If your dream is to bring your food services on the road, building your custom food truck is the first step to achieving your goals. In this blog post, well discuss how much it costs to buy a food truck,  what you will need to get started, and how to make your dream a reality!

How much to buy a food truck?

Before you can jump into buying your food truck and getting it decked out with everything you want, sit down to write your business plan. Crafting and creating a baseline idea of all the things you’d like to accomplish is step one in saving money that you can spend on better additions to your dream way down the road. 

Write out and plan for things like the market you’re targeting. What are you bringing to the table that other food services aren’t? You’ll need to determine how detailed your plan is to help figure out the cost of things like:

• A business license
• Insurance
• Hired Help – think legal advice or assistance for things like tax requirements

All in all, this can cost you a few hundred dollars up to a few thousand. It just depends on if you’re planning to buy all new equipment or go with something used and update it. Plus, you have to add in the fees for serving in certain cities on top of your insurance and license to do business. 

Buying Your Food Truck

Pricing for brand new truck can vary between $80k to $200k. And this doesn’t include custom designs, wraps, or detailing . On your hunt for a custom food truck at the very basics, you’re looking at spending around $80k at the baseline. This will provide you with a fairly decent food truck, and depending on what appliances and upgrades you’ll need will determine what your final price tag is. 

There are additional costs, as well. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Food Truck Index, on page 9, the average amount spent to start a food truck business – beyond the cost of your vehicle and equipment – is $28,276. This includes permits, licenses, and legal compliance.\

Building The Final Masterpiece

At the end of the day, you have to include your kitchen appliances, utensils, and any operational costs in your budget. Consider the basic materials that’ll help you officially launch your food truck when you think of this. Prioritize things such as ingredients, plates, and cups once you’ve priced the appliances that you’ll need to serve your items. 

Build Your Custom Food Truck Today

Building and customizing a food truck can be pricey, but you can easily save money where needed. For questions on how to build your custom food truck to fit your needs without blowing your budget out of the water, contact us today. We’ll discuss the essentials and help you determine the best truck for your needs. 

Just remember, your dream is achievable and while you might feel like you’re spending a lot of money starting out, you can make that money back and more by pursuing your dream career path.

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Creativity Counts in Food Truck Design

When you’re just getting started, you’ll probably try getting noticed by setting up at farmer’s markets, festivals, or special events. You might even consider renting space in a food truck park.

Unfortunately, popular venues like those also draw lots of competing food trucks. How will your truck stand out from the crowd — especially when they’re parked right next to you?

An attractive, compelling design that clearly spells out your brand message is vital. This is especially true if you’re just getting started in the food truck business. Most people won’t have had a chance to try your food yet. Once they do, you’ll want them to spread the word about how delicious it is.

Having a memorable name, logo, and design will help them do just that. It will also help new customers find that amazing new food truck they’ve been hearing so much about!

Create an Attention-Grabbing Look

Draw potential customers in with custom design graphics that pique people’s interest, indicate what you have to offer, and are true to your brand. A professional designer will help you create a custom design that is eye-catching as well as aesthetically pleasing. Colors, fonts, and images should all reflect your brand and the message behind it.

Your food truck design should be attractive and inviting. Above all, it should be instantly recognizable. Whether you choose graphic black and white, bold, vivid neons, a soothing palette of pastels, or an entire rainbow of bright, happy colors, customers should immediately associate your truck design with your brand.

Integrate Technology into Your Design

At Legion, we offer multiple ways for you to integrate technology into your food truck design. From easy to update digital menu boards to crowd-pleasing neon lights, you can incorporate as much technology as you’d like. Would you like a state-of-the-art POS (point-of-sale) system? How about external speakers, WI-FI, a digital jukebox, or even a complete entertainment system?

Whatever your dreams for your ideal mobile restaurant, our expert graphic designers and marketers can help you bring those dreams to life. We’ll start by helping you develop a unique concept for your truck. Then we’ll customize your food truck to perfectly match that concept. From the kitchen layout to a custom-built website, you’ll drive away with a fully-branded food truck that will meet all of your needs.

