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NRA show: Convenience continues to push the envelope, spelling more food truck growth opportunities

The National Restaurant Show demonstrated a wealth of products and equipment to help food trucks take advantage of hot consumer trends. Exhibitors are tailoring more offerings to food trucks.

NRA attendees sample the PepsiCo Stubborn beverages from a food truck.

May 24, 2017 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Convenience has become a buzzword in today's foodservice industry. That much was evident from the National Restaurant Show this week. Exhibits lined McCormick Place showcasing ways to make the ordering experience easier for the consumer and more efficient for the operator. Integrated solutions that allow consumers to place orders via their mobile phones were pervasive on the show floor.

But convenience certainly isn't the only buzzword. Health and wellness are as important as ever. Consumers continue to delight in discovering ethnic specialties. Finding good help keeps getting harder. And safety never takes a holiday.

Given the food truck's uniqueness as a mobile provider of food that can address all of these hot button issues, no foodservice channel stands to gain more from today's food trends.

The show did not organize food trucks into a single section of the floor as it did in 2010 and 2011 when the food truck industry first started showing significant growth signs.

More telling, however, was the recognition by exhibitors that food trucks are playing a bigger role in the foodservice industry. Food purveyors, cooking equipment companies and software providers all reported fielding more inquiries from food trucks.

One software provider that did not want to be quoted by name estimated having about 1,200 food truck customers for his company's POS solution.

Equipment innovations galore

There was no shortage of equipment innovations that can find a place on food trucks, such as a robotic salad machine from Chowbotics that can create a variety of freshly-cut vegetables, a machine that makes jello shots in minutes, and a multi-cook oven from Alto-Shaam that has several independently controlled cook chambers that have individual fans and multi-stage programming.

Food truck exhibitors, for their part, witnessed steady traffic. Chains and independent restaurants alike are interested in learning more about food trucks.

Custom Concessions USA displayed a truck built for Texas de Brazil, the Brazilian/American steakhouse chain, one of the growing number of restaurant chains to recognize the importance of food trucks.

Nathan's Famous displayed its mobile food carts, which it offers to franchisees in addition to brick and mortar restaurants. The company hopes to have a food truck offering soon for its US franchisees, according to Dwayne Hoffman, senior director of franchise development. The company already has food trucks in the Philippines.

Custom Mobile Food Equipment displayed a food truck for Manhattan-based Chubby's Sandwiches that featured a disposable grease filter that keeps grease from getting into the duct system.

On The Move Inc., which builds trucks for the self storage and retail trades in addition to food trucks, displayed a food truck built for Virginia Tech called The Grillfield.

Andrew Schreiber, co-owner of Chicory Café, a South Bend, Indiana restaurant specializing in New Orleans cuisine, visited some of these exhibits because he wants to learn more about food trucks.

"If you can go to where the business is, that's a neat idea," Schreiber said.

Frank Mukama, associate director at a Connecticut-based roaster called Thames River Coffee that sources Rwandan grown coffee, visited the food truck exhibits in hopes of creating a "green" coffee truck, one with a zero carbon footprint.

The truck as promotions tool

PepsiCo Foodservice demonstrated the promotional use of food trucks. The exhibit directed visitors between a pair of food trucks, each serving offerings of different PepsiCo product lines. The trucks gave a festive feel to the display.

The larger of the two trucks, called NSPIRE, showcased the company's Spire fountain beverage line. Visitors ascended a walkway to a serving counter where they received Sabra hummus and Stacey's Pita Chips. They then served themselves Spire beverages from a touchpad dispenser that creates up to 500 customized drinks.

The opposite end of the exhibit had a smaller truck serving PepsiCo's Stubborn beverages, sodas made with natural flavors and without high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners and Azo dyes. The company used the show to introduce the bottled versions of these products which were initially introduced as a fountain option.

"Food trucks are definitely a trend that continues to grow," said Jen Ryan, a PepsiCo spokesperson. "We thought this was a nice way to bring all this to life. It's building on food truck trends and a lot of beverages and foods that are (also) on trend."

One takeaway from the show is that opportunities for food trucks are greater than ever. But it is up to the individual operator to find these business builders, learn how they can utilize them and establish relationships with product and service providers.

About Elliot Maras

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Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and commercial foodservice.