Food Truck Business Plan Template

Getting your own food truck business off the ground requires a business plan. Here is a food truck business plan template that includes the important elements you need to include in your business plan.

To ensure your food truck business success in this highly competitive market, you need a properly structured business plan for your food truck. With over 12 years of experience, we have helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs create business plans to start and grow their food truck businesses.If this is your first time writing a business plan, we’ll walk you through these sections and give you some key things to consider.

Things to Know Before Writing a Food Truck Business Plan

In this industry, establishments prepare and serve meals from a mobile truck. Food is usually prepared, stored and cooked on the food truck. Food trucks may or may not use the same location every day, and it does not sell alcoholic beverages.

Food trucks have experienced rapid growth over the five-year period to 2021 and are one of the best-performing segments within the food service industry.

A variety of cities, including Portland, OR, Los Angeles, and Austin, TX, have attempted to differentiate themselves by passing laws and establishing special zones for mobile food trucks.

The industry will continue to face challenges over the next 3 years, especially regulatory hurdles, which have slowed its growth over the past 3 years.

In many cities, parking laws and other ordinances are still evolving to catch up with the industry’s rapid transformation. In spite of these factors, household income growth and consumer preference changes toward healthier and gourmet cuisine will continue to drive growth. Revenue is projected to increase by 1.6% annually over the next 3 years to $1.3 billion.

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Key Success Factors for Food Truck Business

Despite the challenges in the food truck industry, there are 5 factors that will help boost profitability, efficiency, and ultimately success.

Being able to control stock on hand: Operators of food trucks must avoid wastage and spoilage of ingredients in order to reduce costs and maximize revenue.
Access to key markets: To maximize potential sales, operators should be located in busy areas with significant foot traffic.
A license is required: To continue operating, food truck owners need to meet all licensing requirements and renew their licenses annually.
Maintaining high quality: To avoid fines from regulators and to provide high-quality food for customers, food trucks must maintain quality standards.
Offering a unique, differentiating menu: Since this industry is competitive, operators must have a clear market position and offer unique menu items.

What is a Food Truck Business Plan?

A business plan for food truck business is a written document that sets your company’s financial goals and discusses how you’ll reach them.

A solid, comprehensive strategy will serve as a road map for the next three to five years of the food truck business. Any bank or investor you approach will require a business plan for food truck, so putting one together will be critical to securing funding.

In short, writing a business plan can help you succeed if you’re thinking of starting a food truck business or pitching to investors or venture capitalists.

Why Write a Business Plan for a Food Truck?

If you are planning to start a food truck business, you will be faced with many questions along the way. Establishing a business plan helps you answer potential questions about your food truck.

Having a good plan for your business is like having a recipe for success. A business plan helps investors and lenders see your food truck’s potential.

You can use it to determine when your food truck may become profitable and what funds you will need to operate it until then.

As you move through the process of getting up and running, he will ensure that you plan for all of the expenses and risks involved. It’s worth the time and will help you achieve success.

Writing a food truck business plan is such an important step that you should get it done before purchasing a food truck.

Want to Hire Someone to Write a Business Plan?

It will be helpful to have someone else write your business plan, as they can take a more objective approach and stick with the facts.

Funding Sources for Food Truck Business

Asking family and friends to invest in your food truck business is a great way to start. Once you’ve set a budget and identified what you’ll need to start the store, take the services of your friends and family to help you get it off the ground. You might need to present the willing ones a solid business plan to reassure them that their chances of making a profit are good.

Bank loans and angel investors are the two most common sources of funding for a food truck business. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to look over your food truck business plan to make sure you’ll be able to pay it back with interest.

The loan officer will not simply want to ensure that your financials are reasonable in order to gain this confidence. They will, however, expect to see a professional business plan. They will be more confident in your ability to run a business successfully and professionally if you have a plan like this.

A business loan officer would want to see your food truck business plan and to decide, perhaps a business proposal. They will also consider the following:

Your current earnings
Your present debt
credit rating
There are any outstanding liens or bills against you
Previous commercial credit rating

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How to Write a Food Truck Business Plan

To write a food truck business plan, you don’t need to be an expert. Our step-by-step guide will show you how to write a business plan for food truck business, or you can just download our proven sample business plan pdf to get a better idea.

