The trend of food trucks has gained numerous popularity in the past several years. This makes it a growing arena as more individuals are opening their own food truck business. Since you want to open a business and make it successful, it is very important that you have a plan on how you set up your company and achieve its goals.

The following is a guide to creating a business plan for a food truck, food truck business plan examples and food truck business plan objectives. This is designed as a general reference for those who are interested in starting their own business.

How to start a business plan for a food truck

How to Write a Food Truck Business Pla

If you’re starting your own food truck business, there are many questions that will come up during the planning stages. An organized business plan for your new food truck helps you lay out all the answers to your potential questions. This not only helps you cover all of your bases, it also provides important information about your new company to potential investors. Because writing a food truck business plan is such an important step, it should be completed before you even buy a food truck.Shop All Food Truck Supplies

Food Truck Business Plan Template

We’ve outlined how to format your business plan and listed the key topics you should cover. A food truck business plan should include the following sections:

1. Executive Summary

The first section of your food truck business plan is the executive summary. Think of this as your introduction to the reader. To make a good first impression, you should be concise and interesting without explaining too many granular details. You can cover the finer points of your business in the preceding sections. This is your chance to highlight who your company is, how you expect it to grow, and why your food truck will be successful.

In the executive summary, you should identify the gap in your target market that your company is able to fill. It’s also a good idea to cover how your knowledge and background will benefit you as you pursue your company goals of opening a food truck business. Although the executive summary is the first section your potential investor will read, you should write it last.

These are the key topics to include in a food truck executive summary:

What type of food do you plan to offer?
Where do you plan to sell your food?
Why will this type of food be successful in the area where you plan to sell it?
What is the projected cost and profit of your food truck business?
What are your future goals for your food truck business?

2. Company Description

Use this section of your food truck business plan to explain the details of your company. Describe your food truck business and convey how it will be a valuable addition to the existing market. Essentially, this is the section where you can expand upon the topics you briefly mentioned in the executive summary.

Think about these questions as you write your food truck company description:

What kind of food truck will it be (truck, trailer, or food cart)?
Why a food truck as opposed to a brick-and-mortar location?
Will you prepare your food in the truck or in a commissary kitchen?
How will the food items you provide compete with the menu items of existing food trucks or restaurants in your target area?
What specific consumer niche will you serve?
What is your overall competitive advantage (your unique cuisine, your outstanding customer service, your creative marketing, etc.)?

3. Market Analysis

The market analysis section of your food truck business plan is where you will explain and detail how you’ll fit into the existing market. It’s important to do extensive research on starting a food truck business before writing this section so you can include solid research findings to back up your conclusions.

Cover these topics in your food truck market analysis section:

Describe the food industry, including current trends, growth rate, major consumer groups, etc.
Pinpoint the age group, geographic area, socioeconomic status, and other key demographic information of your target market
Identify the needs of your target market and any seasonal trends that could impact your business
Define the size and growth potential of your target market
State how you will gain a large percentage of the market share in your geographic location
Explain your pricing structure, gross margin levels, and any other financially relevant information
Identify your competitors and explain how you will make your food truck a viable contender in current and future markets
Address any obstacles you may encounter as you start your food truck business
Cite food codes and other governmental regulations that will affect your business

4. Organization and Management

The next step of your food truck business plan is to outline your organization and management plan. Explaining your organization and management structure may not seem that important if you’re hoping to open up a food truck manned by two people.

However, outlining responsibilities from the start helps to avoid confusion as your business grows and develops. This section should include a detailed profile of your management team, information about the ownership of your company, the salary and benefits you’ll offer your workers, and growth opportunities for people within your organization.

Creating a chart that shows the organizational structure of your business is a great way to illustrate that all the bases are covered, from the cooks in your food truck kitchen to the accountant who balances your checkbook.

Include this information in the food truck organization and management section:

Ownership information:

Legal structure (Are you forming a partnership? Are you a sole proprietor?)
Full names of the owners
Percentage of the company each owner holds
Type of ownership (common stock, general partner, etc.)
Stock information

Profiles of your management team:

Full name
Position / primary responsibilities
Educational background
Prior employment and how it relates to his/her position within your company
Important experience and skills that will help your business be successful
Past track record with hard numbers to back it up
Food industry recognition
Community involvement
Salary

5. Service or Product Line

Use the service and product line section to describe your food truck menu items. What unique flavors are you offering and how will your products entice passersby and convert them into die-hard fans? This is the section where you can display your innovative ideas, describe your products, and explain how you will keep customers coming back for more.

Provide answers to these questions in your food truck product line section:

Describe your menu:

What type of cuisine will you offer?
Why are you passionate about this type of food?
Why will customers eat your food?
What is your competitive advantage?
Are your recipes well established or still being developed?

Explain where your products are in terms of life cycle:

Are you launching a totally new product?
Are you already gaining popularity with your target market?
What might cause a decline in demand for your product?

