Mobile Catering Trailers

Catering Trailers – 10 Reasons Why Mobile Catering makes a Great Business!

admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:12:32 +0000

If you are you looking for a business to start
It is worth considering catering trailers and other forms of mobile catering.

Ask top entrepreneurs what factors make a good business – and they would probably mention most of the factors we present here for a catering trailer business.

Duncan Bannatyne cut his entrepreneurial teeth on concession catering in Jersey – and his first business when he returned to the UK was an ice cream van business.

Here are ten reasons why mobile catering could make a good business.

In no particular order:

An established industry that is not a fad. Catering trailers and other forms of mobile catering has have been around for many years. Indeed, one celebrity entrepreneur started this way. People will always want food!
High margin and low overheads in comparison to many other businesses. So it is not unusual (although far from guaranteed) for mobile catering businesses to pay back the capital in less than a year, and it can be much faster than that. That speed is almost unkown in franchising.
You can be flexible in what you offer you are not rigidly tied into a menu or brand. You don’t carry a massive stock, if something does not sell. So If fish and chips or Indian food is not working, it is possible that sandwiches or baked potatoes will. You can chop and change menu to find out what works and differentiate your business.
You are not trapped. You can also move and experiment to find the best location. If it is not working in one location you not tied to a premises lease. So you can look for a variety of other locations. This is difficult to do because of premises leases with a standard retail business. Many catering trailers, have several pitches at different times of the week and year.
Comparatively low entry cost and barriers to entry generally. For sure there vital good sites to find, and licenses to obtain. it is still a relatively low investment in both time and cost
It is not only about price for the customer! Many catering trailer businesses have a loyal following . It is not just a business based on price where the customers move on for a few percent cheaper, so margins are not eroded as they are in competitive niches.
Relatively Low experience needed. Provide you seek guidance on the key issues and ensure you find good sites, then massive experience or knowledge is not needed.
You are in charge and can work when you want.You are not tied to an office, or forced to be there for customers to ring. So you pick the location and the hours
No late payment or bad debts. Customers pay in advance of the sale No danger of either waiting for payment , or customers going out of business, which is always a worry if you have to wait . It is also a cash business – which has its advantages.
If all else fails, you can get out easily if it does not work. This is very important in managing risk, and certainly not true with commercial leases or many franchises contracts. So the risk is lower because of it.

That is a LOT of advantages.

BUT STOP

Before you rush out and look at catering trailers to buy. Please don’t.
Success is about planning, marketing, identifying locations and making sure you have the permits to trade.
It is not as easy as you may think. There are a LOT of traps for the unwary, and ver expensive mistakes – and like any business it carries some risk.

The better prepared you are, the greater chance you will succeed.

All sorts of questions:
What licenses do you need? How much should you pay a show organiser? What to sell, and how to buy a catering trailer? What safety rules are there? What equipment do you need?

If you are new to all this – we strongly recommend you buy a guide written by a successful mobile catering expert – Download the catering trailers from the MOBILE CATERING MASTERY page here!

Catering Trailers

admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 12:55:39 +0000

Catering Trailers – the opportunity

As you walk down the street and pass by a hot dog vendor or an ice cream van do you find yourself wishing you owned a business of that sort or wondering what it is like? Well then what’s stopping you?

Because if you are a dynamic individual with a passion for food then catering trailers could indeed prove to be a very lucrative and satisfying opportunity for you, provided you take time to understand the business, avoid the traps for the unwary – and plan properly – you really can succeed.

Indeed as far as entrepreneurships goes mobile catering prove to be one of the easier businesses to start up and involves a lower risk factor. Here are some reasons why:

1. Mobile catering business demands a much lower investment in monetary terms when compared to the alternative options in this segment like restaurants and diners. You save on the incredible amount of money required to set up a full-fledged commercial kitchen and on the interiors of your dining area. All you need to do is purchase a trailer or van. You might be able to even do up your existing vehicle.