Food Truck Business Plan PDF and Word

Download our food truck business plan in PDF and Word here.

Executive Summary

The executive summary provides a very brief overview of your business. The preceding sections will cover the finer points of your business.

Here you will describe the concept for your food truck, the hours you will operate, the location, how you anticipate it will grow, why you believe your food truck will be successful, and the amount of money you need to get started.

It should be no more than one or two pages. Anything more than that is useless. Make a good first impression by being concise and interesting without giving too many details.

Your executive summary should describe how your company can fill the gap in your target market.

Although the executive summary is the first section your potential investor will read, you should write it last.

The following question and the below table will help you write the perfect food truck executive summary.

What types of foods do you intend to sell and specialize in?
When and where will you be operating your business?
Why will this kind of food be successful where you plan to sell it?
Who will manage the business?
How do you plan to grow your food truck business in the future?
What type of business entity do you plan to form?
Is there a basic marketing plan?
What are the projected costs and profits of your food truck business?

Check out these executive summary examples to help you write a perfect one for your business plan.

Free: Executive Summary Examples

An executive summary is the most important part of your business plan, and it need not be challenging to write. This is why we have put together some awesome free Executive Summary examples for you.

Company Analysis

Company overview section in a business plan should describe the general concept of your food truck. Explain why you want to start a food truck business and how you are different from the competition.

Are you thinking of opening a pizza truck? If so, what makes your pizza unique? Why will people choose your pizza truck over all the others?

Maybe there aren’t any pizza trucks in your area. There is a void in the market that your food truck concept will fill.

As you write the description of your food truck company, consider the following questions:

Is it going to be a truck, a trailer, or a cart?
What food will you serve?
Would you like to serve a particular niche of consumers?
Your competitive advantage (unique cuisine, exceptional customer service, creative marketing, etc.)?
How do the menu items you provide compare with those offered by existing food trucks or restaurants in the area?

Industry Analysis

In the market analysis section of your food truck business plan, you explain how you will fit into the existing market. The purpose of this section is to summarize the general highlights and conclusions of any marketing research data you gathered.

Here are some points to include in the market analysis section:

Overview and description of the industry:

Describe the mobile food industry, its size, growth, trends, and characteristics, as well as information regarding the major consumer groups in the industry.

Detailed market information:

Target markets are simply the customers you want to sell your food to. If you’re defining your target market, keep it manageable. Aiming too high will only harm you in the long run.

If you want to analyze a target market, you should gather information regarding the following.

Targeting market characteristics: Consider including information about your potential customers’ critical needs and any seasonal trends that may affect your business
Market size and growth potential: Here, you need to know the number of potential customers in your primary market, the geographical area where they reside, and the projected growth of the market.
Recommended Resource: Calculate the actual market size using TAM, TOM, SOM.
Explain how you will gain a large share of the market in your area: You determine the percentage of market share and a number of customers you are expecting in your geographic area using this research. Be sure to explain how you arrived at these estimates.
Price and gross margin targets: Describe your pricing structure, gross margin levels, and any other financially relevant information
Related resources: Explain where you found your data if you received it from a professional market analysis or a news article or industry magazine.
Media used to reach your target audience: You can use print or online publications, radio or television broadcasts, or any other credible resource that can influence your target audience.
Analyze your competition:
How will you make your food truck a viable competitor in the current and future markets? In light of this information, assess the strengths and weaknesses of the top food trucks in your area, and identify any barriers which may prevent you from entering the market.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section is an important part of any business plan for food truck since it evaluates the consumer segments that your company serves. It identifies target customers, determines what those customers want, and then explains how the product will meet those requirements.

Here are some examples of customer segments: Soccer/stay-at-home moms:, Local office workers, Couples, Families, Travelers, Teenagers, Students, etc.

