Article
Cousins Subs' Traveling Sub Shop improves brand awareness and gives back to the community
Cousins Subs uses its food truck to improve brand awareness while also supporting charities the company has committed itself to.
June 14, 2017 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times
Food trucks are proving to be excellent marketing tools for restaurant chains looking to expose more customers to their brand.
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| Custom Concessions built the truck using Cousins Subs cooking equipment. |
Cousins Subs recently launched its new food truck to serve deli-fresh classics, along with grilled-to-order chicken and steak sub sandwiches, to customers in the Milwaukee market. The truck, called the Traveling Sub Shop, serves sandwiches topped with freshly sliced meats, cheeses and veggies, along with made-to-order fries and Wisconsin Cheese Curds.
"The food truck gives us the ability to go where we don't have a location," said Jason Valentine, vice president of operations, in a recent interview. "Everything in our restaurants we put in the food truck."
A fully functional kitchen
Based out of the company's corporate support center in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, the truck is a fully functional restaurant, complete with dough proofer, ovens, grill, deep fryer, hood, slicer, refrigeration, freezers, sinks and POS software. There are five employees involved when the truck is in peak use: working the grill, the prep board, the sub counter, handing out food and cashing orders.
The truck, a non-diesel Ford, was constructed over the course of three months by Custom Concessions, a company that specializes in food trucks. Cousins provided all the cooking equipment for the 22-foot long kitchen. The investment in the truck and equipment totaled around $190,000.
Seven days a week, the truck goes to office buildings, festivals, fund raisers, outdoor concerts and schools in the greater Milwaukee area.
An independent profit center
While the company views the truck mainly as a branding tool, it is run as its own profit center.
"We still charge the same price (as in the restaurants), whether we're donating (the proceeds to a charity) or not," Valentine said.
"It's a for profit food truck, but we do many things where we're just working with the community and donating the food truck, the time and the employees," he said.
The truck supports Cousins Subs Make It Better Foundation among other charities. During one recent fund raiser, the truck was auctioned to serve a private party at someone's house.
"We auctioned the truck to feed up to 100 people at a private residence," Valentine said. "All the money went to the Vince Lombardi Foundation. We supplied the truck and the food and the people. That is just one example of existing relationships with people we support with the food truck."
The truck also serves food at Milwaukee Bucks and University of Wisconsin Badger games.
Measuring return on investment
Valentine said the truck has provided a good return for the company since it strengthens the chain's brand awareness and can be operated economically. The employees can be repurposed elsewhere in the company's operations when not working on the truck.
The company has not calculated ROI for the truck yet, but Valentine pointed out that management places value on brand awareness and supporting the franchisees, in addition to providing incremental sales.
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| The truck serves meals at Milwaukee area work sites. |
The company recently promoted a new sub, The Big Cheese, at the Summerfest, a Milwaukee festival.
"The food truck was out there promoting it, and that's a big value to us," he said.
The truck's promotional value is measured by collecting ad value metrics from public relations events.
For example, as part of the Traveling Sub Shop's debut, the company held a fundraising event on Dec. 2, 2016 in which 100 percent of proceeds went to the Make It Better Foundation. The company garnered more than 663,000 ad impressions that translated to $152 in ad value.
Support for franchisees
Valentine sees the truck playing a support role for franchisees as the company expands. Recently, a multi-unit franchisee has signed on to use the truck in Illinois.
"As they prepare for their new sites, we will take the food truck there to start building awareness to our brand as we launch that new market.," he said.
Truck's itinerary challenging
The most challenging aspect of the truck is knowing what events to take it to.
"We have to prioritize what the best use of the truck may be," Valentine said. The director of food truck operations, Ron Willman, works with community organizations and businesses to find events for the truck. "His biggest challenge is finding the right opportunity because the truck can only be at one place at a time obviously, so often there are multiple events going on at once where he has to choose where he's going to participate," Valentine said.
Outlook promising
The positive customer response to the truck makes Valentine optimistic about the future.
Local regulations, sometimes an issue for food trucks in certain areas, have not been a problem for the Traveling Sub Shop.
"We've had a good relationship with the counties and cities that we're in," Valentine said. "They're definitely business friendly when it comes to food trucks."
And while the food truck industry is competitive, there is a sense of camaraderie.
"Everyone offers something different," Valentine said. "Most of the food trucks we're out there with are smaller operations. They complement each other very well."
As the need grows, the company will consider adding more trucks.
(Photos courtesy of Cousins Subs.)
About Elliot Maras
Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and commercial foodservice.
