The Concept of Mobile Food Trucks - Case Study Example

Mobile Restaurants Mobile food trucks can carry large quantities of foods. The trucks possess sophisticated equipment for cooking,serving and storing foods. Traditionally, mobile food trucks were famous for supplying kebabs, burgers and typical lunches. Currently, the food trucks have grown to include healthier diets including a vegetarian diet. Mobile restaurants do business mostly at parks and social areas where fixed restaurants have no access. The success of mobile restaurants lies on observing prime hours of business in different places (Rich Mintzer & Press, 2011). The reception of food trucks varies in different communities. Some societies will be friendly while others will be harsh. Turner, a food truck owner, said that operating a mobile restaurant was a remarkable experience. People would stream out, both parents and children, to enjoy delicious meals that they offered. The particular town was very nice for trucks (Rock, 2012). A mobile restaurant is more flexible than a stationary restaurant. In seasons when business is low in a particular area, one only shifts to new locations where business is good. The prices of foods in a mobile restaurant are comparatively lower to that of a stationary restaurant. The cost of starting a mobile restaurant are much more affordable ranging between $20,000 to $160,000 depending on the food truck one would purchase. Fixed restaurants have high operational costs especially in big cities. Thus making net profit is difficult in the case of fixed restaurants (Scarborough 2012). Market penetration is one of the biggest advantages of mobile restaurants. Food trucks can quickly dispatch deliveries to community festivals, weddings and private events. Mobile restaurants overcome the difficulties companies might face in holding business off-sites even though demand exists. In such cases, mobile restaurants deliver quality food and services at places of convenience to the client (Jennings, 2009). The precise location of a mobile restaurant cannot be easily determined. The food truck is at one place at particular moment and the next moment it is far away (Mark Elliot & Sanders, 2013). Thus, mobile restaurants are highly mobile ever exploring and searching for new market and opportunities. Food trucks have the ability to move to locations where there are many customers and park there thus achieving high sales. Mobile restaurants are like arteries they penetrate everywhere and generate approximately $1.4 billion per annum (Marte, 2012).Hence, food trucks in a sense hijack customers by parking in areas of convenience to the consumers (Sams, 2012). A financial downturn in the economy justifies opening a mobile restaurant rather than a fixed restaurant. The initial capital outlay for mobile restaurants is far much less in comparison to that of a fixed restaurant. The general consumer behaviour of reduced restaurant spending is another factor that justifies the operation of mobile restaurants. Meals offered by mobile restaurants are cheaper than fixed restaurants due to low operational costs (Mclaughlin, 2009). Design of food Truck The construction and design of food trucks must adhere to health standards. The design of the food truck ought to be appropriate for the types of dishes that will be prepared stored and sold. The design of the food truck should facilitate easy sanitization and cleaning procedures of all its structures and equipment. Most importantly, the food truck must prevent the entry of unwanted pests and fumes and other health contaminants (NSW, 2013, p. 12). An efficient design and layout of food truck must take into consideration several factors. It must maximize on space without compromising the quality of food, use durable construction materials and provide hygiene facilities. The hygiene facilities must allow people to wash their hands before and after meals. The structure should be in such a way to ease proper waste management to avoid food contamination. Key in the design is the separation of the driving compartment from the food and storage section (NSW, 2013, p. 12). The floor of the food truck ought to be made of impervious and durable materials. It is highly recommended that the intersection of floors to walls be without corners. A screwed removable plug ought to be in place to manage floor waste. Erection of walls should be at convenient locations to prevent food contamination. The walls must be of impervious materials that are easy to clean. The commonly used materials in walls are stainless steel, aluminium sheets and polyvinyl sheets. A non-combustible material should seal cooking appliances to the wall (NSW, 2013, p. 13). Ceilings of food truck must prevent food contamination. Impervious materials will be useful in the erection of a ceiling. The materials ought to be ones that easily clean to maintain the hygiene standards of food truck. The calculation of ceiling height should be proper to promote proper handling of food activities within the truck. The point of intersection between a wall and ceiling must be tightly joint and sealed with a dust-proof material (NSW, 2013, p. 13). Food truck, door and serving openings, must be closely fitted with shutters to lock out all contaminants, dust and pests. Walls, ceilings or floors, should conceal conduit pipes of food truck. Cooking equipment should not be beneath windows, roof vents or wall cupboards. The lighting in the food truck must conform to the standards of the locality where the food truck will operate (NSW, 2013, p. 13). The ventilation system of food truck must be proper to remove smoke, fumes and vapors from the food truck efficiently. Fitting of racks used for storage must not be above cooking appliances as they might