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When you’re learning about how to start a food truck business there are many things you need to learn and plan for. From the cost to start a food truck to the best places to start a food truck, there are many technical aspects of designing your food truck business plan.
On the flip side, there are many delightful choices to personalize your food truck business, including choosing from all the types of food trucks. From food favorites as the main theme to food trucks built around a specific customer experience for customer satisfaction, the options are delightfully diverse.
Read on through this BinWise blog to learn about types of food trucks, why they’re important, and what you can do with your food truck business.
Why Are There Different Types of Food Trucks?
Beyond the delights for customers of different types of food trucks, there’s an advantage for food truck owners in the variety of themes you can lean into. The food truck market is saturated. Some might say it is over-saturated, but we disagree.
In a saturated market, the best thing you can do is give your business a unique selling proposition, like one of these upcoming unique types of food trucks. You may be buying from the same restaurant food suppliers as your competition, but your unique take on a food truck will set you apart.
12 Classic and Unique Types of Food Trucks
For this list, we dug into the internet to find creative and classic types of food trucks. These ideas have been used around the country and the food truck industry. Some are wildly popular already, and others are niche areas where a specific group of people love them.
For your food truck, you can pull directly from this list of 12 types of food trucks, or use this as a springboard for ideas. Whatever you choose, finding a food truck idea that will pique the curiosity and taste buds of your customers is the goal.
12. Waffle Trucks
Waffle trucks are always a good choice! You can offer waffles with a mix of toppings and complimentary flavors, to draw in a wide customer base.
11. Fried Chicken Trucks
A fried chicken truck fits among many of the classic food truck ideas on this list. It’s a lovely comfort food and provides sustenance for anyone enjoying a food truck on a night out.
10. Coffee Shop Trucks
Serving up some top-notch restaurant coffee and even matcha is a great way to create a beverage food truck. With so many coffee lovers, it’s a guaranteed good idea.
9. Barbecue Trucks
Barbecue is one of the most popular food truck options in the United States. It’s an excellent idea for your food truck, no matter how you ‘cue it!
8. Donut Trucks
On this list, you’ll find a variety of dessert types of food trucks, including this donut truck option. Donuts are a treat that works for any location, at any time of the day or night. You can give them a variety of toppings to make them all unique and delicious.
7. Hot Dog Stand Trucks
Hot dog stands are a staple summer treat in many locations, and a hot dog stand food truck is a mobile step up from those classics. You can mix it up with a unique variety of hot dog toppings, including chili and bacon.
6. Taco Trucks
Tacos are a treat that can be dressed up or down and can work for a food truck in any location. You can use local ingredients, and draw in the crowds with two-for-one taco deals.
5. Cupcake Trucks
Cupcake trucks are another delicious dessert option on this list. The best option is to create cupcakes with an artful frosting design to make them extra special. If you’re in an especially vibrant community, you could theme cupcakes around the neighborhood.
4. Brunch Trucks
Brunch, as a meal, has been sweeping the nation in recent years, and brunch trucks are the next step up to make brunch on the go. You can craft the best brunch menus and become one of the best brunch places wherever you take your truck.
3. Ice Cream Trucks
Who doesn’t love ice cream? Well, lactose intolerant folks might not, but you can have an ice cream food truck with dairy-free ice cream too!
2. Cocktail Trucks
Cocktail trucks are a fan favorite of all the types of food trucks, especially when it comes to areas with a great nightlife. You’ll need to check out getting a liquor license to set up this unique food truck plan.
1. Vegan Food Trucks
In the number one spot, you can join the ranks of eco-friendly restaurants with a vegan food truck. With a plan that incorporates the importance of sustainability, you’ll find yourself as the choice food truck for a lot of customers.
"Key Takeaway: Finding a food truck idea that will pique the curiosity and taste buds of your customers is the goal."
Frequently Asked Questions About Food Truck Types
The variety of types of food trucks you can open inspires questions among food truck owners. With so many different options, from dessert menu trucks to places that use creative cocktail ingredients, the questions are as varied as the food and drinks being served. Here are a few answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.
What are the Most Common Types of Food Trucks?
Some of the most common types of food trucks include:
- Street food trucks
- Gourmet food trucks
- Fast food trucks
- Dessert food trucks
- Vegan food trucks
- Barbecue food trucks
Within these categories, there are lots of unique food trucks in different communities. These six categories are a good place to start if you want to build on a classic food truck idea. Any of these can work as a business to bring to types of catering events.
Which Truck Is Best for a Food Truck?
Step vans are, by far, the best type of truck for a food truck. Step vans are also often called bread trucks and multi-stop trucks. They are easy to get in and out of, and they are very spacious. Those are two of the keys of a good truck for working in and getting out of for breathing room.
What are Some Food Truck Names?
Some food truck names to pull inspiration from are:
- The Food Dudes
- The Cheese-Mobile
- Vegan On the Go
- Street Sweets
- Burger-Mobile
- Ice Cream Brake (for the vehicular pun)
- The Snack Shack
- Pretzel Pit-Stop
Your food truck name should be catchy and tell people exactly what they can expect. With those guidelines, get as creative as you want to match your brand.
How Do You Come Up With a Catchy Food Truck Name?
Coming up with a catchy food truck name involves a mix of brand planning and wordplay. The best food truck names are unique and playful, as well as straightforward. You want customers to get excited about your food and drinks the minute they hear your food truck name.
Food Trucks Of Many Forms: What Type of Food Truck Do You Like?
These 12 types of food trucks are a mix of business plans that work well currently and ones that have the potential to be amazing. Beyond these, the options for the type of food truck you open are limited only by your imagination and planning.
If you think of something and wonder “Could I make that work and draw in customers?” There’s no reason not to experiment. Food trucks are, by nature, a form of experiential small business marketing. They give you the opportunity to play around with the experience you’re providing for customers.