Suggestions on How to Choose the Street Food Bike fit your business project . What accessories enter and which not.
CONSIDERATIONS ON HOW TO CHOOSE THE STREET FOOD CART MOST SUITABLE
The 6 SERVANTS OF SUCCESS
We decided to put at the disposal of all , some of the experiences we have gained in recent years as manufacturers of tricycles and Street Food Carts on 3-wheeled bicycles.
Do Street Food is becoming a fashion and the idea always work more, but it is important to approach this business with very clear ideas and not improvise your own business.
It is said that to have Success, you must be able to answer to 6 questions, which are based on 6 Keywords calling ........ "6 SERVANTS OF SUCCESS".
Be clear on all these aspects of your project, giving answer to all these questions, it is very important for to make the right choices from the start. Now let's see some reflections based on the experiences of our customers, who started the business with Tricycles Street Food Cargo Bike
HOW TO SETTING UP YOUR STREET FOOD CART ON TRICYCLE
If you decide to start the business of Street Food Peddler, using a STREET FOOD BIKE based on a tricycle, it is important to know that for make more profitable your business, you will have to well organize your "Work's Method."
A Tricycle Street Food has so many advantages over a Street Food Cart or Tricar. It Can enter into areas where a motor vehicle can not, but otherwise, if the Location is more than 2 or 3 Km far, the Tricycle has the limitation that need to be transported into the operational area with a Van or Trailer, . Or you park it in a work zone, or you'll have to carry it. This topic will be treathed in the next chapter WORKING METHOD.
But let's start from the Street Food Bike which you are thinking to buy and setting up.
First, is important to think about a Preparation Simple, Light and Economical.
You cannot have on a small bench of only 1 cubic meter, EVERYTHING you feel is required, .
The EVERYTHING is IMPOSSIBLE and, definitely, you will have to give up many things that you would like to have on the tricycle. So You need to decide which solutions are REALLY ESSENTIAL , while thinking how to make the Workbench simpler and lighter
They cost too much detail and accessories and above all weigh and ultimately will make pedaling tricycle too tiring, limiting travel and fatiguing the chassis and the chassis of the Velocipede.
Never forget that a STREET FOOD BIKE is a "BICYCLE" and can not replace a Van or an Tricar.
For example, if Your food needs controlled temperature , you will need a Low consumption fridge, that works with batteries, but if you don't need controlled temperature, You don't need to use an Expensive Fridge with batteries, but only a lot more economic Insulated Box made in Poletilene foam (Styrofoam type Denso), in wich mantain food in low temperature, maybe with Eutectic Cold Gel Pack to maintain fresh in the box. (see photo below)
Only for drinking, it is perfectly useless a Fridge, and also in this case, an Insulated Box can keep the cold drinks throughout the day. The advantage is that you can save not only the price of the Mini-Fridge, but even the expensive and heavy battery plant , which is used to power the refrigerator.
Same goes for machinery for preparing, cooking and warming food. It 'important to know that, unless you always use your Street Food Bike at a location, where you have access to a 220V Plug (eg fairs, shopping centers or Predisposed Places).
Electrical Machinery such as Plates, Fryers, Grill, Salamanders, Toasters , Water Bath, Coffee Machines, have exaggerated consumption in Kw and never can be powered with batteries, and in most cases, even with small silenced generators . Beyond the power of 2 kw, generators begin to have excessive weights and volumes and can not be placed on the tricycle. Moreover, in many City Historic Centers they are prohibited. So the only possible solution is to power with GAS LPG in the classic cylinder.
But also in this case, many times, instead of a Crepes Plate, could be a good substitute a non-stick frying pan for Normal Pancakes and a small Camping Stove .
In other cases, instead of a Electrical Chafing Dish (the classic Chafing in a water bath) , you can use one that works with cans of gel fuel. This solution will save on the cost of the machine, making it useless the gas Plant, which weighs and costs.
We inform You that we have created the Street Food Bike Hot Dog that don't need any batteries or Gas. These solutions allow to contain cost, but especially make it lighter and more easily movable.
In the case of a COFFEE BIKE, instead of a Professional Coffee Machine for Bar, of course, not electrical, but Gas LPG Powered, one may use Thermos containers with Tap (type Samowar), perhaps with a Retro Fashion, which can keep hot the coffee , maybe prepared before with a Moka. These containers are easily to found and often have very eye-catching aesthetic retro , and can keep the hot liquid for many hours. This idea, might intrigue a lot more the passersby People. And try to imagine if, instead of the Professional coffee machine for Bar, you use a stove for preparing coffee with a huge Moka 12, like in the past.
You can also consider that there are very small Camping Stove, cheap, that work with incorporated gas cartridges in the stove, that cost 20/30 euro. Compare the price of a Professional Gas Coffee Machine for Bar, which costs several thousands of euros. So always ask yourself, how much coffee I'll have to sell to recoup the investment and how soon I could do that?