prevent the free flow of air. A basin, specifically for hand washing must be in a food truck to improve hand-washing activities. Warm water should be available for effective hand washing. The bench height is the appropriate height of a water basin to allow easy hand washing. The water basin must be free from obstruction and an impervious flashback behind the basin would be valuable. A sink is mandatory in a food truck for purposes of cleaning dishes used in serving meals and drinks (NSW, 2013, p. 14). Food storage facilities in a food truck must ensure that food is free from contamination at all times. The storage facilities for special goods like chemicals and clothing must be separate from those of food to reduce contamination of food. The storage facilities should be at-least 150mm above the floor of food truck and free from direct sunlight. Temperature regulation should promote storage of various foods like dairy, poultry and meat products (NSW, 2013, p. 15). Well-defined standards should guide the display of food to customers. The manner of display must ensure food will be free from contamination from either dust, customers, fumes or pests. Use of plastic bags, sealed containers and food covers will help to keep food hygienic. Disposable eat and drink utensils will be appropriate for one-time customers and re-usable dining ware for regular users. Materials used in packaging ought to prevent food contamination (NSW, 2013, p. 17).The figure below is a diagrammatic illustration of the structure and design of food truck. Challenges in Food Truck Business Pride is one of the major challenges that food truck businesspersons encounter. In 2002, Mr. Odermatt was astonished to learn that most Americans perceived food trucks to be “roach coaches.” They shied away because they were afraid they would contract microbes from food made in trucks. Odematt undertook sanitization of his food truck twice in the day to get rid of possible food contamination (Mclaughlin, 2009). Hostility from the community is another challenge to the business. Lao, a food truck vendor, did not expect to face difficulties as a mobile vendor when he started the business. Obtaining a business permit proved a daunting task and in addition, he faced threats from people for trespass when doing business. The community at first saw his business as a nuisance that polluted the environment in terms of litter. In Los Angeles, food trucks that remain stationary in one place must prove that the customers can have access to a resting place. The resting area must conform to safety codes. However, jurisdictional rules vary with locations (Jennings, 2009). Weather can downplay food truck business. The model of food truck vending will not serve all the days of the year. When temperatures are low, the business experiences adverse loss in terms of sales as people mainly stay indoors and reduce out-door activities. The business profits can decline up to 40% because of poor weather conditions (Reinink, 2011). Proper research needs to be done by food vendors to come up with measures to mitigate such losses. Another limiting factor to mobile restaurant business is the issuance of licenses and permits. Tough laws limit the ease with which food truck owners obtain licenses and permit from authorities. Some cities require food trucks to relocate after every thirty minutes. Thirty minutes is a little amount of time to do good business. Parking spaces in certain towns is prohibited to food trucks as they claim the trucks take too much parking space (Marte, 2012). Equipment malfunction can be disastrous to a food truck business. Proper storage of food in food trucks requires refrigeration facilities within the truck to be continuously running. Imagine a situation where there are several customers in line waiting for service than the generator fails. It is a huge disappointment. Installation of power inverters and two generators can be a useful way to avoid such losses (Reinink, 2011).   References Jennings, L. (2009, June 8). Vendors drive traffic but rev up operator aggression | Archive content from Nation’s Restaurant News. Retrieved April 23, 2014, from http://nrn.com/archive/vendors-drive-traffic-rev-operator-aggression Mclaughlin, K. (2009, June 5). America’s Top Lunch Trucks - WSJ.com. Retrieved April 24, 2014 NSW. (2013). Guidelines for mobile food vending vehicles (pp. 1–25). Reinink, A. (2011, January 19). How to Start a Food Truck | Entrepreneur.com. Retrieved April 23, 2014, from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217941 Sams, D. (2012, July 19). Food trucks enjoy unfair advantages as they scoop up lunch business | MinnPost. Retrieved April 24, 2014, from http://www.minnpost.com/community-voices/2012/07/food-trucks-enjoy-unfair-advantages-they-scoop-lunch-business Norman Scarborough (2012). Effective Small Business Management; an Entrepreneurial Approach (10th Edition)/Chapter 16 Location, Layout, and Physical Facilities. Mark Elliot, & Sanders, T. (2013, June 21). Are food trucks a good thing? - Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved April 24, 2014, from http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/real_talk/2013/06/good-thing.html?page=all Marte, J. (2012, July 23). Food Truck Secrets: 10 Things Food Trucks Don’t Want You To Know. Retrieved April 24, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/23/food-truck-secrets-10-things_n_1694775.html Rich Mintzer, & Press, E. (2011, July 25). Food Trucks 101: How to Start a Mobile Food Business | Entrepreneur.com. Retrieved April 24, 2014, from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220060 Rock, J. (2012). The Food Truck Phenomenon | Monochrome Effect. Retrieved April 24, 2014, from http://monochromeeffect.com/?p=1491  Read More