- Many food-truck entrepreneurs come from underserved, marginalized communities.
- Resources such as cloud-based point-of-sale systems and digital tools are helping them thrive.
- Food-truck owners told Insider how they used tech to improve operations and grow their businesses.
- This article is part of “Build IT,” a series about digital tech and innovation trends that are disrupting industries.
In cities around the US, smells from sizzling grills and aromatic spices waft from food trucks stationed on bustling streets, enticing passersby to grab a bite to eat.
Food vending is an American culinary tradition that was popularized by the whimsical Wienermobile in 1936. It gained renewed momentum during the 2008 recession as traditional dine-in restaurants conducted chef layoffs and faced hiring woes. Today, these dynamic food trucks serve up gourmet delights and cater events, fueled by convenience and social media-driven connection.
Food trucks have grown to be a $2 billion-plus industry, according to Food Truck Nation, with their clever dishes and savvy use of social media to bring casual but belly-pleasing meals to time-starved consumers. According to IBISWorld, the US has over 36,000 food trucks operating. This reflects an increase of about 10% since 2022.
Technology, in particular, has played an increasingly important role in helping food-truck owners break into the sector and grow their small businesses. Entrepreneurs who come from marginalized and traditionally disadvantaged communities have especially benefited from the marriage of culinary prowess and technological advancements.
They’re finding empowerment, newfound opportunities, and a level playing field through technology’s transformative capabilities in modernizing the food-truck experience. And, perhaps most importantly, they’re using tech to support authentic, no-frills dining experiences for food lovers.
Improving food-truck operations with cloud tech and data tracking
Food trucks are a vehicle for entrepreneurship because of their relatively low startup costs and low entry barriers.
The organization Let’s Chow honors veterans and military spouses by providing them pathways to food-truck entrepreneurship and offering education through its digital training program. It also provides resources such as hands-on assistance with logo designs and point-of-sale implementation and tailored technological assistance. For instance, Let’s Chow helped install a mobile WiFi hot spot for an Annapolis, Maryland, food truck supporting food-insecurity operations. This has enabled patrons to get a hot meal as well as access to the internet.
Let’s Chow
Jordan Foley, the founder, CEO, and head chef of Let’s Chow, said the company used Toast, a service providing cloud-based restaurant-management software, for POS in their food trucks.
“We prefer Toast because of their user-friendly interface and durability of hardware for our rigorous food-truck lifestyle,” Foley said.
“The culinary industry is particularly rigorous,” he said, adding that the vehicles “contain equipment that tends to break from time to time.” But Toast’s POS devices, Foley said, “boast a hard outer shell that can withstand falls,” making it practical for always-on-the-go operations such as food trucks.
A successful food truck working with Let’s Chow is San Diego’s Joselle’s Kitchen, run by Luis Surla, a combat-disabled veteran, and his wife, Olivia. They serve up authentic Filipino food, such as their popular homemade lumpia, using recipes from Olivia Surla’s mom.
The Surlas harness technology, including collective cloud-based software, apps, and hardware to smoothen their processes and elevate their business. Luis Surla said that Toast, in particular, “improves order accuracy and enhances service speed.” For example, restaurant-grade hardware allows the line cook at the griddle to see orders on a second screen. The order disappears upon delivery, making order-tracking easier in fast-paced environments.
While the most apparent technology food-truck owners use is front-end POS systems, back-end technology is also essential. Toast helps the Surlas by efficiently tracking inventory, managing schedules, and monitoring finances. Toast’s XtraChef system also automates back-office bookkeeping tasks, syncing sales information and payroll and invoice data.
Let’s Chow
This technology unlocks insights that help the Surlas optimize profit margins. By processing information such as automated invoices, ingredient costs, and sales data, it creates a seamless inventory solution that eliminates the old-school method of manual product counting. It also updates everything from ingredient prices to depleting inventory and supports recurring orders for frequently used products, streamlining direct orders to suppliers.
Food-truck owners from disadvantaged populations gain a leg up by embracing technology
Sofiat Abdulrazaaq, the CEO and a cofounder of Goodfynd, sees technology as a catalyst for helping women, people of color, and immigrants, who frequently encounter language barriers and unique obstacles, succeed in the food-truck industry. Goodfynd’s user base is notably diverse: Abdulrazaaq said 34% were Latinx, 31% were Black, 20% were Asian and Pacific Islander, and 15% were white immigrants.
Goodfynd
Her motivation stems partly from her father’s experiences as a Nigerian immigrant who faced business failures caused by complexities that often overwhelm small enterprises.
“Running a complex business takes complex staffing and management that small businesses often don’t have the time and resources for,” Abdulrazaaq said.
Additionally, Abdulrazaaq said she and Goodfynd’s two other cofounders, Lemaire Stewart and Kyle Miller, originally became interested in food trucks because they were eager for a taste of home.
“There aren’t always a lot of African or Caribbean food options in restaurants, but there are a lot of authentic cuisines in the food-truck communities,” she said.
Goodfynd offers comprehensive support to underserved food-truck owners through various convenient software-as-a-service tools. These tools help with payment processing, operations management, supply-chain security, and inventory control. For instance, its inventory-management feature prevents vendors from overselling items they don’t have in stock by “connecting a quantity limit on items sold,” Abdulrazaaq said.
Malia’s Kitchen
This technology is thoughtfully designed to cater to the specific needs of mobile entrepreneurs, addressing key areas such as food preparation, supply procurement, tax management, language barriers, and industry insights. Goodfynd goes the extra mile by providing one-on-one support, offering tools and assistance in both English and Spanish. Abdulrazaaq added that it was working on expanding its support to other languages that its users speak.
Food-truck owners face the challenge of frequent menu updates, often requiring them to recreate signage or hire someone for the task. However, with a robust menu feature, Abdulrazaaq said, they can easily upload and change menus electronically, allowing them to align effortlessly with current trends or brands. One day, a food truck may delight taco enthusiasts at an art festival, and the very next day, it could transform into a sizzling burger-and-fries haven for a bustling corporate affair.
Location, location, location
Goodfynd also provides reports on customer behaviors and trends, event schedules, and other data for businesses heavily relying on foot traffic. This helps food-truck owners make informed decisions related to parking and operating hours, which significantly influences their sales performance. In fact, a 2022 study published by Elsevier found that location was a key challenge for food-truck owners, as it affected customer targeting, exposure, and financial sustainability.
For example, a city concentrated with companies and universities offers prime real estate for a food truck, as busy workers and students are looking for value for their money and swift food options during lunch hour. Instead of relying solely on the vibrant food-truck ambiance to attract hungry people, owners can use technology to get to the heart of the action.
The integration of QR codes and automated emails enhances customer relationships and cultivates a dedicated following. QR codes streamline payments through customers’ phones, while email communication allows vendors to share updates including upcoming locations and menu changes.
Tech tools that give food-truck owners benefits, from streamlined operations to helpful business analytics, are making the industry a more-dynamic and -accessible place for aspiring entrepreneurs. With innovation in the mix, efficiency and inclusivity in the culinary world are served on platter garnished with success.
