How to Expand Your Food Truck to Include Catering
It can be a challenge to know whether you should keep your niche narrow or expand your business. If your sales are high and you have plenty of resources, you might want to consider expanding your business. This could involve purchasing additional food trucks or including catering services. One reason it’s so easy for food truck owners to expand into catering is that you’re already mobile. Beyond that, here are some tips for how to develop a successful catering business.
Start With People You Know
Growing any business typically starts with the people you know and the connections you already have. Is your niece engaged to be married? Ask if you can cater her wedding at a reduced price. Then, knock the socks off of all of the guests that attend–and bring plenty of business cards! Feel free to let all of your friends, family, acquaintances, and even customers know that you’re expanding. Don’t be pushy, but you can ask them to spread the word or refer you if they hear of anyone looking for a caterer.
Be True to Your Brand
It may sound like a contradiction but even though you’re expanding your business you should still keep your niche narrow! In other words, if your business is fun and casual then you probably shouldn’t branch out so far that you have to become stuffy and overly fancy to satisfy a customer. You can stay true to your brand as a food truck business and still cater. You might just have to turn down certain jobs that don’t suit your branding.
Create a Versatile Menu
At the same time, you’ll probably have to add a few menu items. Food trucks generally work well on a limited menu. However, you now have to accommodate the tastes of a vast audience. As you create your catering menu, be sure to include items that will work for people with food allergies and sensitivities. You might want to include a vegan option as well. Your clients will want to make sure that everyone has at least something they can eat and enjoy, as hard as that might be!
If your business is doing well and you have resources to spare, consider expanding to include catering. This will also ensure that you have plenty of business during the slower seasons. It isn’t hard if you break it down and start small.
Need ideas for what foods sell well? Click here to read about some popular items! Then, create your free vendor account on the WTF app if you don’t already have one!