2. The running costs are also much lower than for a restaurant because it eliminates over heads like rent and utility bills.

3. The working hours are highly flexible allowing you to decide when you want to work and when you would prefer to spend quality time with your family. You could choose to run your business everyday from early morning to late in the night or might opt to just cater to special events like at the venues of concerts, exhibitions or sports events.

4. Location is hardly a restriction in this line of work. You choose where you want to operate from and if you feel that you could do better at a different place you can just as easily pack up and leave and set up somewhere else the next day. Yes, you would need to seek the necessary permissions from the authorities especially if you plan to park along a busy street.

5. This last factor is especially relevant considering today’s volatile economic condition. This is one those few businesses that are not effected by market variations.

The realm of possibilities for business, that mobile catering trailers offer are endless! With the right kind of marketing and strategic planning they could expand very quickly and who knows – in a matter of years you could have a full-fledged chain in hands.

Mobile Catering – Catering Trailer CRB Checks

admin — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 23:46:30 +0000

Recent events in yorkshire have confirmed that mobile catering , catering van and catering trailer owners seem to be singled out for being forced to undertake CRB checks: that is checks for criminal records generally undertaken for people working in direct proximity to vulnerable groups and children.

See the news article here from the yorkshire post.

A catering trailer owner in the south riding of yorkshire has twice been asked to undertake a CRB check in the same year, despite the lack of proximity to schools, and the fact that his customer base does not include children because of location.

The burger van owner Paul St Clair is annoyed that it is not a level playing field. He says that had he owned a sweet shop or a market stall, both more likely to be dealing with children he would not have had to do this at all.

A spokesman for the council noted that a number of catering trailer operators had been obliged to undertake the checks as part of license applications, including for example six ice cream van owners.

So it seems as owners of catering trailers it is one more piece of bureaucracy we will have to accept.

Mobile Catering – Starting a Catering Trailer Business

admin — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 15:37:33 +0000

This site and others talk about the advantages of a mobile catering business, and Identify many of the steps needed. But before our readers run out to buy catering trailers – let us just condense down to some critical keys.

The details to each of these can be find in other posts on this blog, and in mobile catering mastery

MOBILE CATERING BUSINESS PLAN The old adage really is true – if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. So don’t buy a catering trailer yet, or any mobile catering equipment . The plan needs to identify clearly :

Who are your customers?
Where can you find them?
What the customers want to buy, and so what equipment you need to fulfill that need.
Which licenses are needed and locations are legally permissible and also available
How much it will cost including a cushion for if all does not go well (weather can be a big factor!)
When is the best time to start.

MOBILE CATERING – LEGAL ISSUES! – The legal and license issues must not be ignored and have several different aspects – find the detail elsewhere on this site but here are the boxes to tick.

Local Licenses – you need street trading licenses to trade on public highways and all local authorities are slightly different in the way they handle this.
Concessions – to trade on private land, or in public places of the highway (eg parks) , or at events need a concession. Some of these like parks are dealt with by public tendering, events are planned well in advance. Don’t expect to turnup and trade.
Safety – The prime legislation is safety, and food safety is a major issue. Make sure you understand the requirements and inspections. Food mistreatment can be dangerous.
Corporate issues - corporate issues such as VAT, employment and employees. There are advantages and disadvantages to trading style – limited company vs sole trader.
Insurance – You need insurance – both public liability, employer liability, and vehicle insurances.

CATERING TRAILERS and MOBILE CATERING EQUIPMENT – Once the target market and locations are understood, it is possible to determine the types of equipment and trailer to use.

Catering Trailer Selection – Lots of issues to consider, including whether to buy new or used. Remember that looking clean really matters to customers. If you are planning to buy used, check out factory reconditioned to see whether the saving for private purcase is worthwhile. One reason to buy old, is if you buy a site – however work IN the business for a period to make sure it is as busy as you think.
Mobile catering equipment - be very wary of second hand catering equipment. Faulty equipment can shut you down, and lose a days takings for the sake of a handful of pounds.

