With the cost of living crisis affecting us all, and predicted to get worse this winter, many people are looking at alternative income streams. We ask the question,
‘Could a low budget mobile trailer or street food van be right for you?’
We’re all feeling the crunch with the cost of living hitting all of our pockets – fuel prices have skyrocketed this year and, with energy costs set to increase in the autumn, many UK households are feeling the pinch. Here at Mobile Retail we have several customers calling who are looking to add a new revenue stream to help with these costs.
To help these customers, we have introduced some relatively low-cost options, with an entry level conversion – whether it’s for quality espresso coffee or mobile pizzas – the sky is the limit. To further assist with the purchase of a dream new business venture, we have teamed up with a finance company who can spread the cost of the initial purchase, which can release the pressure in the early days of trading.
In this blog we wanted to explore some of the lower priced mobile catering conversion we can offer customers who want to take the plunge and start their own budget mobile street food venture.
Our mobile coffee trike
This trike really is freedom on wheels! With no fuel costs to worry about you can simply cycle this eye-catching bike to your location and set up for your day’s trading and you’re off making money – perfect for small distances of around 5 miles or further (the fitter you are). Fitted with a one group dual fuel Fracino coffee machine, this set up provides total flexibility. Either plug into the mains or serve your fabulous, tasty, ground coffees using LPG and batteries. A business in a box set up for our Mobile Coffee trike costs £8,500, with costs spreadable over 5 years using our finance partners.
Piaggio Ape 50 – Street Food van
This option has been a firm favourite for nearly 20 years now. Its iconic Italian design has won-over 1000’s of customers and has been a staple in the mobile coffee van world. Back in 2005, my brother and I used to trade this option at markets and large-scale events. Turnover often hit the £1500 mark at festivals and made many people smile along the way. A well specified Ape Coffee van will cost around £14,500 – which isn’t bad at all when you think of the potential revenue that you can get at a good event. These vans can be adapted for any light Mobile Street food business, so be creative and let us know what you would like fitting in yours.
The Catering Pod
Our current best-selling mobile catering trailer package has it all and, with a low-price tag, compares exceptionally well with other trailers on the market. It’s small and well-built with enough room inside for one or two people working. We sell this business in a box package from £16,995, which includes everything you need to get you set up and raring to trade. The package includes a brand new VOSA certificated UK trailer, choice of colour, branding, logo and graphics as well as all of your equipment needs.
To finish with, let’s look at average earnings you could expect to generate for your shiny new mobile catering unit. The average yearly earnings for a mobile catering trader are around £45,000 per year for a full-time operation. If you don’t want to work your van or catering trailer every week don’t worry – this is common in our industry. Average daily takings on a pitch can vary widely from £150 – £950, this will depend on location and footfall. At events this figure can increase dramatically. A lot of our customers now take between £500 and £3000 per day at a well organised event. It’s always best to research each event before signing up – your pitch fee can vary considerably between events, so do your homework first and find out the projected attendance from last year’s event.
Get in contact if you would like to discuss any of the topics discussed – and best of luck for the months ahead.