Let Us Design the Perfect Food Truck for Your Brand

From graphics that immediately convey your brand to an interior that’s a chef’s dream, let Legion Food Trucks do it all. We’ll design your food truck to perfectly match your wants, needs, and desires. Contact us today for more information or to get the design process started!

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Five Tips to Expand Your Food Truck Business

Dedicate Time to Social Media

Social media platforms play a crucial role in promoting brand recognition, making them a must-have marketing tool for food truck ventures. Facebook, Twitter, and Yelp are some powerful and easy-to-use platforms to help you connect with customers. Besides, you can provide updates detailing the location of your food truck in real-time while responding to customer questions and reading reviews to better your business. This allows you to attract a considerable following and discover areas you need to improve to grow your mobile kitchen.

Change Up Your Menu

Generally, most people buy from you because of the particular foods you make. These are items that have given you a lot of success and sustained your business since you began. But as you grow and expand your fleet, changing your menu – depending on the season – allows you to attract more people and grow your customer base. Food trucks usually perform best during sunnier days. So, during winter, offer warmer foods to keep up with seasonal changes. It is an effective way to come up with creative recipes suited for different seasons, allowing you to operate all year round.

Start Catering

Like any other business, food truck ventures face a range of challenges, with the weather being a significant concern. Another major setback is access to occasions such as weddings, festivals, and special events. Catering helps you address these situations and opens up a new window of sales opportunities. Catered foods for events, corporate gatherings, or luncheons enable you to build relationships with local businesses, besides reaching more customers. This accelerates the growth and expansion of your food truck fleets.

Monitor Your Metrics

It isn’t easy to contemplate growth if you don’t keep records of your monthly sales, including your inventory, as well as operational and labor costs. Understanding your inventory helps you determine when to stock, while sales reports allow you to learn about items that sell best. Thus, it is important to start leveraging metrics to save costs and better your sales on a daily basis. Having such knowledge is crucial to building a strategic plan to increase your profit margins and grow your food truck fleets.

Consider Financing Options

Once you have better management of your business, introduced catering, and already have your name out there, seek financing to help you expand more efficiently. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is a better option for adding more food trucks and growing your brand. Banks, credit unions, and online lenders are also great alternatives to seeking financing.

Expand Your Fleet With Legion Food Trucks

Expanding your food truck business begins with learning practical strategies that guarantee growth without stressing your business. With the above tips, you will be able to expand your food truck fleet and reach your potential. At Legion Food Trucks, we can help you bring your food truck ideas to life with our unique builder tools. Contact us to find out more today!

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4 Benefits of Buying a Food Truck to Grow Your Restaurant

1.  Low Startup Costs When Buying a Food Truck

Buying a food truck and opening a mobile food business has lower startup costs than launching a sit-in restaurant. It’s one of the most significant advantages for small business owners and new chefs who lack the funds to create a sit-in restaurant. 

What’s more, food trucks have lower overhead costs. They require less staff, equipment, and crockery and cutlery, and lower ventilation and lighting costs than sit-in restaurants. Providing a seating area is optional. As such, an operational and profitable restaurant chain can launch several food trucks and keep them functional until the profits begin trickling in. 

What’s more, as an established restaurant, you may have access to funds to purchase food trucks with ease. You can use your profits, savings, or credit lines to fund your new food truck venture. 

2.  A Mobile Way to Expand Your Business 

Have you been looking for several locations to expand your sit-in restaurant? Consider buying a food truck to grow your business and travel to the customer. A food truck helps you attract more customers and generate more sales while advertising your brand. You can park at different locations, and if possible, in the line of traffic. 

3.  You Have Experience 

As a restaurant chain owner or manager, you already have experience running a business in the food industry. You already know what it takes to launch a restaurant, hire and train staff, apply for licenses and funding, get vendors and suppliers, manage inventory, and purchase equipment. 

Besides the operational parts of the business, you also have an existing brand. You have a loyal customer base that is aware of your brand, a logo that you can use for your food truck design, a list of critical ingredients and a menu, and a social media presence. 

While you may be new to the food truck industry, the idea of creating a new business model isn’t novel to you. Your experience gives you an easier time when launching your food trucks. Use each of these things to your advantage when expanding your business through food trucks. 

