equipment.

You need a certain amount  of money while you are planning for a coffee food truck business. If someone asks what is the most successful coffee business, the answer is simply the coffee truck business. 

A coffee food truck business could be a trial version for those who are looking for a way to enter into the retail coffee business industry. A seller can get the direct  opportunity to get in touch with the customers through the coffee food truck. 

One more interesting part of starting a small coffee truck business  is that it has almost zero cost or no cost marketing strategies. That  means you do not require more investment for advertising to increase your coffee truck sales. 

How To Start A Coffee Truck Business: Conveniently

Coffee is one of the most traditional and popular beverages in the world. Drinking coffee has lots of health benefits. For that reason, the coffee truck  ideas for business are highly demanding. So, if you want to start your own coffee truck business then you should know how to start a coffee truck business. However, let’s discuss in detail how to open a coffee truck conveniently. 

01. Proper Market Research and Coffee Truck Business Plan Template

When you are going to start any business, you need a proper business plan and a complete market research. Without the business template and market research you will never be able to be successful in the food business sectors. 

So, when are you planning to start a coffee food truck business? First, you have to think about the market value and demand of a coffee truck. Then you have to think about the equipment, license, design and decoration, POS billing system cost, staff cost as well.

02. Identity Your Targeted Customers

It is very important to identify your targeted customers. While you are going to start an individual business, you have to identify your customers properly. You have identified your customers according to their ages and preferences. 

Only then  you will be successful in that specific business. Coffee truck business is not out of the rules, you have to identify those customers by their age and choices who generally like to drink more coffee.  

03. Make A Unique Menu

Menu plays an important role for any kind of food business. So the coffee truck business is not out of these. While you are going to start a coffee truck business, it will be a wise decision to start with a unique and simple coffee truck menu. 

At first you can start with around 8 to 10 items. If you start with a limited menu item, it will be much easier to maintain your food and beverage quality. In your coffee truck business, you may include 4 to 5 types of coffee like americano, espresso, cappuccino, lattle, etc. 

These types of coffee items should be the main menu items in your coffee truck business. Along with these, you may add 2 to 3 types of other beverages.

04. Get The Necessary Licenses And Permission

While you are going to open any business, you need some license and permissions. These licenses and permission can vary according to the location and states. Licensing is crucial for coffee truck business. 

As we know, the  coffee truck business is related to serving public beverages and foods. All the food business needs some specific license about food safety and hygiene. It will not be a wise decision to run a food truck business without the necessary license. 

But it is a matter of joy that the food truck license and registration are generally inexpensive.

Here are some licenses and permission lists. 

• Business Licenses.
• Health Department Permission
• Fire Department Permission.
• Food Safety Licenses.
• Reseller Licenses.
• Truck Licenses.
• Zoning Permission, Etc.

05. Select A Perfect Location

Location is very important for any business especially for the coffee truck business. Choosing a perfect location for your coffee truck is considered to be one of the most challenging tasks. 

So before starting your coffee truck business, you need to research about the location. Like how busy the place is, is it hard to reach the location, is it easy to find the coffee truck, is there any traffic jam nearby, how much profit can be earned from the coffee truck, etc. 

While you will target any location for your coffee truck, you have to make sure that people can easily get access to your coffee truck. You may select some location where you can start your coffee truck. 

For example near the beach, besides the school and colleges, besides the corporate office or shopping malls, in the parks, or in any crowded place. These places can be the perfect location for your coffee truck business. You may also choose the location according to your  states or the categories of your coffee truck.     

06. Starting a Coffee Truck with Purchase Coffee

Starting a coffee truck business is an amazing way to enter into the food business. The coffee truck business needs less equipment which leads to less opening and operating costs. 

When you are starting your own coffee truck, the biggest  budget you have to spend is to buy a coffee truck.  According to your business plan and menus, you have to decide what types of coffee trucks you need. 

The size and length of the coffee truck can vary according to your coffee truck equipment and other things. You may also purchase a brand new coffee truck or a used coffee truck.

In many places you will get used coffee trucks for sale. It totally depends on your budget. But you have to make sure that the coffee truck you have purchased can run smoothly your coffee truck business.   

07. Get All The Equipment And Materials

After purchasing your coffee truck, you have to purchase all other necessary equipment and materials. Here is the list of some basic equipment that is mandatory for the coffee truck business. 

