Choosing a successful public event to attend with your food truck can be very tricky. Will enough people show up? Will those people buy food? Will your truck be easily accessible to the public? Will you be visible to the public? Will there be competing food offerings? How likely is the weather to impact your sales? Will there be a fee or commission expected of you? These are just some of the questions you need to consider when choosing to attend an event. In this post, I will cover the basics on how to choose your public vending events, based on my experiences since I started my food truck in the fall of 2016.
Let me first talk about what “successful” actually means. The success of a public event, in many cases, does not hold the same meaning to the event organizer/coordinator as it does to the food truck owner, although there are common goals. The most common goal of coordinators and food truck owners is to bring in as many people as possible. The event coordinator and the food truck may also be interested in promotion through visibility at the event and advertising before and during the event. The other common goal is to raise or make money. Wanting to make money is not a bad thing. It should not be looked at in a negative way. We all need to make money and most of us, coordinators and food truck owners alike, can’t or don’t usually want to do their work and receive no positive returns. Unfortunately making money is not always accomplished in the same way for the event versus the food truck owner. An event coordinator might view an event as successful if they hit their goal of attendees, those attendees had access to everything the event promises, they receive positive feedback from attendees, and all the pieces run smoothly as planned. Whereas the food truck owner views a successful event as one in which they made enough profit to justify the time they put into the event before, during, and after. This usually means that the food truck has a line of customers for most of the event.
You might think, doesn’t the coordinator want the food truck to have a line too? The short answer is, not usually. While the coordinator might want the food truck to make a good profit at the event, they are usually more interested in the event attendees being happy. They will likely not want the attendees to have to wait in line for food and therefore will often try to have too many food vendors at an event. When I say too many vendors, I mean more vendors than can actually make a profit based on estimated attendance. The majority of coordinators don’t understand the operations of a food truck business and the hourly costs of running one. They may have good intentions in regards to the food trucks, but they often lack the information needed to ensure a successful event for the food trucks. This is why it is so important that you ask the correct questions and do your own due diligence before accepting an offer to attend a public event.
OK, time for the disclaimer before people get their undies in a bunch. I have worked with event coordinators who DO “get it”, who understand how to organize events that are more likely to generate a profit for the food vendors, and who are just as interested in the vendors’ success as they are in the overall success of the event. Those people are unfortunately not common, but when you do come across them, you will also discover that they have no problem finding food trucks for their events. Sharing information about what you need to a coordinator can help them be more educated about food trucks and help you succeed at public events.
So who is looking out for your best interests? You. You must know what questions to ask and how to decipher that information so that you can make the best guess on which events will be successful for your business. There are many variables that will be out of your control when attending an event, the weather being the biggest one, so tipping the scales in your favor is all about getting as much information as you can. Let’s explore some of the questions you should ask before attending an event.
Is this a first-time event? If not, how many people attended last year?
This, and the next question, are maybe the most important pieces of information. Although there is no guarantee of how many people will attend, it gives you a base to work off of. Knowing how many people showed up previously, will be a good starting point. There is a certain amount of trust involved here, and that’s just the way it has to be if you’ve never worked with this coordinator before. Also, remember that they are trusting you to show up if you accept the event. If this is a first-time event, I find that coordinators are sometimes more optimistic than realistic. What their ideal attendance will be and what reality is, are not always the same thing. If a range is given, I tend to look at the low number and sometimes subtract 10% from that number. What should the numbers look like? That depends on whether or not the event is a “food” event. A food event would be an event that’s focused on the attendees eating, such as a food truck festival. The food event math; one food vendor for every 200-300 attendees. The non-food event math; one food vendor for every 400-500 attendees. This includes anyone who is giving away food for free, (yes, this does actually happen and should be taken into consideration).
How many food vendors will you have?