4. Getting More Involved With Customers 

Food trucks require few staff members, maybe a chef, an assistant, and a cashier. With the limited personnel inside the truck, customers can talk directly to every person in the team. Consumers can give direct feedback as they enjoy their meals, which your staff can bring back to your headquarters. 

The direct interaction is a great way to bolster your customer service and improve your staff’s training since they all need to understand how to interact with customers. The experience you gain from the food trucks can improve your sit-in services and vice versa. 

Are you looking for custom food trucks to expand your restaurant? Contact Legion Food Trucks today for assistance. 

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This article will go over some of the main reasons why seniors invested in a food truck business in 2019, and why this movement is projected to continue growing over the next decade. 

Low Start-Up Investment and Little Overhang

Starting a brick and mortar restaurant is another option most retired people consider, but the risk is very high. The initial start-up investment is high, you have a mortgage, utilities, you have to comply with regulations and codes, carry multiple types of insurance coverage, and hire more staff. The failure rate with physical restaurants is also very high, and you stand to lose a lot more because the initial startup is so high.

Seniors are always advised to avoid high risks when it comes to starting a business, and since the only big-ticket item is the food truck cost itself, this option poses a low risk in a culture obsessed with mobile cuisine.

Buying a Food Truck Leads to a Six-Figure Income

Last year the average food truck grossed more than $300K. When starting with a new custom food truck designed to work for your business model, the financial gains can be highly profitable. This is one of the most attractive benefits that draw retired people to buying a food truck–you are already set to make a return on the initial start-up cost in the first year, plus make a six-figure income. Most people in full-time jobs with professional degrees don’t even make this kind of money.

Getting Involved in the Community

Buying a food truck is a great move for seniors because the business itself keeps them connected to their community. Food truck customers are very loyal, and when one serves up family recipes, food with a story, or the menu plays directly into reflecting a community, customers love it and the business. The food truck business allows retired people to get out every day (or on the days of their choice), and work in various specific areas. On certain days a food truck can operate outside the courthouse, and on other days by a school. On the weekend retired people can sell by the beach, and during the rush hour lunch period food trucks can operate downtown or by tech and industrial office buildings. Not only does a food truck business allow retired people the freedom to work with certain types of customers, but they can move freely through the community and serve any niche customer groups of their choice. 

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Buying a Food Truck is Highly Profitable

According to Quora, the average food truck grossed $300,000 in 2019 with a revenue increase of 12% over the last five years. In fact, many food trucks turn a bigger profit than physical restaurant locations, as they serve the same quality food, at around the same price, with significantly less overhead. If your family is looking for an opportunity to go into business together, buying a food truck can be the best solution with ample opportunities. 

What about Food Truck Cost and the Initial Investment?

Here’s the good news: when buying a food truck, the vehicle itself will be your biggest investment for the entire business. Furthermore, when multiple family members pitch in towards the food truck cost, the investment is easy and very affordable. In fact, there are other ways families can lower that initial food truck cost before investing directly from their pockets. Here are some of the most popular ways:

• Private loan
• Bank loan
• Business loan
• Second mortgage
• Social media/crowdfunding

With this being a quickly evolving digital age, it is easy for families to turn to crowdfund on social media, especially if one’s culture is directly injected into their business model and they intend to revitalize the local community. For example, consider a Mexican family that is trying to raise the funds to buy a food truck that will prepare various types of mole rooted in their families’ tradition. Their community is heavily Latino, and they intend to hire local people, train them, and expand with the goal to get another food truck in two years. Not only will the food truck serve home-cooked traditional fare to their community members, but it will offer jobs and continue to do so as the business evolves. When a family business has a model such as this one, more people are likely to donate.

Taking out a second mortgage can sound risky, but considering the revenue, food trucks saw last year, coupled with the popularity, the numbers all indicate that families will make it back in no time. Private loans are also a popular option–you may have to give a small percentage of your earnings to the investor, but this is not always a requirement, and if the lender does request this, the figure is always low and easy, otherwise, the loan would make no sense. 

Financing Options

Finally, meet with your bank and look into a bank loan or a business loan. Most banks see buying a food truck as a safe investment and so long as your credit isn’t on its last breath, you should be able to get a low rate with great options. 