• High Quality Coffee Beans
• Coffee Mixers.
• Espresso Machine.
• Espresso Bean Grinders.
• Drip Coffee Machine.
• Drip Coffee Bean Grinders.
• Sugar, Cream, Syrup, Etc.
• Cups And Lids.
• Point Of Sale(POS) System.
• Washing Basin.
• Refrigerator
• Ice-Maker
• Food Warmer
• Power Generator, Etc. 

08. Build A Daily Operation Plan

It is very important to build a daily operation plan to run your coffee truck business. While you run your own coffee truck business, your daily operation may be different from others' day. Here is a short description of building a daily operation plan of a coffee truck business.

# Preparation work: Preparation work doesn't take so much time. It takes approx an hour to complete the preparation work. The preparation work includes cleaning for the day, placing some other dry food items, grinding coffee beans, etc. 

# Travel to location: when you will run a coffee truck business, you may have to visit different places everyday. It could be a disadvantage for your coffee truck business. You have to select the location and calculate the distance so that you can save your time and money. 

# Running the coffee truck: When  you run a coffee truck, you have to remember that coffee is something that most people enjoy after they wake up in the morning or after breakfast. So for the result you may get more traffic before lunch as a general rule. On the other hand, in the evening  you will also get more traffic. So you have to be prepared mentally and physically for providing the best food delivery service during busy times. 

09. Be Efficient and Consistent 

When you run a coffee truck business a general question can arise in your mind that how can i attract customers to my cafe and the answer is by providing excellent services. 

Efficiency and consistency is the key term of a successful coffee truck business. As you are providing drink and beverages services, you should maintain  the taste along with excellent customer services. Efficiency is very important for the food truck. 

As you are providing coffee and beverage services in a selected location for a fixed period of time, your main motive is to attract and serve more customers. So you should be very efficient and consistent if you want to be  successful in the food truck business.

10. Make A Unique Logo Design and Brand

While you are planning to start a coffee truck business, a hard challenge will be creating a brand and increasing popularity. You have to make an interesting logo design and unique brand so that you may  earn popularity very fast. 

As guests will not spend time inside your food truck so you should not worry about  decorating the coffee truck interior design. You can add some exterior decoration to attract more customers. For example you can add some colors, flags, signs, some advertisements or social media marketing to gather more traffic towards your food truck. 

How Much Does It Cost To Start a Coffee Truck?

Starting a coffee truck requires a financial investment. How much cost is required to start a coffee truck? It depends on a few essential factors like buying a truck or buying a coffee van, utensils, decoration, license, etc. On average, the coffee truck business starting cost in the USA is around $20,000 and $50,000 including license, truck, utensils, decoration, and others. Sometimes this amount may go up to $100000 depending on the circumstances.

Why does starting a coffee truck cost comparatively less than other commercial food trucks? This is because the coffee truck size is comparatively small, with no more ingredients and various food items, sitting components, etc. However, let’s see a coffee truck opening cost in detail:

• Coffee trucks or trailers cost around $10,000 and $50,000.
• Espresso carts or coffee preparation machines cost around $2,000 and $5,000.
• The coffee grinder machine is around $500 to $1500.
• The coffee truck license cost is way up to $50 to $500.
• POS software cost can range from $50 to $150.

It is noted that this cost can be different according to the component cost, truck cost, and machine cost. So, before opening a coffee truck business, you must observe and justify the current market trend and pricing as well.

How Much Does It Cost To Start a Coffee Cart?

A coffee cart is a small mobile coffee serving station where people come to take coffee and no sitting place is available. In that case, the heavy vehicle is not also required. A van or a simple motor vehicle appeared. For this reason, its opening cost is comparatively lower than a coffee shop or coffee food truck but how much is it? Coffee cart starting costs can range from $5,000 to $20,000. This amount may be different according to the local market trend and other circumstances.

How Profitable Is The Coffee Business?

The coffee business is also a very efficient and profitable business if you can maintain a strong coffee business plan. Here we will try to give a short  overview of how profitable the coffee business is.  

As we know the profit of a coffee  truck business depends on several  factors. But a common profit margin of a coffee business is 15% to 25% and it depends on the sales. 

However, it is essential to remember that the profit  margin  can arise outside the range based on the structure, location and uniqueness of the business plan. 

Here is a short formula to calculate the average revenue of a  coffee business. 