Discuss any intellectual property:

Do you have any trade secrets or patents in the works?
Will you require your staff to sign any non-disclosure or non-compete agreements?

Consider the future:

How do you see your menu changing over time?
Are you developing any new products?
Do you plan to own a fleet of food trucks someday?
Will you expand your reach by attending food truck fairs or booking catered events?

6. Marketing and Sales

The marketing and sales portion of your food truck business plan is focused on building customer loyalty. You will need to define your overall marketing and sales strategies, but how you do so is completely up to you. One important thing to remember is that customers value originality, whether that means adopting a recognizable food truck design or creating a unique selling point for your food truck.

Provide answers to these important questions in the food truck marketing and sales section:

How will you compete with other food trucks in your area?

Will you set your prices lower than your competitors’?
Will you offer a product that has never been seen before?

How will you grow your business?

Will you hire more employees?
Will you acquire more food trucks?
Will you extend the geographic area your truck serves?

How will you distribute your products?

Will you sell only from your truck?
Will you attend food truck fairs or festivals?

How will you reach your customers?

Will you advertise on traditional media (radio, newspaper, billboards)?
Will you develop a large social media presence by utilizing Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok?
Will you offer special rewards or discounts for returning customers?
Will you give away free samples to entice future customers?
Will you create an interactive map to help customers locate your truck?

How many sales are necessary for your food truck to be profitable?

What is a fair menu price for the products you’ll be selling?
How many days will you take off in a year?
Will you sell throughout the winter or just during the warmer months

7. Funding Request

Not every food truck business plan has a funding request section, but it’s definitely something to consider including. It can be tricky to map out how much a food truck costs, but you will need to do so in order to determine where your funds will be coming from.

If you do plan to request funding, you should clearly explain how much funding you need, what you need it for, and how you’ll repay anything you owe. Make sure to include the cost of food truck insurance and any permits or licenses you’ll need to start doing business.

Think about these important questions when you create your food truck funding request:

How much capital do you really need?
Do you foresee needing more funding in the future?
How will you use the funds you are awarded?
How will you repay your loans?
What are the potential benefits to an investor if your food truck does well?
How would these funds create new opportunities for your food truck?

8. Financial Projections

It’s difficult to know what realistic financial projections are when you’re starting your food truck business from scratch, but in order to allocate funds efficiently, it’s important to analyze your target market and set clear financial goals.

If your business has already been in operation for a few years, this is the section of the food truck business plan where you’d include historical financial data. However, if you’re just starting out, you will need to calculate how much your business will potentially make over the next five years using realistic assumptions. Make sure that these projections align with the funds you asked for in your funding request.

9. Appendix

The Appendix section isn’t necessary in every food truck business plan, but this is a great place to include information that didn’t fit anywhere else, from product photos to building permits to letters of reference.Back to Top

Starting your own food truck is overwhelming at first, but writing business plan is a great first step. It will help you get organized and cover details that you may not have originally considered. Once you have completed your business plan, you’ll be ready to put your dream into motion.

food truck business plan examples

FOOD TRUCK BUSINESS PLAN 01 (1 MB)

FOOD TRUCK BUSINESS PLAN 02 (414 KB)

FOOD TRUCK BUSINESS PLAN 03 (64 KB)

FOOD TRUCK BUSINESS PLAN 04 (85 KB)

FOOD TRUCK BUSINESS PLAN 05 (86 KB)

FOOD TRUCK BUSINESS PLAN 06 (37 KB)

FOOD TRUCK BUSINESS PLAN 07 (45 KB)

FOOD TRUCK BUSINESS PLAN 08 (330 KB)

FOOD TRUCK BUSINESS PLAN 09 (254 KB)

FOOD TRUCK BUSINESS PLAN 10 (41 KB)

food truck business plan objectives

Goals describe a roadmap that helps a business to achieve its agenda. Objectives are the actions taken to achieve these goals. A business with clear goals and objectives has a guarantee of getting good returns and fulfilling customers’ needs. The goal of this business is to offer affordable means for office employees to eat in the city. Due to the rising food prices, the food truck business offers a better alternative to workers with a tight budget (Gwo-Hshiung & Hung-Fan, 2011).

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One of the objectives is to supply clients with healthy and freshly cooked food in a fast and efficient way. This will be good for clients who are watching their cholesterol level, and for people who have less time to go to a restaurant or cook at their homes. Another objective is to go for prospective clients. On weekends or holidays when most offices in the city are closed, the food truck goes to crowded places in the park or river piers.

In addition, the manager needs to explore the districts of the city that are more profitable (Jackson, 2014). As a result, the business will have a busy schedule that will ensure a steady income because it will be working in the busiest region in the city. Based on the clients’ needs, the manager will add new items to the menu. This will be accomplished by giving clients a questionnaire where they will list the meals they would like the truck to supply. It will be easy for the manager to choose meals with the best popularity from the questionnaires.

How does the management define success?

The management defines success as getting good returns in the business without compromising the quality and price of meals. Offering foods at lower prices, will lead to a significant increase in food demand from employees leading to a quick return in the money invested in the business (Gwo-Hshiung & Hung-Fan, 2011).

