Every year, plenty of food trucks and trailers open and many close. Every entrepreneur starts out confident, but the results aren't always satisfying. Any entrepreneur who wants to succeed in the mobile food business needs to understand why food trucks or trailers fail, which will help you avoid them. ETO DEVICE has compiled a list of 10 common reasons most food trailers fail and hopes it will help you succeed.
10 common reasons why most food trucks and trailers fail
1. The lack of plan
This is the most common reason food trucks and trailers fail: When you start your mobile food truck or trailer business, you don't have a plan. A lot of food truck owners feel like they don't need a plan, they know what they're supposed to do, but in reality a lot of times it's a scramble.
Now that you know the importance of a food truck business plan, you must write a good business plan before starting your business! The business plan will include everything you think is important to avoid situations that could cause your mobile trailer business to fail. This food truck business plan will guide your business and help you succeed.
Related: How to Write a Food Trailer Business Plan?
2. Not knowing the food truck business
Many food truck owners see the business as nothing more than an investment. They simply buy food trucks and hire people to cook and sell the food. They soon found that business was so tough that it was difficult to generate the expected profit each month. Before you start your food truck business, make sure you understand it and know how to run a food truck business. From menus, locations, target customers to cost control, you need to learn a lot of skills.
3. Not knowing your competitors
The mobile food business is saturated, yes. It has become harder to stand out from so many competitors. Your competitor's food is delicious, reasonably priced, and even enthusiastic.
Get to know your competitors, analyze their strategies, and choose to be unique in the city. You will find that your business is on the road to success.
4. Can't manage finances
Many owners of food trucks and trailers have no concept of financial management or even use any accounting software. This makes cost management very difficult, and it's hard to sustain your business on a thin margin.
Most successful food truck entrepreneurs care deeply about their financial management, understand the basic principles of financial management, and know their operating costs, even hiring professional financial personnel. Understanding the financials of your business will help you find your profit anchors and then further exploit your profits.
5. Can't manage employees
As an entrepreneur in the food truck business, employees are the most important part. Not only do they take on the important task of cooking the food, they are also responsible for facing the customer directly. If employees can't do their jobs, you'll lose profits directly.
Employee management requires not only proper systems, but you also need to understand the needs of your employees. Only in this way can they do their job better and keep your food business running normally.
6. Lowering the quality of food or making it too expensive
A lot of entrepreneurs have been in the food truck business for a while and they find that the profits are thin, so they decide to lower the quality of the food or raise the price of the food, and then the business starts to slow down and the business fails.
Never lower the quality of your food or set an unreasonable price. Your customers will notice this and leave your food trailer without hesitation.
When your margins are slim, try developing new menu options to keep your margins high.
7. Poor service attitude
Even if your food truck or trailer has a unique and delicious menu, customer satisfaction is still a priority. If a customer's dissatisfaction or problem goes unaddressed for a long time, your business will slowly sink.
So the attitude towards customers is very important, you need to keep in touch with your customers and solve their problems in time.
8. Use low quality equipment
Using low quality equipment can have very serious consequences and can even lead to the failure of your mobile food business. If you buy an old truck or a low-quality trailer, expensive repairs and a short life will put a stop to your business.
9. Wrong position
Never leave your food truck or trailer at an empty intersection. Even if your food is unique, few people are willing to walk 20 minutes to taste it. A high-traffic location is the best, which will bring you more sales opportunities and higher profits.
10. Not marketing
Many owners of food trucks and trailers fail because they can't market. They don't have any social media accounts or participate in community events, whereas their competitors do.
Interacting with your followers on social media will not only promote your business, but also attract more loyal followers. With so much competition in the mobile food business these days, you need to promote yourself and let the community know how delicious your food is.
Start your mobile food business
These are the 10 most common reasons why a food truck or trailer business fails. Now that you know this much, it's time to start your food truck or tow truck business. Browse ETO DEVICE's food trailer now and find the style you like! If not, we will design and build your own mobile food trailer tailored to your needs and budget. Contact us now and start your journey to success!
