Mobile Catering - small businesses

[Titanic]

It's not exactly local... but is Mrs G thinking of investing in this sort of thing?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-...575210?hash=item4b06bcabaa:g:lbQAAOSw-itXuY0G

 

[Titanic]

or this little beauty?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Piaggio-A...968579?hash=item3acb3e6ac3:g:mK8AAOSwvzRXxKnn

 

[Titanic]

this trailer van is in Bognor....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Piaggo-ap...b9f47fb&pid=100005&rk=3&rkt=6&sd=232067656809

 

[Titanic]

or this smart little outfit... in Brighton!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Coffee-Trailer-/262605049574?hash=item3d247b0ee6:g:cVMAAOSw0UdXrbzD

 

[CHAPPERS]

Consider waste and the cost of producing a load of food you might end up throwing away.

 

[Moshe Gariani]

or this smart little outfit... in Brighton!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Coffee-Trailer-/262605049574?hash=item3d247b0ee6:g:cVMAAOSw0UdXrbzD

Should we be worried by the number of secondhand coffee vans/carts that are for sale...?!!! These sort of start up costs are not prohibitive but I wonder why the current owners are selling...

Providing lunch for industrial estate and other workers could be a good option. If you could sell 100 x £4 "Meal Deals" in 3-4 hours serving then you might make about £200 from a whole 8 hour day after cost of ingredients (inc. wasted), consumables and fuel etc ...?

Key issue is obviously access to potential customers. It must be a highly competitive and relatively cut-throat marketplace with lots of potential suppliers.

Does anyone think they can identify relatively under-supplied demand in their experience?

The most positive feature for me would be about getting good quality coffee available in a place where it currently isn't. There might be quite a good and increasing demand for that.

 

[Titanic]

Should we be worried by the number of secondhand coffee vans/carts that are for sale...?!!! These sort of start up costs are not prohibitive but I wonder why the current owners are selling...

Perhaps they have all retired to the Bahamas?

The most positive feature for me would be about getting good quality coffee available in a place where it currently isn't. There might be quite a good and increasing demand for that....

Producing 'good coffee' is, apparently, quite a skill and needs sigiificant training and experience. I would also think it is quite a slow business... often you seem to have two people... with one just making coffee to order.

 

[Bigtomfu]

So I've been considering this for a while myself.

I currently work in Wealth Management but in a former life was a chef at Moshi Moshi.

In between the two I spent a wonderful month up in Edinburgh festival working a crepe van outside the Udderbelly (for those that know it).

It was owned by a chap from Manchester who did Edinburgh and then the Manchester Christmas festivals and one other northern antiques fair ALL YEAR and turnover of c£150k for about 3 months work a year.

Now clearly this is the very rose tinted view but therefore one can surmise you can make a reasonable living at it if prepared to work hard.

 

[BigGully]

Not at all. It clearly is not rocket science we are discussing and all views/thoughts are very welcome.

I think gaining experience/market knowledge through some sort of trial run activity is a very good idea. Challenge is that the central pitch of the business will be to offer proper coffee from a decent machine set up - without tackling this aspect of the business it will be hard to really gain the most relevant experience and forecasting data.

Seems to me this could get started with very little financial risk/cost, perhaps even without firstly not leaving her current employment but thats a personal decision.

A few events, range of her beautiful cakes and pastry's, a couple nice signs and trestle tables in the back of your estate car should do the trick, you can quickly gauge the demand on certain products.

A few months on and you can soon gauge whether a) its sustainable b) whether you need to invest in any further hardware, worst case scenario is you gave it a shot, no regrets, didnt lose your money nor you sanity .....

 

[nickbrighton]

Mrs G is contemplating a career change in the direction of some sort of self-employment in the catering industry...

Her current favourite idea is to purchase a trailer/cart/van from which to sell real coffee and cakes, pastries etc - mainly at "events" but possibly at some more regular sites/locations as well.

Does anyone on NSC have experience in this sector?