Customer analysis may be divided into two parts: Psycho-social profiles (why your food truck products and suit a customer’s lifestyle) and Demographic profiles (descriptions of a customer’s demographic qualities).

In terms of demographics, you should include information on the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the consumers you want to serve. Because most food truck serves consumers who live in the same city or town, such demographic data is easily accessible on government websites.

The psychological profiles of your target clients reveal their wants and needs. The better you understand and identify these demands, the better your chances of attracting and retaining customers will be.

Competitor Analysis

It is necessary to do a competitor analysis. Not least because you may use their data to define your goals, marketing plans, tactics, new product lines, pricing, and more. Use competitor analysis to:

Identify the strength and weaknesses of your food truuk competitors.
Search for opportunities to distinguish your food truck from competitors.
Set your product’s price.

On the market, you will almost certainly discover some extremely powerful competitors, some of whom will be offering things similar to yours at unbelievably low costs. However, not every competitor works with low-cost, low-quality services.

The first step is to determine who your direct and indirect rivals are.

The direct competitors consist of other food truck businesses that offer essentially the same products to the same people as you do.

Indirect competitors are more difficult to detect. They can sell a variety of cuisines or follow a different service model. However, because they serve the same target market, these businesses are competitors.

While indirect competitors may not serve the same meals, they compete for the same hungry customers. Supermarkets, Restaurants, and customers making food at home are all included.

Once you’ve identified the competitors, concentrate on the direct, head-to-head competitors, since they are the most threatening to your food truck business — but keep an eye on the indirect competitors as well, just in case.

Provide an overview of each direct competitor’s business and detail their strengths and weaknesses.

You will be able to position yourself competitively in the market if you perform proper competitors research. Perform a SWOT Analysis to learn your competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, and competitive advantages in the following areas:

Prices – Are they cheaper or more costly than you and other food trucks, what value do buyers get for that price, and does shipping significantly raise the price?
Quality – The quality services and products they provide, the perceived worth in the eyes of the customers
Customer service – How they respond to their consumers, whether they treat them poorly or well, and the degrees of satisfaction customers show
Reputation — The sum of everything mentioned above: their credibility, how loved the brand is, and the loyalty of their customers

The final section of your competitive analysis should include a list of your areas of competitive advantage. for example: Are you going to offer premium services and products? Will you offer unique services and products that your competitors don’t offer? Will you offer better pricing or will you offer greater customer support?

Consider how you will outperform your competitors and include them in this portion of your food truck business plan.

Free: SWOT Analysis Examples

Take advantage of our free SWOT analysis examples. Make your business future-proof by identifying your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats using this free SWOT Analysis Template.

Marketing Plan

In the Marketing and Sales section of a food truck business plan, Outline how you will market your food truck business and how you will spread the word about it.

The food truck marketing and sales section should include the following:

How will you compete with other food trucks in your area?
Your strategies to grow your business
How are you going to distribute your products
Method of promoting your food truck
Calculate what your food truck needs to sell to be profitable

A few tips to help you make an effective marketing and sales plan

You will be driving a mobile billboard, so you can use it to your advantage for marketing and advertising.
A good strategy to compete with other food trucks would be to lower your prices or offer a product that has not been seen before.
Giveaways and discounts are great ways to keep customers loyal
Create an interactive map to help customers find your truck
It is crucial that your social media handles are part of your marketing and branding strategy so that people can easily find you online.
In addition to social media, you’ll want to be listed in Yelp and other local food truck directories and apps.
As part of your sales and marketing plan, you need to draft a tentative list of places where you may be able to participate, such as food truck fairs or festivals.

Pro Tips: Learn How to Create a marketing plan in a business plan.

Operational Plan

While the previous sections of your food truck business plan described your goals, your operations plan discusses how you will achieve them.

An operational plan in a business plan is helpful for investors, but it’s also helpful for you and employees because it pushes you to think about tactics and deadlines.

Your operations plan should be divided into two individual parts, as seen below.

All the daily tasks involved in running your food truck business, such as serving customers, cleaning food truck, procuring supplies, etc., are short-term processes.

