On just about every list of USPs that appears on a Franchise Development Ad is a bullet point that says “Multiple Revenue Streams.” Generally, for restaurants and food truck franchises, that means things like takeout, delivery, catering, and even merch. Provided your branding is cool enough, anyone would want to wear it outside of your most enthusiastic customers and their family members, who would buy it for them as a heartwarming “I know you” gesture on their birthday or as a gag gift during the holidays.
The truth about multiple revenue streams is that, in most cases, they are the same revenue streams every QSR, fast food, or fast-casual restaurant has to offer. Rendering those added features is more a function of a thorough restaurant business model. Because, let’s face it, by virtue of their ubiquity, those added revenue streams are unremarkable at best.
However, there is one that stands apart from the cascade of clichéd claims of added revenue drivers that, by definition and necessity, require an actual driver. One that, when activated effectively, can not only serve as an added revenue stream but can also be a mobile extension of your brick-and-mortar dining room.
Of course, we are talking about the option of adding a mobile food truck as your first step to expanding your franchise’s footprint.
The Benefits of Adding A Food Truck To Your QSR Franchise
While The Empanada Maker is not offering a food truck for sale as a stand-alone franchising opportunity, we do recommend adding a food truck once your brick-and-mortar restaurant is open. This warrants serious consideration for a variety of reasons:
- Scalability and Faster Expansion: This modular approach to expansion allows newer franchise owners to test new markets and even new menu items with minimal investment compared to the cost of opening additional brick-and-mortar locations before their flagship location has completely matured. It offers the more affordable option of incremental expansion as you navigate the first years of your franchisee journey.
- Lower Operating Costs and Higher Profits Margins: How much does a food truck cost? That depends on an abundance of variables. For the most part, food trucks have significantly lower startup and operational costs compared to traditional brick-and-mortar restaurants due to the absence of expenses like rent, utilities, and extensive staffing. However, the cost of a food truck can have a way of sneaking up on you if you don’t have experienced food truck professionals like The Empanada Maker who know how to start a food truck business.
- Faster to Market: Food trucks can launch faster than brick-and-mortar restaurants, enabling franchisees to grow and start generating revenue sooner. This reduces the financial risk and expedites expansion beyond that of the typical unit growth strategies of restaurant franchises that do not offer a food truck option.
- Flexibility and Mobility: Food trucks offer the unique benefit of being able to relocate to high-traffic areas, popular events, and/or locations with high demand. Maximizing their earning potential and allowing owners to cater to a diverse crowd of customers.
Eyeballs and Empanadas: How A Food Truck Can Boost Marketing and Customer Engagement
Food trucks can also be utilized as a form of OOH (out-of-home) Advertising. Most food trucks are wrapped in eye-catching graphics so they stand out and look appealing to customers.
Companies such as Carvertise have revolutionized out-of-home advertising with this rolling revelation in mobile marketing. Their proprietary technology can even track impressions, activate digital retargeting, and apply web lift attribution, allowing their clients to measure how many people who see the cars visit the client’s website.
This brand of advertising has been used by many iconic brands, such as Coca-Cola, Buffalo Wild Wings, EA Sports, Miller Lite, 7-Eleven, Draft Kings, Netflix, Huggies, Planet Fitness, NASCAR, and many others.
Once parked, the signage you put outside your food truck, or even the graphics on your food truck, can advertise your brick-and-mortar location to customers standing in line or waiting for their orders. Savvy Food Truck owners will use technology such as a QR code to offer directions to their restaurant either on the signage or the truck.
Additionally, food trucks greatly benefit targeted marketing, leveraging social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook to connect directly with their audience in real-time. This approach not only helps build a loyal customer base. It also allows for real-time updates about locations, menu changes, and events, driving foot traffic and brand awareness.
Some truck owners find it worthwhile to purchase the right to post up at large-scale events such as sporting events, concerts, and festivals to capitalize on the volume of customers they can serve and engage with face-to-face. Occasionally offering free samples to further entice customers to visit their brick-and-mortar location.
Whether as a means to expand the reach of your marketing efforts as the next phase of expanding your food franchise footprint or both, business-savvy franchisees would be wise to consider investing in a brand that offers a food truck option in addition to their brick-and-mortar locations, as we do at The Empanada Maker. It could be the boost you need to put you in the fast lane and drive your profits and expansion goals across the finish line.
