Have you considered catering carts?
Are you hoping to start you own mobile catering business but finding it hard to break in?
Not because you lack entrepreneur skills, culinary know-how or determination but for the simple reason that you are not able to arrange for the monetary funding. Well, that is not surprising as many people are deterred from venturing into this line of work because of the considerable investment required for the purchase of a catering trailer or van.
Not to mention the substantial sum of money that needs to be set aside for obtaining sanctions and insurance. Well then, there is one way out for you – Catering Carts. This is an option that offers many of the benefits that are associated with catering trailers and vans but at a fraction of the cost.
Now of course you might have to scale down your plans for your business a bit.
You certainly cannot easily cook three course meals on a cart. You will have to think about selling foods that require little or no preparation.
Some classic ideas that have survived generations are the hot-dog cart and the pop-corn cart. Very lucrative they can be in the right location. But you do increasingly see people selling everything from tacos to sandwiches to baked potatoes on catering carts so don’t get too discourage by the limitations. Try to work out a compromise.
A little lateral thinking is useful to differentiate you from the competition! – You may not be able to serve bacon and eggs since it requires instant cooking but you could prepare egg sandwiches in your kitchen at home and sell them through your cart.
Another popular option that you might want to look into is the ice cream cart. This is much cheaper to set up then an ice cream van business but could be just as profitable. All the equipment you need is a simple cooler or cold box, possibly filled with dry ice that provides an insulated environment for your ice cream as you move about town selling them.
You could opt for either going in for a traditional push cart or have one pulled by a tricycle. In certain countries like Cambodia, igloo boxes are attached to mopeds for the sake of selling ice cream. While these carts vary in form and function and some may suit certain businesses better than others, they all have mobility at the heart of their design. The concept of catering carts is to sell at the very grass-root level. Get the product right to the place where it is most in demand. And if you have the knack for that then this might very well be the perfect line of work for you.
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