To replace her current income (+ pension etc) would require something like £14K net profit annually. 8 weeks holiday (inc. BHs) means earning around £340 per week net - how feasible is that? How many hours? How many events?

All advice welcome.

I have actually done this exact thing, purchased a van, converted it etc and sell speciality coffee, happy to pass on some contacts and advice, feel free to contact me

 

[symyjym]

Most people dream of running a catering business but the dream can be better than the real thing.

Mobile catering in the summer is always going to be more fun than in the winter. The food industry has one of the fastest turnovers of startup businesses and only a small percentage survive. It is really important to be a people person and outgoing because this type of business is as much about personality as the food/coffee.

If she is just thinking about doing weekend and bank holiday festivals she is better off keeping her job and test the water before she commits fully. It really depends on how crucial a guarantee of £14k is because there is no guarantee with this sort of thing.

 

[glasfryn]

most of my extended family are in mobile catering
believe me its not easy
the main stay my son in law did not have a holiday for years, up at 3or4 am every morning including weekends, finding a site is not easy, if you are thinking that a couple of days sick will not matter, think again someone else will have parked on your spot, and you certainly cannot cut corners otherwise the public will not use you
its hard work .....................but can give you a living if you get it right

 

[perseus]

There are bad days. The ice cream van at the Palace play-off sold four. Unlucky with the weather.

Might have been quids in at the Sevilla friendly.

 

[s5.bha]

As someone who in a past life worked the food outlets on the front of the Palace Pier , I consider the dream catering van / trailer to have an ice cream machine and cold drinks fridge at one end...........and a doughnut machine and hot drinks machine at the other end.

Covered for all weathers and the mark up on those items is ridiculous !!!

 

[Stat Brother]

or this little beauty?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Piaggio-A...968579?hash=item3acb3e6ac3:g:mK8AAOSwvzRXxKnn

Passing trade could be sporadic:-

 

[Bozza]

if you are thinking that a couple of days sick will not matter, think again someone else will have parked on your spot

Outside of specific event catering, where you pay for a pitch, surely it's not a matter of just rocking up where you fancy, is it? Don't you need some form of council (or similar) authorisation to trade in a specific roadside spot?

 

[Stat Brother]

Should we be worried by the number of secondhand coffee vans/carts that are for sale...?!!! These sort of start up costs are not prohibitive but I wonder why the current owners are selling...
.

Just buy Titantic's Piaggio Ape Mobile Coffee Cart Van if you don't want that, you have no soul.

 

[nickbrighton]

Outside of specific event catering, where you pay for a pitch, surely it's not a matter of just rocking up where you fancy, is it? Don't you need some form of council (or similar) authorisation to trade in a specific roadside spot?

In Brighton you need a street traders licence to operate , there are two zones, Zone A sea front and london and lewes rd corridors, and Zone B- everywhere else. Zone A there are only a few static pitches and everywhere else is prohibited, and Zone B you can pitch up anywhere as long as you are not illegally parked. On private property you dont neerd a licence (you will however still require ffood safety and Hygene certs). You have to regester as a mobile food business with Environmental Health , you also need product and public liability insurance

 

[glasfryn]

Outside of specific event catering, where you pay for a pitch, surely it's not a matter of just rocking up where you fancy, is it? Don't you need some form of council (or similar) authorisation to trade in a specific roadside spot?

council permission, police, trading standards, and if there is someone else on there you may have to buy the pitch off them, to be truthful its a bloody minefield.
but that does not stop the chancers

 

[glasfryn]

In Brighton you need a street traders licence to operate , there are two zones, Zone A sea front and london and lewes rd corridors, and Zone B- everywhere else. Zone A there are only a few static pitches and everywhere else is prohibited, and Zone B you can pitch up anywhere as long as you are not illegally parked. On private property you dont neerd a licence (you will however still require ffood safety and Hygene certs). You have to regester as a mobile food business with Environmental Health , you also need product and public liability insurance

and all of this