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Why is Buying a Food Truck the Best Business for College Students to Enter?

For starters, their target audience is where they live, eat, sleep, and work: college students. According to multiple surveys, college students make up one of the largest demographics in America of people who buy breakfast, lunch, and dinner from food trucks. This means student food truck owners don’t have to travel (high gas expenses), nor does it mean large sums of revenue need to be spent on marketing materials (news spreads fast on a campus). Buying a food truck is a great investment and an ideal way for students to save some cash for after college, or to help pay for tuition and living expenses. 

Buying a Food Truck Makes You Your Own Boss

Did you know that being your own boss will enable you to get better grades and have less stress on your shoulders? According to St. Scholastica, more than 70 percent of all college students have a job. This can put a tremendous amount of strain and pressure on students, given class schedules, examinations, sports, and other activities. However, students buying food trucks are their own boss, and therefore they call their own hours. If they have a test in German literature next Tuesday at 4 PM, they can close the shop and put in some final cramming for the text without the fear of losing their job to someone with a less hectic academic schedule. Being a food truck owner means you call the shots, and when being a college student is ultimately your number one job, it is convenient to have a flexible solution to supplementing your student loans or to simply pad your bank account for unknown future expenses. 

Learn Valuable Skills that can Be Used After Graduation

According to statistics, students who run their own business while enrolled in college go on to lead more successful careers. This is due to the fact that student business owners get a head start on the trial and error process most people go through after graduating, and they enhance their communication, time management, and creative skills thus getting a head start on their future colleagues. In addition, students buying a food truck learn how to justify food truck costs and develop decision-making skills that impact profitability. 

If you are a college student and you have the means to make an investment that will help you pay your way through college and give you financial support upon graduation, buying a food truck is a smart move. Call Legion Food Trucks today and learn how a custom food truck can serve the needs of your customers, and help make you highly successful.

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Food Truck Companies

The food truck cost from a reputable builder can easily be justified, because the best food truck companies only use the best materials and equipment, and they use growth-driven design in all of their projects. In other words, paying a higher sticker price for a food truck that’s been manufactured from a replicated model that mirrors hundreds of other trucks that rolled off the manufacturer’s floor does not justify a reasonable cost, but working with a company that only builds custom models based on their client’s growth goals and customers most certainly does justify a price that’s right up there with the best of them. 

Food Truck Cost and Materials

A competitive budget should always be associated with trucks made from the highest quality materials. Cheap food trucks tend to be made with plastics and other porous materials that are hard to clean, dry, and that allow mold to grow and thrive. If you are looking at a food truck cost that seems high, there needs to be a good reason to justify it. This means the entire interior should be made from high-quality stainless steel as it is easy to clean, resistance to mold, and is very hygienic. That said, the things to consider when building a food truck that justifies a higher cost are high-quality materials in a custom build for your needs, and for your customer’s wants. 

How Equipment Plays into Food Truck Cost and a Good Investment

Needless to say, used food truck equipment will garner a lower cost. However, in the long run this investment will likely cause you to lose thousands of dollars. Last year more than 80 percent of food trucks failed within their first two years of business. The main reason is that so many bought used food trucks with second-hand equipment. Ongoing breakdowns and the need for expensive repairs not only bled businesses dry, but all that time off the streets caused their customers to go elsewhere and form new loyalties with competing businesses. That said, cost is always justified when you get brand new equipment, on a custom designed platform meant to help you achieve your specific growth goals, rather than fit some universal model that only works for a small fraction of businesses.

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This article is intended to help people make educated decisions when building a food truck to ensure year-over-year growth by sharing the top three tips to focus on, according to a group of surveyed businesses. 

1. Demand a Growth-Driven Design when Building a Food Truck

When you interview various companies that specialize in building a food truck, make sure the manufacturer has an advanced understanding of your customers, your business model (and menu), and your revenue goals. The food truck design should support a plan to achieve your growth goals. Otherwise, the design has no growth-driven attributes. For example, if you currently have a team of two, and your menu has 8 items then you may need a 16-foot platform with a griddle and fryer. But your two-year growth goal is to expand your business by doubling the menu items and hiring two additional employees, then you may need a 20-foot food truck with the addition of a stove, oven, and a bigger refrigeration system. But sometimes going too big in your first year of business can lead to expenses that don’t justify your current earnings. This is where the best companies building a food truck step in and engineer a vehicle that offers an ideal platform size and equipment that will help you find immediate success while setting you up for add-ons down the road so that you may continue to grow and stay prosperous. 