Another way to simplify the set-up of the Workbench, could be the following: instead of an Electric citrus juice maker, is more curious and ecological squeeze by hand with the traditional citrus juicer of the past. Always remember that the Street Food Cart is a concept that has existed for Long, long Time, and too much Modernity and Flashy Technology , it could not combine with the concept of Street Food. The guiding concept of a Street Food Bike is ...... .. "Ooooh! Look !!! ... .As our Grandfathers used in the past ... .. "
Another important consideration is to use Pre-Cooked Foods so that you don't need laborious preparations on the tricycle . Sometimes sell sandwiches or Packaged food portions in trays, can be much more profitable than to prepare very special Food, that require expensive and heavy tools.
Always evaluated the profitability that can give you the product that you have in mind to sell. If you are interested in maximizing the margin, probably Pop Corn and Cotton Candy are among the most profitable products (a few centimes of a material that can be sold in 2 or 3 €), but they work mainly at exhibitions or in situations of particular events, but you need to think and take evaluation about this. Each reality can be different
THE WORKING METHOD
As regard to WORKING METHOD, the best solution is to equip yourself with a Van or a Trailer for your car, with which move your tricycle in the most productive situations. You can also use a very old used Van ( That are also on sale at 1,000 / € 2,000), as long as they have the Rear BOX with measures of at least 275 cm long and at least 140 cm in width, and at least 170 cm tall. An example can be a Fiat Ducato with the highest roof, or any other. Of this van you will only need to install a small winch, maybe electric 12V, that can cost a little more than a hundred euro, and place 2 carpenter's axes 2mt long (those wooden yellow painted) to use as a step to pull on board the tricycle. This is an operation that could make even a single person alone, without aid.
The Van also, could then be the "Garage" of your Cart, protecting it from the elements and from prying eyes.
One thing to always remember is that the tricycle can not have large reserves of Food and Beverages. However, the Van (or Trailer) will also serve as a warehouse to store Insulated Box with Food and Drinks reserves, already cold, during the work day. Then, with a simple bicycle or Cargo Bike, or a small trailer for bicycles, you can ask to a co-worker or friend a replacement of reserve, when you are finishing the product when you stay on board the tricycle. I say a bicycle because it can enter into areas where a Van could not come (for example fairs or country festivals).
All those of our customers who were able to obtain excellent results, tell us that the best method is that shown above, and also continuously to monitor some Web-Sites internet, dedicated to Calendars Fairs, country Fairs, Events, Markets , Concerts, Sport Games etc. or subscribe you to those Street Food Groups that organize weekly events dedicated to the Street Food in the various cities. Obviously, in this way, you will have to pay a fee to participate, but these customers have assured us that the yield is great and you always falls abundantly in expenses.
The method of making the Itinerant all day with the Street Food Cart, only makes sense if you live in a tourist area or near parks / schools or areas where there are strong passages of people and few Bars in the surrounding area. Unlike this solution it is only valid for to use the Time as long as you do not participate in trade fairs or events, and still take advantage of downtime.
Another idea may be to focus only on events (Private or Public) to provide a very curious Catering service. We know of many cases where the Ice Cream Carts are claimed to Weddings, Christenings etc. We knew they worked well in the CHEF at YOUR HOME, for private events, for example in Tourist Port
In our view, however, except in special situations and areas, it is difficult that can be very productive the method to get out in the morning and going around in circles in the street, because each municipality put limits to the itinerant sale in certain areas, which often may be the most productive.
It 'important to collect informations from your local municipality, to know exactly what are the areas where you can not enter, or to Know where you can stop.
BUSINESS PLAN
It 'important, before investing in a Street Food Bicycle, as well as to evaluate if this life style is really adapt for you, to make a business plan.
It can also be an elementary calculation of what could be the Variable costs (ingredients that you purchase or costs to pay a co-worker, maintenance costs, Costs for buy the spaces at trade shows or events, travel costs, taxes), and what could be the REVENUES Medium, and then the PROFIT, in order to estimate how long time you need for to have Return on Investment that you are making for the Tricycle.
For to estimate how much could be AVERAGE DAILY REVENUES , go and visit various fairs and street food events and try to observe a Street Food Stand and count how many sales there are in a period of time. Try to do a Calculation on the basis of sales prices. This exercise can already be very useful and you might find that a seemingly trivial activities, performs much better than you could imagine.
Well, at this point you may have the ideas a little clearer on this issue. Now you can make your reflections and, if you think might be interesting for you, visit our ONLINE CATALOG with all our Street Food Tricycles and Ice Cream Carts that we can achieve. In this catalog you will find the prices of each model, but also BOX KIT for to do Yourself a Street Food Bike.
For STREET FOOD CARTS Click here
For ICE CREAM CARTS Click here
For MECHANICAL BASES KIT for prepare "Do It Yourself" your Street Food Bike Click here