MOBILE CATERING MARKETING! - marketing will be the difference between success and failure. Several issues to consider

How are your customers going to discover you?
Why should they buy from you not anyone else – why is your offer the best? This is not just about price. People will pay an amount more the cheapest for food they want to eat.
The BEST customers are repeat customers, so how are you going to get them to want to come back?

FUNDING

How much will it cost?
What are contingency plans – alternative offerings and locations?
Remember also that banks are looking at how YOU survive low income, not just the business!

SO PLAN ALL OF THESE - ONLY THEN start a MOBILE CATERING business – none of it is rocket science, but the difference can be success or failure.

Most of the essential issues are covered in mobile catering mastery

Catering Trailer Manufacturers – Mobile Catering Suppliers

admin — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 22:21:03 +0000

Do you manufacture or supply Catering Trailers or vehicles, or do you supply equipment or other goods to the mobile catering industry?

Perhaps we can help each other!

Even though this is a very new site, we get thousands of unique visitors , on a variety of search phrases such as catering trailers, mobile catering, catering vans and so on. And we are aiming for top ranking on all of these terms.

The questions asked on our site are mainly newcomers and would be catering trailer owners asking questions about starting a mobile catering business, or buying new or used catering trailers. And clearly any other essential equipment or knowledge for new catering suppliers has a place on this website.

So help us to help you – by getting your business onto our site.

There are Several ways you can do this:

ARTICLES ON MOBILE CATERING

If you would like to contribute an article about catering trailers – or mobile catering
( Please – no overt pitching or spam ) on any useful topic to newcomers. For example you could indicate the factors that you think make a good catering trailers, what type of equipment to use and why, what testing should be done on trailers – the arguments for and against new or used trailers. Provided the content is good we will happily publish the article and allow you a link to your site, with a sentence about your business.

AUDIO INTERVIEWS!

We also intend to begin audio podcasts and interviews from all sections of the industry, from operators to suppliers. If you have something useful to say, we would like to hear it, and publish it to our audience.

MOBILE CATERING / CATERING TRAILER ADVERTISING

Alternatively, if that does not appeal, if you would like to send us a graphic, then
we will advertise your site for a sensible rate – indeed for a small deposit we will throw up the graphic for a week or two before negoitiation to see whether you get any traffic before committing further.

We only want happy customers!

We will reward good content with links, and are happy to talk about advertising or other promotion of catering trailers or mobile catering products – and anyone we feature will get on to our map and contact details.

So calling all catering trailers suppliers, and manufacturers – please CONTACT US to explore possibilities.

Mobile Catering Business – Professionals!

admin — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 22:08:46 +0000

Already own a catering trailer or a mobile catering business?
Do you run a profitable mobile catering company?

Professionals – we need you to help the newcomers - and can give you some free promotion in return.

Although this is a new site, we already rank high for terms such as catering trailers , mobile catering and other searches, and we aim to be the teh top ranked site for many of these terms, and we would love to promote your trailer and your location to the rest of the world.

In return for promoting you, we would like to hear your story in the mobile catering business.

Write whatever you feel is important – it might include for example:

What got you into mobile catering?
Had you run a business before?
What kind of catering trailer did you buy?
What mistakes did you make that you would warn others about?
What are the most successful offers you make, the ones the public love!
Do you focus on industrial estates? Public roads? Events? Car boot sales? What?
If you changed one thing about what you did, what would it be?
What would you recommend to those starting out?
What warnings would you give?
So please do tell us your mobile catering or catering trailer stories, and

Fill in the information on our contact page…and we will publish your story and a link or location on a map – any questions? please do contact us!

We dont just want the successful – if you jacked it all in , please tell us why!
Please CONTACT US

Mobile Catering – A great forum to visit!

admin — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 22:47:44 +0000

I have been looking around for a place to talk about catering trailers and mobile catering, and have struggled to find anything in the UK.

