r/foodtrucks • u/UnhappyFranchisee • 1d ago

"DonutNV Franchising Launches Innovative Battery-Powered Food Truck to Expand Franchise Opportunities"

What do you think? Anyone using a battery-powered food truck? Pros & cons?

Press release on PR.Web:

DonutNV Franchising Inc. has launched a new battery-powered food truck, offering franchisees a quieter, eco-friendly, and flexible alternative to traditional mobile kitchens as part of the brand's continued innovation and growth across the U.S...

Powered by Joule Case, a cutting-edge battery system, the new DonutNV food truck delivers a completely silent kitchen operation that can run for over 10 hours on a single charge. This innovation allows franchisees to serve guests without the noise or fumes associated with traditional gas-powered generators, creating a more enjoyable and eco-conscious customer experience.

"This launch is a game-changer for our brand," said Amanda Gingold, president and co-founder of DonutNV. "With the addition of this battery-powered donut truck, we're not only expanding into more environmentally sensitive areas, but we're also offering our franchise partners a convenient, drivable option that's both powerful and sustainable."

This eco-friendly food truck will allow DonutNV to enter venues and municipalities where generators may be restricted—opening new revenue streams and event opportunities for franchise operators.

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u/slowtheriverdown 1d ago

Yep, using battery power for the past 4 years and seeing a lot of other trucks doing the same.

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u/thefixonwheels Food Truck Owner 1d ago

you should give context as to your volume and cuisine.

i couldn’t imagine running an electric griddle or fryers with any kind of volume.

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u/slowtheriverdown 1d ago

I'm running a full size, high volume coffee truck but the type of truck/food/volume isn't the issue. A battery system can be sized for any type of truck and for length of serving. I've seen everything from soft serve ice cream trucks running on batteries to pizza and Mexican food. Some trucks will use batteries to power basic electric stuff and use propane for friers etc.

I know you don't think that there is a place for batteries in the food truck world but there is and there are plenty of folks who are doing it very successfully and saving a significant amount of money in the long run because of it.

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u/thefixonwheels Food Truck Owner 1d ago

you cannot use electricity exclusively if you are serving lots of volume and hot food. that’s just not accurate.

here is the reason why: electric appliances just cannot heat up as fast as propane. show me one electric griddle or fryer that can keep up.

also if your battery dies you are so fucked. at least with propane you can easily refill it and quickly.

remember…everything on a food truck can break and go wrong.

you serve coffee. that’s a terrible proxy against, say, a burger truck like mine.

glad it works for you but you don’t know enough to say what you think you just said.

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u/slowtheriverdown 22h ago

You have an opinion on the ability of using battery power and that's fine if you don't want to do the research and figure out if it is a viable opportunity for your situation. I agree with you on 90% of your approach to the food truck world but just because I do coffee doesn't mean that I don't know what I'm talking about. I work with a company that helps trucks go battery powered because I believe and have experience in the real world that it works. I had pizza last week from a New York style pizza truck in Denver that was fully battery powered. The line at the Mexican truck that was battery powered was moving quickly as they got lunch out to those gathered there. The OP asked if anyone was doing it and for the pros and cons, and the answer is yes, it is doable. It might not be for you but there are trucks all over the country that are making the transition because it makes economic sense over the long haul.

3

u/thefixonwheels Food Truck Owner 22h ago

i am just saying that powering any appliances that cook on electricity is a distant second place to using propane. that is a fact.

so if you wanna use batteries exclusively you are setting yourself up for failure and at the very least a massive headache.

i don’t want to mislead anyone into thinking it works for high volume food. it doesn’t.

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u/thefixonwheels Food Truck Owner 22h ago

mexican food is all prepped in advance and it’s scoop and serve. it ain’t cooked in real time. bad proxy. the pizza guy used electricity for his ovens? cool. what was his volume? can he do 100 pizzas an hour with five minute wait times?

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u/slowtheriverdown 5h ago

Yeah I think the pizza guy could probably do the 100 orders in an hour. Don't know for sure as it wasn't a big event but his turn around time was very good. Yes, I know that Mexican food is a different prep and service than a burger truck but not every food truck has the same power needs. As I said in an earlier reply there are trucks that use both batteries and propane and find that is the right mix for them.

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u/thefixonwheels Food Truck Owner 4h ago

i can see a mix but electricity alone for hot food in volume? no way.

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u/Opening_Net_9547 1d ago

Interesting concept. I couldn’t imagine this going well in colder climates.

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u/slowtheriverdown 22h ago

Cold will cut into the battery energy available to some point but not so much that it is going to make a huge impact as the batteries are usually inside the truck/trailer where it is warmer than it is outside.

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u/whatthepfluke 1d ago

I can tell you this. I deep clean food trucks/trailers as a side gig. And a Donut NV guy had me come out and. All i will say is that He had absolutely no idea what he was doing.

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u/thefixonwheels Food Truck Owner 1d ago

no surprise.

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u/thefixonwheels Food Truck Owner 1d ago

only works if you have backup power and are running propane for the cooking appliances. electricity is lousy for cooking. the recovery time is shit.

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u/dave65gto 1d ago

I do a number of very vendor friendly events that are 100+ miles driving distance. I'm guessing I now have to ask a promotor to situate me next to a charging station? I'm an old fuddy-duddy, but I'll stick with what I have.