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How To: Setting up a delivery service for your food truck

This is the first of a two-part series on how food truck operators can put a delivery service in place. For many right now it's helping keep the food truck operation up and running.

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March 30, 2020 by Richard Traylor — Writer, WebstaurantStore

This is the first of a two-part series on how food truck operators can put a delivery service in place.

Delivery and take-out services are two of the fastest growing segments of the food industry and proving to be a viable solution in light of the COVID-19 outbreak which has shuttered food trucks, as well as most restaurants, and is proving economically challenging for food truck operators due to cancelled festivals in prime season and mandates against outdoor gatherings.

Why should your food truck offer delivery?

The food truck operator typically rely on business lunch goers and retail downtown areas bustling with shoppers. Neither scenario is available right now due to mandated social distancing and home sequestering — all efforts aimed at stemming COVID-19 expansion.

In providing delivery to consumers where they are — at home — food truck operators have an opportunity to keep revenue flowing and keep their brand out in front of customers.

So where to start? In deploying a delivery service of the first decisions you'll need to make is whether you should build your own team or use a third-party company.

If you're looking to boost your sales, adding delivery service to your food truck will help you distinguish yourself from the competition — or at least keep up with them. Keep in mind that delivery will only grow your brand if you already have market presence and a loyal customer base. Potential customers can't order from you if they've never heard your name.

Once you're on the delivery circuit, though, you'll be available to customers who may not have tried your food before, which can lead to increased profits.

Before jumping onto the delivery bandwagon, though, you should ask yourself whether it will work for your business model. Delivery doesn't usually suit fine dining food trucks, for example, and you should also avoid it if your cuisine won't hold up well during delivery. The last thing you want to do is turn your customers off by providing them with sub-par delivery food.

Use delivery services to attract millennial consumers

Using in-house or third-party delivery services at your food truck is also an excellent way to attract more millennial (or Generation Y) customers.

According to the 2015 census, there are currently over 75 million millennials in the United States (people now aged between 18 and 34), making them an extremely important demographic. Members of Generation Y value convenience and instant accessibility over cost, so they're a goldmine for food trucks with delivery services.

When a pandemic like COVID-19 hits and individuals living in states and countries are recommended to stay home, delivery is one of the few options that people have to get food.

Your food truck can still make money during lock down periods as long as it is equipped with the right supplies and gets staff up to speed on delivery protocol. Notify customers through social media and your website that you will still be operating and providing delivery.

About Richard Traylor

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Richard Traylor graduated from Temple University in the winter of 2014 with a degree in Strategic Communications. After graduating, he taught English in South Korea for two years, during which he was fortunate enough to travel and see the world. In October 2016, he returned home and started to work in SEO Content at Webstaurant Store. This blog previously ran on Webstaurant Store.

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