Many customers contact us wanting to start a mobile coffee or street food business. One thing that remains constant with the people to whom we talk is the intention to achieve a better work – life balance. Selling barista coffee ‘on the go’ can be a fun, life-style enhancing business, working in an upbeat environment – especially if you go down the events and festivals route. For this case study we caught up with Paul, from Ginger Cat Coffee, to find out more about how his initial years have gone working in the mobile catering industry.
How have your first few years trading been?
Challenging but really good fun, technically we started in 2019 testing the water with a machine in a gazebo setup, but when we were ready to commit fully and purchase a trailer (January 2020) the pandemic hit. Due to this we just focused on the website and branding and officially launched 2022 when we purchased the trailer from you guys. 2022 was fairly busy throughout the year but 2023 we have been 4x busier.
Any unexpected issues you have overcome?
Other than the pandemic, I would say weather (although expected) it can also unexpectedly get you, resulting in cancelled events or maintenance work. We have also had some events where our trailer has been stuck for several days.
Any hints or tips for new customers considering taking the leap?
Try to be in a situation where you are not dependent on the money from each event, things happen, events cancel and if you relied on that money you will sink fast. Always try to have reserves. Also when an event is dead, don’t fret, as long as you are where you need to be by month end then use the quiet events as marketing. We have had multiple jobs come from events we made no money at.
Also if an event is dead, don’t leave early, you will burn your bridges with that event organiser as they 1. maybe trying to build that event and even though quiet, the people who come see a half empty event as vendors left. 2. they could have filled the slot with another vendor who would have stayed the duration. Again we have had really busy events with organisers who originally had a quiet event, but we stayed the course and built the relationship.
What are your plans for 2024?
We have many plans, we will be looking at improving our website to include events and corporate bookings, not just selling our coffee. We are looking at a social media plan to help build the brand. We recently purchased a second setup for indoor events and will be looking to get that booked more.
We are also looking at setting up a location where we can train neaurodiverse people some barista skills. On top of this we will be looking at getting a street trading license for midweek work as currently we are mainly Saturday and Sundays.
What the Big Coffee built for Paul...
We looked at different options for Ginger Cat’s new set up from Coffee cart conversions to light weight small catering trailers, one key consideration was being able to work from inside the mobile coffee cart or trailer and keep out of the elements, as previously mentioned in this case study, the UK weather can be a real pain. The final choice was one of our premium pods, which featured our award-winning coffee package, this conversion can comfortably fit two operators inside warm and dry. All pods are available in a customised paint colour and Paul chose a classic cream, finished off with the Ginger Cat logo and graphics.
As you can see, Paul has gone from strength to strength, from starting in a gazebo with a second-hand coffee machine to purchasing a premium coffee pod from Mobile Retail in 2022 and a second indoor modular coffee counter to improve profitability in 2024. Since the pandemic that Paul talks about, we have noticed our customers making increasing profits in our industry.
It is always better to speak in person . If you get the time – give us a call. 2023 has been an amazing time to be exploring the Mobile Street Food business with the events calendar bigger and better than ever and a real buzz for quality food and drink on the go. We can offer anything from Trikes to modular coffee counter and bars, now is the time to get involved and start living your richest life!