Long-term goals are milestones that you aim to reach. These may include the dates when finalizing the lease agreement for the food truck space or Reaching break-evens. It might also be when you plan to launch a new food truck or to serve the 1000th customer.

Funding Request

If you are seeking outside funding, you must fill out this section. Please indicate where you will obtain funding for your food truck and how much you will need to begin your business.

Don’t forget to add the cost of insurance and any permits or licenses you’ll need to start your business.

When creating your food truck funding request, consider these important questions:

How much money do you need right now and in the future?
How do you plan to use the funds
What is your repayment plan?
Are there any potential benefits for investors if your food truck succeeds?
How would these funds benefit your food truck?

Points to Remember When Writing Your Request

When you ask for money, you need to be professional and know your business inside and out.

Here are some other things to remember:

Your funding request should be tailored to each source of funding.

Create different reports for lenders and investors based on their needs (i.e. loan repayment versus return on investment).

You should keep your funding sources in mind. Each funding source will have its own questions and concerns. Find out what they are and address them in your report.

Ask for enough to keep your business running. Do not be stingy, as you don’t want your business to fail. However, don’t be greedy and ask for more than you need.

Product Line

Now, here is the section where you will be able to describe your food. In this section, you should outline the main menu items and any signature dishes you have.

Here you can display your innovative ideas, describe your products, and explain how you will keep your customers coming back for more.

Your food truck product line section should include:

The type of cuisine you are offering or plan to offer
Describe how do you differentiate yourself from the competition
Is your recipe a well-established one or are you just beginning to develop it
You need to address any intellectual property issues, such as trademarks, or legal issues
State if you have plan on adding new products to your menu over time

However, don’t stop there.

You may also plan to provide catering services for corporate events or weddings. This can be a great source of revenue for you.

You should also think outside the box in this section. Many vendors that started out serving food out of a truck are now selling their trademark dishes in stores, online, or at restaurants. Be sure to consider your options for growth.

Recommend Resources: Learn how to write a product and service section in a business plan.

Management Team

Generally, food truck businesses have a simple structure. A business is usually owned by just one or two people and registered as an LLC.

If you have business partners, it’s always a good idea to write things down, even if they seem simple. There should be agreements about who owns what, how much of the business each partner has, and what happens if one of you wants to leave.

However, clearly defining responsibilities from the beginning can prevent confusion as your business grows.

This section should describe your company’s management team, its ownership, its salary and benefits, and its growth opportunities.

It is great to display your business’s organizational structure to show that everyone is covered, from the cooks in your food truck kitchen to the accountant who balances your checkbook.

Pro Tips: If you are a DIY business plan writer, You need this guide on how to write a management team section in a business plan.

Financial Plan

Your financial plan in a business plan is potentially the most important part of your business.

You should first forecast your sales. The next step is to determine your “cost of goods”. Next, you’ll need to look at your expenses.

Besides the cost of food, you’ll have labor costs, including your own salary and any extra help you need.

Calculate your profitability based on your sales forecast and expense budget. Your business may not look profitable to start, and you may have to adjust expenses, increase your food prices, or find other ways to expand.

You must also consider your startup costs. A food truck and its equipment can easily range from $50,000 to $100,000, depending on how customized you want it.

Many food truck startups can be funded with savings and loans from family and friends. The bank can also lend you money as long as most of your startup costs go towards a physical asset.

This section of the food truck business plan should include historical financial data if your business has been in business for a few years already.

However, if you’re just getting started, you’ll need to calculate how much your business might make over the next five years using realistic assumptions. Ensure that your projections align with the funds you requested in your funding request.

Appendix

Appendices may not be necessary in every food truck business plan, but this is a great place to include details that didn’t fit anywhere else, such as product photos or building permits.

Pro Tip: Learn what to include in appendix business plan when writing a food truck business plan.

Summary of the Food Truck Business Plan

A business plan for Food Truck is a worthwhile investment. As long as you follow the template above, you will become an expert in no time. By following the template, you will understand the Food Truck business, your competitors, and your customers. The plan will help you understand the steps necessary to launch and grow your food truck business.

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