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Kannoli Kings revamps traditional food truck strategy into a winning approach

Everyone loves cannoli and one New York food truck entrepreneur is making sure his special product stays within easy customer reach when his mobile storefront isn't on the move.

The Kannoli Kings trailer gave birth to a retail store. Photo courtesy of Kannoli Kings.

April 12, 2017 by Judy Mottl — Editor, RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com

It all started in 2013 with the quest of helping a buddy make some extra money and not do what everyone else was doing with a food truck.

Now, four years later, the Long Island, New York-based Kannoli Kings food truck boasts its own online store and its first retail operation.

And why the cannoli? Well, according to Sal LoPiccolo, the sole proprietor at this point as three co-founders eventually moved on, who doesn"t love the cannoli?

"It was the 'aha' moment as no one was doing a cannoli truck," he shared in an interview with Food Truck Operator.

"We did our research and it was a great idea to create a savory shell and cannoli that isn"t just for dessert," said LoPiccolo, noting the strategy was akin to successful singular food operations such as Auntie Annie's Pretzels and Cinnabon.

Given the product selection, the Kannoli Kings' founders did just that. The cannoli menu includes sweet and savory with an eclectic assortment of both shells and fillings ranging in price from $4 to $6.

Sweet selections

The sweet includes cinnamon apple pie, coconut chocolate mousse, pumpkin graham cracker, Reeses peanut butter, caramel French vanilla, and coffee to name just a few. The savory features flavors such as barbecue chicken, truffle bacon mac and cheese, eggplant caponata, fresh bruschetta and more. There"s even a spinach dip cannoli.

Kannoli Kings fresh bruschetta cannoli

Shell offerings include sesame seed crusted cannoli shell and a coconut crusted cannoli shell as well as one of the big sellers, the chocolate shell. One of the "top rated" selections is the French toast cannoli.

Not only did the Kannoli Kings' founders take a unique strategy with product, they also put their own twist of defining "food truck," knowing from the start they were not interested in setting up shop along roadways and beach parking lots or being on the move all day.

One reason for eschewing a traditional "food truck" was tied to hefty government regulations on Long Island when it came to food trucks, as well as a wide range of health code requirements and related permit costs.

The company also decided to avoid the "truck" aspect, choosing instead to use a trailer form factor given they weren't quite sure how the business would go.

On its website, Kannoli Kings describes its operations as a "mobile catering company." One media report declared the operation as the "Rolling Royalty of Desserts."

A trailer instead of a truck

"Trucks are expensive, so we bought a trailer and decided to give it a trial run as that seemed the best idea. I wouldn't do it any differently," said LoPiccolo, whose day job is running a financial commercial business.

Bypassing a truck meant less vehicle costs, and selling cannoli doesn’t require the typical high-cost equipment most food trucks need such as ovens and other heavy equipment.

"We had a simple concept that didn't require heavy lifting," said LoPiccolo.

One reason LoPiccolo wouldn't re-do his strategy is that it turned out to be a winning approach.

The Kannoli Kings mobile store is busy most weekends at weddings, family parties and community events such as fairs and festivals.

Expansion to brick and mortar

Its popularity spurred LoPiccolo to launch the online Kannoli Kings store in 2016 and its first retail store in March of this year.

The Kannoli Kings truck was the first, and so far, only, food truck given permission to operate outside of one of Long Island's biggest malls, Roosevelt Field, in the holiday season of 2014.

Yet that venture didn't spur more retail-based opportunities for a few reasons. One, explained LoPiccolo, was that while the mall operator loved the concept, liability issues became a concern. While Kannoli Kings was invited to operate inside the mall, the lease and labor cost proved too burdensome.

"It would have meant selling a lot of cannoli," shared LoPiccolo with a chuckle.

Yet that experience proved valuable as it served as the ignition switch for finding a brick-and-mortar location. Such a business expansion, however, involved finding a cost effective storefront in a high foot traffic location, explained LoPiccolo.

And, on a whim one evening, at about 12:30 a.m., Lo Piccolo discovered the perfect site, on North Broadway in Massapequa, while searching for rental spaces online.

"I saw it and told my wife right then I was going to get the place. Went there the next day and within three days had the lease. I don't believe in coincidences," said LoPiccolo, explaining the site was one he was already familiar with as it had housed an ice cream store and was close to his in-laws' home. "I knew the store. It was perfect," he said.

The retail location, which debuted in early March, is open Thursday to Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 8 or 9 p.m.

Future plans: franchising

The food truck company's next expansion plan involves franchising Kannoli Kings, though Lo Piccolo is just beginning to research that opportunity.

Reflecting on his food truck success, LoPiccolo has some simple advice for future operators.

"Just do it. It's exciting when you have a vision and see where it will go," he said, noting more than a few family members and friends initially expressed doubts in early talks about the business.

"But we were onto something no one else is doing."

About Judy Mottl

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Judy Mottl is editor of Retail Customer Experience and Digital Signage Today. She has decades of experience as a reporter, writer and editor covering technology and business for top media including AOL, InformationWeek, InternetNews and Food Truck Operator.

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