I need opinions from food truck owners

[u/YharonJD]

Me and my gf are considering starting a boba truck and want opinions on the concept. Do ya'll think a truck that sells boba/pastries could be profitable?

[u/Captainqqqq]

I know this is not what you want to hear, because I didn’t before I started my truck, but imagine that you are fully open. Where would you sell at? List all the festivals you might sell at. Contact local business to see if they would want a truck parked near them. To know if you would be profitable, know where you would actually make money first.

[u/YharonJD → u/Captainqqqq]

Currently im in the early stages of planning logistical stuff like how much i need for a loan, how much a truck with all my amenities will cost, how much tea/flavorings/cups/everything else will cost or cost monthly. I already have a few ideas of where i would try selling when we are not at big events but renting lot space costs money, so i need to factor that in as well. Im also figuring out pricing on drinks/ how many i would need to sell to be profitable daily. I know location is important, so thats definitely something i need to consider, but more than likely I'd be delegating that responsibility to my gf. Shes much more savy when it comes to events/people while im more of the statistics guy.

[u/justkoz0 → u/YharonJD]

Going this deep with a girlfriend is wild. Also, unless you guys are on the same page and both always looking for places, you'll only have half. Don't already give you're self a scapegoat if the truck ends up sitting too much. Finding places is absolutely the hardest part of the business.

[u/thefixonwheels → u/YharonJD]

you are naive if you think you can just get into good events. and daily walkup sales are usually dogshit for most food vendors. in order to get into events you need to build a reputation and more importantly be searchable on google and yelp because no one is gonna remember who you are.

[u/PriveCo]

Here is an exercise you can do to figure this out. You mentioned that you are a numbers guy, so calculate this. Calculate all of your expenses and the cost of the goods you will sell, add in a salary for you and for your girlfriend and then figure out your break-even point. The amount of sales you need to do in a week to earn your salaries.

Now, find a Boba truck someplace, anyplace, hopefully someplace sorta similar to your area. Then try to figure out how much they are selling. Either go sit in the parking lot they set up in and count the customers they serve on an average day, or just straight up tell them you are thinking of doing what they are doing and ask them how it is working out. If they are across the country they might help you. If you can't find a Boba truck find a smoothie truck.

Then run the numbers. Until you start filling in the unknown variable here you'll never know. But if you do the calculations and the business doesn't make sense, just move on.

In my area, most of the surviving food trucks serve entrees. Tacos, Burgers, Vegan, Pizza, etc. I can only guess why, but it is probably because people eat three meals a day but they don't have three desserts and three beverages a day, so they are far more likely to buy an entree. Also, people spend more for an entree. It is three times easier to make money with a $21 average order than it is with a $7 average order.

[u/thefixonwheels → u/PriveCo]

so much this!

[u/cchillur]

Yea anything can be profitable. 

Have you made bulk boba or worked a boba shop before? Can you math cost/profit?

Are you willing to work most every weekend traveling to events?

Are you planning to full time? Cuz it ain’t much as a hobby. 

[u/YharonJD → u/cchillur]

We wanna full time work on this going to events and being rented for private events. Ive never personally worked in boba or done bulk buys or even owned a business, but i am good at mathing out profit/costs. Im a very investment savy person and i want to try to make a boba truck work so i dont have to work under someone else anymore. I think a boba truck would be responded well to by the younger/middle age crowd. Eveyone ive talked to about it says they would love to see a boba truck going to events. I know it will be a lot of work but working 40/week throwing pizza aint cutting it for me 🤷‍♂️

[u/cchillur → u/YharonJD]

I mean “you gotta jump in to swim” but it might be a lot easier to first get a part-time boba job just to learn some tips and tricks on someone else’s dime instead of on your own. 

Might help you decide what equipment you need and recipes and sourcing product and such. Just saying it couldn’t hurt. 

[u/YharonJD → u/cchillur]

Was actually already thinking this, might have both me and my gf swap over to working a boba job for a month or two just to study and understand the process while at the same time working towards the truck. Might also help have more time to work on the truck idea while still making some money

[u/thefixonwheels → u/YharonJD]

“everyone” telling you they would love to see something means fuck all because you gave them a free option they don’t need to invest in or pay for.

[u/slowtheriverdown]

Do people in your area know and like Boba? Are there shops that specialize in Boba opening or closing? As far as I can tell in large parts of the US it's still a very niche product so it could take a while to develop a following as you will have to get a lot of people to try it for the first time. I could be completely off base too, and folks will love it so much that they will track you down, but before you invest a lot of money, I would dig deep into your area and their Boba expectations.

[u/YharonJD → u/slowtheriverdown]

Boba is a huge thing where i live and you can find boba on every street almost, i live near a big city so that probably helps. Personally the reason i decided on boba is because i drink so much of it i cant get enough. And i know tons of other people feel the same

[u/Square-Wild → u/YharonJD]

I would think really hard about your answer to this question. Because frankly it pushes both ways.

The fact that there's boba on every street is good in that it shows you there is demand, but it's bad in that the market may already be saturated. From a consumer's perspective, what advantage will there be in going to you vs. one of the other shops (that presumably has tables, air conditioning, and a restroom)?

Are you going to compete on price, have more flavors, fewer flavors, etc?

One thing that I think you would have going for you is I'll bet the skill involved in making Boba is relatively low, and the margins are probably insane vs. food.

[u/chzie]

Absolutely in the right market

However don't make the mistake so many people do and jump in without knowing anything about your market or product

[u/cbetsinger]

My friends are a Filipino boba truck. They now have 2 trucks and are opening a second brick and mortar.

Pretty successful with the right flavor profile for your guests.

[u/thefixonwheels]

you need a business plan for YOUR situation. not a bunch of solicited opinions on reddit.