This ties directly into the above question. If a coordinator is unsure how many trucks they need, help by giving them the information above. Without this info, it will be impossible for you to decide if the event is likely to be profitable to you. You should wait until they commit to the number of food vendors before agreeing to attend. If a range is given, it should be a small range, ie “we are looking for 3-5 trucks”, not 1-5 trucks for instance. It is also important to note that dessert trucks may not impact your bottom line, and therefore you might consider asking how many of their food vendors will be dessert only and omitting that number from your math. For instance, if they say, “We are looking for 4 savory and 1 dessert truck”, your math should just include the 4 savory trucks.
**Disclaimer; I am not a dessert truck, so I cannot give you information as to the appropriate number of attendees versus dessert vendors. I am sure the math is different and the number of dessert trucks is likely a lot lower vs attendees than it is for savory food trucks. Much of this blog post is relative to both types of vendors and I hope it is helpful.
Will someone be taking into consideration the menus of each vendor so that there aren’t multiple duplicates of food? (Example: not having 3 taco trucks)
Again, it’s all about the math. If there are 5 savory trucks and 3 of them are tacos, that’s not going to be good for anyone. If the event is a food truck festival, you might be able to have 2 of the same type of trucks and it won’t be a problem, but at any other event, the trucks should be unique. If people are grazing from truck to truck, they are not likely to buy the same things from multiple trucks, nor will they appreciate the lack of variety. To maximize the vendors’ sales and the attendees’ pleasure, duplicates should be avoided. It should be noted that side dishes, such as french fries, are not usually a problem to duplicate, this is primarily about the main dish offerings.
Will there be any free food offered?
See the first question. I have shown up to an event to find that they are giving away hot dogs and french fries to everyone who wants them. Needless to say, I did not make money at this event. Not enough people are going to buy food when they can get it for free.
Will there be alcohol at the event?
Typically people eat more when they drink. Perhaps they are staying longer and get hungry or they get the munchies, or maybe they feel like they should eat because they are drinking. They may even be buying food for underage people that are with them to keep them occupied while they drink? Whatever the reason, it’s usually a good thing. It also seems to go both ways, they drink more when there is food available. It’s usually a win-win.
Will there be a fee for food vendors?
Again, this is just a matter of doing the math. If you do the math based on the info from the above questions and come up with 100 people in front of your truck every hour, how much of that cash is going towards what you paid to be at the event regardless of your total sales? If the event is $200 to attend, (and there are no other permit fees for that town), and you are averaging $10 per customer in sales, then your truck will be operating for 2 hours for free. Factoring in the total time of the event, will it still be worth it to pay $200 for this event? What if it rains, snows, is 90 degrees in the shade, if there is another event 5 miles away that no one knew about taking away half of your estimated attendees, etc, etc. Lots of things can happen that hinder the sales at a public event so you need to ask yourself how much money you are willing to gamble on a fee on top of what it is already costing you in labor, prep, food cost, etc, to attend this event. You also need to weigh how much you can potentially make on a catered event on the same day and if you are likely to book one. Fees are often a touchy subject for coordinators as they sometimes get indignant when you suggest that their food truck festival would not be a food truck festival without the food trucks, and therefore you are providing a service they absolutely need. That being said, there are many costs associated with hosting a public event, advertising, bathrooms, ticket takers, garbage, entertainment, etc. Some would argue that these costs can be covered by the attendees and still allow for a profit, some would argue that it’s not enough. The coordinator is also gambling on how many attendees show up. As coordinators do not fully understand our costs, nor do we fully understand theirs. Sometimes you can negotiate a fee that is acceptable to both you and the coordinator. Sometimes, but not often, a % of sales instead of a fee is agreed upon. This forces coordinators to have some “skin in the game” so to speak. If they don’t advertise and bring in enough attendees, if they put you in a bad spot, if they have too many trucks or too many trucks with the same items, you don’t make as many sales, they don’t get as much money from you. In certain cases, you may be able to require a minimum in sales before you have to pay a fee. For instance, after your first $1000 in sales, you will give them 5% of sales or you will pay X dollars as a flat fee. A word about “skin in the game”, food trucks are notorious for not showing up for events, so fees are one way of forcing the food truck owner to have that “skin in the game” we are talking about. You should always try to give a coordinator as much lead time as possible if you have decided not to attend, and you should avoid being unreliable as much as possible. It is not always easy to find a replacement truck when one backs out and can be impossible if it’s last minute.
