Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue IV, 2011 | Page 58

By Kerry Pipes

Deals on
Wheels
Mobile food trucks are
delivering the goods

T

he roach coach has hit the road, conscious and mobile public in search
Jack.
of convenience, variety, and value. For
Those sanitarily questionable example, industrial workers may not be
movable feasts that have rolled through able to leave their jobsite for lunch, or ofAmerica’s cities for decades are being re- fice park workers may not have the time
placed. Filling the void come this year’s to fight traffic and crowds at restaurants.
models: clean, efficient, state-of-the-art Herein lies the beauty of the mobile food
mobile food trucks with kitchens, grid- truck operator model, which can provide
dles, stoves, and all the refrigerated ma- a simple fix for customers by delivering
chinery a small restaurant could possibly the goods hot, fresh, onsite, and right on
need. A new day has arrived for mobile time. Some mobile food truck operators
food trucks, and a dynamic market shift remain on the go all day and commuis under way.
Major U.S. cities have
experienced an increase
in mobile food trucks
during the past few years.
Often, they are momand-pop operators who
rove industrial parks and
office complexes in search
of hungry customers. In
some cities, mobile food
parks with a dozen or
more trucks and trailers representing all types
of mobile food vendors
have set up camp, offering everything from subs,
sandwiches, and ethnic
specialties to espresso,
desserts, and more.
The trend has been
driven by a more cost- Randy Wolken

56

nicate their next stops to their fans on
Facebook and Twitter.
Franchises hit the road

Franchise brands are beginning to take
notice of the mobile food truck trend.
Some are still kicking the tires while
others have already outfitted franchisees
who are rolling down the road to revenue.
Franchisors have been exploring the mobile food truck model for many reasons:
• To test and research markets. If
there’s demand in certain
areas (especially where
there are limited brickand-mortar sites available) mobile food trucks
can help identify a new
market for permanent
franchise locations.
• Cost. Mobile trucks
also can be significantly
less expensive to start up
and operate than a standard location, providing
individuals interested in
franchising with another
(and usually less expensive) entry point.
• Branding. Some
have been using mobile trucks as a corporate branding/marketing
tool, a kind of moving

Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s ue IV, 2011

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