The first few aspects of the food truck business that most people think of include its mobility and flexible working hours. However, the necessary plans and procedures that need to be done upfront could be more than what you expect.
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Choose Your Cuisine
You can’t start a food truck business without first focusing on the type of cuisine that you want to market. Think of the food style you would like to serve. Are you going to focus mainly on fried snacks, gourmet ingredients or specialty dishes best suited for certain areas of attraction?
Purchase a Truck
You might want to look into getting your equipment financed and some business loans to help you get started. These financing options can help you purchase the food truck needed for your business.
When purchasing your food truck, consider other important aspects that are frequently overlooked, such as the number of employees that are going to help you and whether you are going to prepare your cuisine at home or on the truck.
Select Your Primary Venue
Of course, a food truck business is mobile, but you can get a head start by choosing a location where people will crowd to your food truck. Famous spots include just outside campuses or office buildings near lunchtime.
However, you cannot just park a food truck anywhere you like. Check the city’s laws and regulations to find the ideal location for your food truck.
Create Your Menu
Relax, your first food menu does not need to be the finalised version. You can create your initial draft by serving the market demands.
If you run a specialty food truck near the beach, for example, serving a variety of seafood snacks is more relevant than selling poultry-based meals!
Once your business is up and running, you can always ask your customers for feedback on the snacks they want from you.
Finance Your Venture
Your initial business cost does not stop at purchasing your own food truck. You will also need the start-up cost for the ingredients, staff employment and of course, your cooking equipment.
Look into the types of business loans that are more suited for your business, its fees and charges and of course, the repayment schedule. You won’t want to get a loan that requires an immediate repayment before your business is even established.
Obtain Licenses
Understandably, since you will be handling food, your staff and you will be required to have the basic food safety permits and licenses. Since different states might have different requirements, you should refer to foodsafety.com.au to know more about the requirements for your own state.
Follow Health and Safety Requirements
Several states in Australia requires you to have a Food Safety Supervisor among your staff. Of course, this supervisor will also need to have undergone proper training and registration before they can be nominated for a position.
To become a Food Safety Supervisor, you will need to go through training conducted by registered training organizations within Australia. This training needs to be compliant with the food industry sector as well.
Purchase Insurance
When you are running a food truck business, you need insurance just like every other business. If you are unsure of where to start, vehicle coverage and income coverage insurance would be two of the more suitable types for you to start.
Alternatively, you can also apply for public liability insurance along with damage and theft insurance to cover several other crucial exposures.