But in the US there is a great resource on hot dog carts, burger vans, catering trailers and other forms of mobile catering called roadfood – discussing everything from mobile catering recipes and menus, to mobile catering equipment to getting catering trailer pitches, to every day problems in the catering trailer business such as managing stock

Check out the professional hot dog cart operator section – lots of good advice to be had on all aspects of professional mobile catering – even some UK operations too.

Highly recommended!!

Catering Trailer Marketing

admin — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 19:31:01 +0000

Catering Trailer Marketing comes of age.

There is a fascinating post on the site roadfood about how some businesses are using twitter and other social media to let your catering trailerscustomers know where you are going to be.

And certainly the strategies appear to be working for some that try them.

Well worth reading the experiences. With facebook announcing the ability to share location in real time as well, and the ability to integrate a google map into your own website, then there are big advantages for mobile catering trailer owners who take advantage of the new technology.

We too are using twitter to promote this very website.

Food Trailers – Burger Vans

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 07:31:37 +0000

The food trailers and burger van business is on the way up in Reno in the US.

Quote a recent report:

Just when you thought fast food couldn’t get any more convenient, the food truck trend is taking off. And these mobile vendors are getting even easier to track down.

“We’ve been running the mobile catering truck for about three months now,” said Mike Kavner, the general manager of Cheeseburger Island Style in Reno. “It’s a whole kitchen inside. So everything is fresh as can be.”

The crowds kept coming up to the restaurant’s food truck, which parked on the corner of Rock Boulevard and Energy Way in Reno at lunchtime.

“Why not? It’s very convenient,” said Nakia Pullen, who works in the office building next door.

This year, there are 34 mobile food trucks in Reno. In 2009, there were 24. In 2008, there were 18.

See the full Food Van Article here – Their target market is local businesses – the product burger vans and trailers serving cheeseburgers.

No business is easy, but the artice shows what is possible approaching the FOOD TRAILER or catering van business correctly.

Burger Vans

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:14:26 +0000

A focus on BURGER VANS and burger trailers.
The burger and /or chip vans are without doubt the busiest at most events and probably take at least half if not two thirds of the trade available to mobile caterers.

Location is everything for mobile catering.
More than anything else, the location of food van will determine the size of the takings. At a good location, the van will always be busy. If you are buying an existing site or van be careful – watch them trade over a period to make sure the numbers are what they claim.

Profit on burgers can be substantial
A single day a week at a good car boot sale can take £500 even £1000 pounds operating just one day a week. The profit margin is also good and can be 70% even 80% depending on offerings and prices.

Burger van and trailer licenses
Licenses need can depend on location, but certinly include food hygene certificates from the local food standards agency, and generally a street traders license too.

Concession Trailers
In addition permissions and or concessions are needed at an event. Dont pay too much for these. Only a proportion of people eat at events, and the turnout is generally lower than organisers claim. Don’t pay for concessions without a guaranteed limit on the number of catering trailer concessions.

Burger Van equipment
The essential cooking equipment needed in a burger vans or trailers is a griddle, a bain marie to keep food warm, a boiler for hot drinks and a fridge freezer is essential. Cooking with gas is the norm. Dont bring a deep fat fryer unless you are cooking chips because room is a real problem. All equipment is generally gas, so a CORGI qualified fitter is needed to install or replace it.

Storage
Storage is a key in a burger van or burger trailer at a busy event. Soft drinks and hundreds of rolls and burgers take a lot of room.
So do replacement gas bottles and water containers.

General equipment
General equipment in a catering trailer must include safety equipment such as first aid, a fire extinguisher, and a fire blanket if a fryer is used. Make sure the spare tyre is good too.

Burger vans A summary
Just to repeat location is everything with burger vans, and be careful buying second hand trailers or equimpment, it can be an expensive and unreliable mistake. A faulty griddle not only costs to replace, but the entire income from the event