2. Building a Food Truck that’s Custom, or Buying Used?

Unfortunately, a lot of people invest in used food trucks because they create the illusion of better savings. After all, the sticker price is significantly less. However, used food trucks often lead to business failure. Last year, more than 80 percent of food trucks failed to be profitable after having run in their first two years. The number one reason for this was that the business owners bought used food trucks. A used food truck is someone else’s design to accommodate their own growth goals and customers; it’s a shoe that simply won’t fit your foot. In addition, used food trucks saw a spike in breakdowns which lead to expensive repair bills and revenue losses by taking the food truck off the street. This also caused customers to go to competitors, and this gave the competition an opportunity to win the crowd over. You may pay more up front for your own custom food truck, but you will have an 85% higher chance of being successful and securing your ROI within the first year of business. 

3. Food Truck Exterior Design

When building a food truck, you will want to work with a company that truly masters the exterior design. Whether you have a visual concept that requires a professional to polish up, or you want a company that creates a food truck design from scratch, the food truck’s exterior must resonate with your target customers. In addition, knowing whether or not to use paint or vinyl is important. If you plan on working near the sea, or in a hot climate, a high salinity level can cause the paint to erode, and the heat can cause the paint to fade, and yearly touch-ups create an unnecessary expense that could otherwise be avoided. In this case, vinyl would be more ideal because it is more rugged in harsher elements. However, if you will be working in an area with cool and moderate year-round temperatures and a low salinity level in the atmosphere, then paint could be the better option.

Discuss these options and others with your food truck company, and make sure that when buying a food truck you take these points to heart.

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1. Buying a Food Truck that’s New or Used

When it comes to buying a food truck, one goal is to save money. But this often overshadows the other thing people should actually place first, and that’s ensuring the food truck is right for your needs and will help you hit your growth goals. Unfortunately, a large number of family businesses will go the used route for buying a food truck, and they will spend a few thousand on having it re-painted or they will get a vinyl wrap to brand it to their business. And while this option saves you money upfront, it is very risky and sets you up to lose even more revenue in the long run. In fact, last year more than 80 percent of new food truck businesses had to close their doors after only running for less than two years. The main reason was due to food truck equipment malfunctions, engine problems, or the need for other repairs. Not only did these recurring bills cause family businesses to lose thousands, being off the street and out of business caused the loss of income, food waste, and regular customers wound up going to competitors. Simply put, business never picked up for these people and they kept hemorrhaging money. 

When it comes to buying a food truck, invest in a new custom design that makes sense for your business and individual growth goals.

2. Buying a Food Truck from a Builder that Sets You Up to be Successful 

When buying a food truck you will want to work with a builder that has marketing chops, and that understands growth-driven food truck design. When you want to learn how to choose a food truck design, your builder should be your partner and help you come up with a concept that’s fully grounded in understanding your menu, business model, your customers, and your growth goals. The platform needs to be just the right size to help you run a successful food truck business right out the gate but also allow for enough room to add additional employees and extra equipment as you expand your business. When buying a food truck make sure a growth-driven design meets future needs, but don’t go too big, as this can add to operational costs. 

3. Choose High-Quality Materials

Buying a food truck that promotes profitability means working with a food truck builder that only uses the highest quality materials. The interior should be stainless steel, as it is easy to clean, keep clean, and highly durable. Avoid porous materials like plastics and fiberglass that can trap moisture and food debris thus forming mold and causing sanitary problems that can shut you down and destroy your reputation. Also, choose technology that makes sense. If you plan to operate in the Downtown area during lunch hours, you will get people who are in a hurry to place their order, pick up their food, and get back to the office. Investing in an app that allows for early order placing, and having a display screen showing orders that are ready, or in process, will create a user-friendly experience and usher in more customers. 

Discuss these options and others with your food truck company, and make sure that when buying a food truck you take these points to heart.

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