The business therefore plays a significant role in ensuring that employees within Portland eat healthy and nutritious foods at lower prices. This reduces risk of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes. This will cater for workers who are too busy to go to a restaurant or cook food at homes. Success also means creating a positive brand image that has a consistent quality that does not change in spite of fame. Satisfied clients will promote the food product through word of mouth (Jackson, 2014).

What are they trying to achieve, and why?

The food truck business is formed to satisfy the people’s need for food. The business aims at workers that have little time to cook food, and have less time to spend at their lunch break. In addition, they cannot buy meals at restaurants because of high price or other inconveniences.

People prefer not to purchase fast food because of high content of fats and sugar, which increase cholesterol level in the body. High cholesterol level in the body results to overweight and diabetes. Today, people are educated on foods to consume that are healthy and nutritious. Therefore, many people prefer good quality, freshly cooked meals, served quickly at lower prices (Jackson, 2014).

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The food truck business will satisfy all these needs. The location of the business is in one of the busiest areas of the city and will attend to the diverse needs of clients. It will provide food to workers, and move to parks where people will be having picnics and may have need for a dessert or a light meal. Consequently, the business will have a steady income on both weekdays and weekends (Gwo-Hshiung & Hung-Fan, 2011).

Who will perform the various management functions, and how the decision-making process proceeds?

The business structure of this business is single proprietorship. This implies that one person owns and manages the business. The owner will be responsible for all the management functions and will employ workers if need arises. The business involves only a single food truck and one person will efficiently run it. The owner is the main decision maker, while the other worker is involved in preparing meals in the food truck.

What will be the critical skills needed of managers?

Managers interact with clients, address disputes, and motivate workers. Thus, they require good people’s skills to communicate effectively (Jackson, 2014). As a result, they will understand the needs of their clients and they will be able to sense any disputes with employees and settle them amicably.

Business skills are important in balancing accounts and preparing payrolls for workers. The owner will know if the business is getting good returns. In addition, a manager who possesses these skills will be able to pay bills and taxes on time. Business skills help the manager to situate the business in the busiest part in the city where the demand for healthy and nutritious food is high (Gwo-Hshiung & Hung-Fan, 2011).

Time management skill is also important for any manager running a food truck business. If the target market is office workers, the meals have to be ready during their lunch break. The manager has to ensure that food is prepared at the right time, and served quickly to serve all the customers within the lunch break period.

How is the company organized? (e.g., organizational structure)

The organizational structure describes how different functions such as sharing responsibilities and management are directed with the aim of realizing the goals and objectives of the business. Since the business is a single proprietorship involving a single food truck, the organizational structure is simple. The main decision maker is the owner of the business and communication is done one on one (Gwo-Hshiung & Hung-Fan, 2011). The other workers are the chefs. Depending on the growth of the business, the business may change to a partnership structure or a limited liability company.

How the program helped reduce environmental impact, and improve social or community life

The food truck business contributes to the local community in a positive way. It offers its clients meals that are healthy and freshly cooked. Consequently, the truck becomes the desired source of meals for people that are conscious of their weight, and concerned about their health. This improves the social life of people because they will be less sick of weight related diseases. Due to the mobility of the truck, it will move to crowded parks where people are having picnics and supply light meals and desserts. As a result, their social needs will be met and their overall life will improve (Jackson, 2014).

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One of the negative aspects of a food truck is that it forms a huge amount of litter around its operations. This is because majority of customers consume their food and throw the containers on the ground. To prevent the problem of litter, the business has introduced ecologically save containers (Jackson, 2014). Moreover, the city provides a cleanup service that ensures all litter is wiped out thus sustaining a clean environment.

The human resources policies you have developed for the business

Recruitment

Consistent success of the food truck business relies on its ability to draw, maintain, and build up workers who can guarantee its continuous growth. The policy is to employ workers with professional skills helping them build a sustainable relationship with the business. The worker should be willing to improve his or her skills and adhere to the culture of the business (Gwo-Hshiung & Hung-Fan, 2011).

Employment

The Company is dedicated to supporting all laws involving employee’s rights. The management will execute the required procedures to ascertain these laws are imposed (Jackson, 2014). All employees not abiding by the business principles will be asked to leave the business. It is paramount for all workers to form a work relationship and avoid any form of discrimination and harassment.

Remuneration

The food truck business will offer attractive remuneration depending on the employees work performance. The remuneration package will include salary and allowances. The management will be required to do research and get more information on remuneration packages of other similar businesses (Gwo-Hshiung & Hung-Fan, 2011).

Employee development program

The business encourages employees to upgrade their skills so that they will be relevant in the dynamic market. Thus, all employees must be willing to acquire more knowledge and improve their skills. The business will support employees when opportunities for trainings arise (Jackson, 2014). Sales people are encouraged to polish up their people’s skills while chefs should stay updated on the current trends in the food industry.