Setting up a Food Truck Business in India

Narendra Kumar

23 Jul, 2019

Food trucks Business has emerged rapidly and become quite a rage lately in the evolving restaurant space. It has been a great opportunity for the small entrepreneur to fulfil their desire of serving food and occupying the position of ownership in a small and successful business. It can also be so inspiring for a chef, especially the one who wants to indulge himself in the growing trend of starting a food truck business in India. Moreover, a Food Truck Business Plan must be prepared for setting up the food truck.

Food Truck is a kind of a restaurant on wheels and an economical alternative to restaurants. It has its own advantages and disadvantages as explained below:

What are the advantages of starting a Food Truck Business?

• Easy to set up, as there is no requirement of buying costly spaces for opening up a restaurant;
• It provides an opportunity for the owners to access multiple locations at an initial capital;
• For commencing this business only a full-fleeced truck, licenses and desire for serving or catering food in the city is necessary;
• A food truck can move to the location where the customers are without any prohibition;

What are the disadvantages of starting a Food Truck Business?

• No association or regulatory authority is assigned by the government for making guidelines in the purview of initiating a food business;
• Licensing for food trucks is the most time consuming and burdensome task;
• In the first couple of years this business requires a lot of work and attention;

How to Set up a Food Truck Business?

Also, Read:

How to get FSSAI License for Food Trucks

Following points to be taken into consideration while thinking of commencing this business:

• Selection of Right Food Truck or Commercial Vehicle:

This business wholly starts and ends with the food truck itself. When it’s on the road and working great, it means you’re making money. Therefore, the selection of the right truck or Commercial Vehicle on the basis of the menu which they will be offering is the most important and priority task in this business. They have to choose as per their requirements among the various options available in the market i.e. Tata, Ashok Leyland, and Mahindra & Mahindra or in order to save cost they can start with an old truck.

While, considering the second option at the time of buying an old truck, they need to check and ensure themselves about the proper fitness certificate, registration, road tax receipt, and insurance. It is better to buy a light commercial vehicle instead of going for a big size heavy commercial vehicle.

• Selection of right location :

While selecting the location it is to consider that the street doesn’t have too many similar food vendors and as well as has a regular flow of traffic for inviting large footfall. There should be establishments with young professionals and students in the surrounding areas. Parking of truck should be in such a way that it doesn’t cause any hurdles to the commuters but should be invisibility of people.

• Kitchen Equipment and Raw Materials Required for a Food Truck:

At the time of Purchasing Kitchen equipment, it is advisable to differentiate as per your requirement which equipment is to be purchased a new one and the old one. It will help in saving a lot of money which can be utilized further for other essential activities. In the case of raw material, for the first few months, it is better to keep the stock fresh and analysis the sale pattern and then procure it accordingly.

• Licenses and Permits Required for Starting a Food Truck Business :

There is no prescribed regulatory authority in whose framework the applicant has to commence its business. Therefore, there are no prescribed set of documents required at the time of starting this business. However, it is important to procure the following documents for the purpose of its own security:

1. Fire Safety Certificate
2. Shops and Establishment License
3. Kitchen Insurance
4. NOC from Municipal Corporation
5. FSSAI License of Mobile Vendor
6. NOC from RTO

Hence, the above documents are very important.

• The manpower required for this business:

At the initial stage, a maximum of two chefs and one helper are required for taking care of the operations of an entire food truck. Apart, from this in order to keep the service level up to the mark and want to create an identity in the foodservice market, it is advisable to hire at least one delivery boy who helps in procuring raw materials in the case of emergencies instead of depending upon the third party logistics.

• POS Software for Your Food Truck:

Applicant must have a good point of sale software which helps them in keeping their data safe and give detailed information about their inventory and sales. It also helps them in managing their repeating orders efficiently.

• Marketing your Food Truck:

Food truck requires less number of menu pamphlets for distribution since their primary business is based on the football rather than delivery. Having a presence on social media also gives an opportunity to connect with their customers and generate buzz. You can keep followers informed of your location through your Twitter feed, which will build a regular flow of customers and build brand connect.

• Insurance:

It is mandatory to get the truck and business insured in order to mitigate the risks and liabilities.

Conclusion

The food truck business has become one of the hottest new businesses. So if anyone wants to start its food truck business, then it is the right time to set up such business.

Enterslice, an award-winning company with the help of its experts guide them in implementing their ideas into this business. Further details are provided on our website www.enterslice.com

Also, Read:

How to Setup an Online Food Delivery Marketplace