How many hours will the event be?
You need this data to figure out your costs to attend, how much food you will need, and how much you need to make per hour. You should also ask what time they are expecting you to arrive because time is money. If the event is 5 hours long but they want you there 2 hours early, then the event is really 7 hours long and two of them you aren’t making any money, so you will have to be able to make up for those two hours of lost sales during the remaining 5 hours. You can subtract the amount of time it takes you to set up, as that is a constant no matter where you go.
How will the event be advertised?
I’ve dealt with coordinators that do a great job advertising and some that simply set everything up and didn’t advertise until a couple of days before. You will want to know if the advertisement plan is solid and not just “we might do this and we will probably do that”. Ask to be included in any social media posts so that you can share those with your followers as well. Ask to be put on any marketing materials so you can get those to your followers too. If you are a month out and not seeing anything about the event, contact the coordinator and ask what is going on with the promotion. If you don’t like the answer, you may want to pull out. You should be pushing the event as much and as often as you can as well.
Will the event be posted and updated regularly with posts on social media?
Very important, especially if it’s a repeat event with followers that have attended in the past. See above.
What is the plan for inclement weather?
Usually, events are rain or shine. Occasionally they have a rain date and if so, you will have to decide whether or not you can hold both dates for the event. If the event is rain or shine, ask if there is a tent where people can go, are the tables and chairs under a tent so that people can eat under shelter?
Will there be tables for people to eat at?
People will typically buy more food and stay longer if they have a place to sit and eat. Most food trucks cannot afford the space to carry tables or chairs, but if you do have space, bringing a couple of these is often a customer draw.
Will there be music or any entertainment?
Music and entertainment can draw bigger crowds and keep people there longer. Keeping people from getting bored and giving kids something fun to do (if it’s an event that kids can attend), will get people to come and keep them longer. The longer they stay, the more likely they are to eat.
Will you be allowed to sell non-alcoholic beverages?
Often your biggest profit margin will be from canned and bottled drinks. On top of this, they do not spoil and if they aren’t sold this week, you can sell them next week. No waste.
Where is the event?
Obviously, you need to know where it is, but you will also need to know how long it will take you to get there. Time is money. Distance is gas. You get the idea. Also, in some cases, you might not want to go to that area or you might really enjoy going to that area.
What is the date and time of the event?
Sometimes you don’t have staff for a really early or really late event. Don’t commit until you have all the information and you can schedule it properly. Weather is always a factor when you own a food truck. If you are in a location with four seasons, events in spring and late fall can be risky. If there is a fee to attend, you may want to pass on events that take place when the weather is less stable and more likely to negatively affect the outcome.
Who is likely to attend the event, mostly families, mostly college students, etc?
This will help you decide if your food is suited to this type of customer base. It will also help you plan your menu and amounts.
Where will my truck be parked? Will all the trucks be parked together?
You want to be parked in an easy to access, easy to see location that is close to the rest of the action. It may sound weird but, food trucks will usually do more business if they are all parked together. I think this is the food court philosophy, everyone in the group can go to the same location and buy their food and then sit or stand together and eat. I’ve been at events where a couple of trucks were set off away from the other trucks and they did about half as much business. People will usually see something they like in the larger cluster and never make it over or back to you if you are set apart.
These questions are a good starting point for any food truck. There will always be exceptions but my experience has shown me that this is where to start. There are many things that can ruin a public event like weather for example, but you can’t control that. Gathering as much info as you can to make an informed decision is key to your success.
When your food truck business is new, one of the best ways to get yourself started and gain a following is to attend food truck festivals and other public events. When you become established, you will not need to rely on these events as much and can be more selective about which you attend.
It’s literally a gamble taking public events and only you can decide what works for your business when it comes to attending them. I hope this post helps to make those decisions easier for you.