Average Revenue = Total sales/ 12 (months) 

Lets assume, you have a coffee truck business and your total sales over the year is $240,000 and operating cost is $15,000 per month.

Then, your Average Revenue Is = $240,000(Total Sales) / 12 (Months) 

                                              = $20,000 per month

Now calculate the Profit Margin : Profit Margin Formula 

Profit Margin(%) = [( Total Revenue - Total Cost) / Total Revenue] * 100 

                         = [($20,000 - $15,000) / $20,000] * 100

                         = [$5000 / $20,000] * 100

                         = 0.25 * 100

                         = 25%

It means that your coffee truck business profit margin is 25%.

Now, we will discuss those important factors that determine the coffee business revenue. 

• Location
• Coffee Business Plan
• Overall Sales
• Menu Price
• Target Market
• Operating Cost
• Initial Startup Cost, etc. 

So, overall we can see that the coffee business is highly profitable. With the strong coffee  business template, you can earn a handsome amount of money.  

What Are The Benefits Of Coffee Trucks?

The coffee truck business is highly beneficial. You will get many benefits while starting your coffee truck business instead of a big coffee restaurant or shop. Running a coffee truck business is more flexible than other food truck businesses.

Here, we discuss the benefits of a coffee truck business.

01. Highly Profitable

The main target of any business is making more profits. So when it comes about making more profit, coffee truck business comes first. A coffee truck business is highly profitable. You can make a strong revenue  from a coffee truck. You just need a  proper business plan and hard work to get the maximum benefits from a coffee truck. Coffee truck success rates are extremely high. 

02. Flexible To Run

Flexibility is another important benefit of starting and running a coffee truck business. A coffee truck business is so flexible that it can move one location to another very easily. In a coffee truck  business, you do not have any fixed working time schedule. You can change your coffee truck location on the basis of different types of events or programmes. 

03. Lower To Moderate Investment

The most important and main benefits of starting a coffee truck business is its low-cost investment. Basically the investment of establishing a coffee truck is very low compared to other food truck businesses. The average cost of starting a coffee truck estimated cost is around $20,000 to $200,000. So it is a great advantage that you can start a coffee truck business with a very limited amount of investment.

04. Non-Seasonal 

The great advantage of having a coffee truck is that it is a non-seasonal business. Coffee is considered to be the most useful non-seasonal beverage that people consume everyday. While others food or beverage truck businesses like ice-cream or cold drinks mainly operate in the hot summer, but in winter they almost close to closing. 

05. Less Menu Complexity

While operating a coffee truck business, you will find less menu complexity. Menu complexity plays an important role in running a food or beverage business. When you have a complex menu, it becomes very difficult to operate the business. But a coffee truck is limited to different types of coffee and other beverages, so it is very easy to operate your coffee truck business.

What is a Mobile Coffee Cart Business?

A mobile coffee cart is a small unit to sell coffee from a specific location. It is a commercial coffee cart business. It is sometimes called a coffee van as well. This unit is smaller than a coffee truck and it can be placed in any area to sell coffee. This type of mobile cafe business is considered a quick-service coffee cart business station.

There are different types of coffee carts such as bike coffee carts, mobile coffee carts, kitchen coffee carts, van coffee carts, etc. Likewise, this type of coffee cart offers varieties of coffee items and cold brew options such as Espresso, Cappuccino, Cold brew, etc. So, it is a comparatively low finance business but the profit return is remarkable.  

How to Start a Mobile Coffee Business?

Mobile coffee cart business is a small coffee-serving business station. A mobile coffee cart is also a type of food truck business. Some essential steps are required to start a mobile coffee business but how to start it. It is almost similar to starting a coffee truck business plan.

• Make a sharp calculation of your investment like buying a coffee cart, designing, equipment, etc.  
• Make a plan by researching competitors and the local market.
• Decide a location in which area you want to cover.  
• Choose a food niche or the type of coffee item you want to serve from a mobile coffee truck.  
• Get a license or approval from your local health department.

If all things are good to go then you may start your mobile café business.

Final Thought

A coffee truck business could be an excellent opportunity to enter the food business. You can succeed with a highly effective business plan, motivation, and outstanding service. But you have to remember that every business comes with different challenges. So you have to know how to start a coffee truck, be prepared to face all the challenges and make your coffee truck business a success.