How to Start a Food Truck Business: Steps to Vending Success

Are you wondering how to start a food truck business this year? You’re not alone. This is a popular segment to get into right now, with many people preferring the mobility of food trucks to the stagnant nature of restaurants and bistros. 

Research from Zippia shows that in the US alone, there are approximately 36,324 food truck businesses registered. The industry is said to be worth approximately $1.48 billion and has grown around 10% in 2018, highlighting that it’s a good time to get into this line of work. 

But how do you get your food truck business operational? Join me as I explain how to start a food truck business this year. I draw on my experience and present five simple steps that you can follow to launch your business and brand.

One crucial thing before I explain how to start a food truck business: Getting your head around permits

Before opening my coffee business in June 2017, I extensively researched how to start a food truck business. Initially, I planned to run my coffee and bakery business from a mobile vehicle, not a high street store. 

I figured that with mobility, I could access different customers whenever I liked. I was excited by the prospect of rocking up at summer festivals with my truck to supply hungry and thirsty partygoers. I also wanted to park up at a train station during the week to catch the busy commuting hours in the morning and evening. 

But, in my naivety, I forgot about one thing: permits.

The biggest challenge facing potential food truck businesses in 2025 is licensing and permits. Your permit dictates where you can and can’t go. It also restricts what you can and can’t sell. Unfortunately, every country, state, and region has its own way of dealing with food truck permits. 

For instance, the local authority in the UK handles every mobile food business permit decision. In the US, it is done on a state basis. In some countries in Africa and Asia, permits aren’t required. Or, at least, there’s a way of getting around the whole bureaucracy to make your life easier. 

So, as I reveal in my step-by-step how to start a food truck business guide below, thoroughly research how to obtain a permit before doing anything else. It may make or break your decision about whether or not to launch this type of business, as it did to me back in 2017.

The pros and cons of running a food truck business

Right, before I get into the steps, I want to help you decide if a food truck business if for you. Here are the pros and cons of this business type that will help you determine if you’re well suited to running a food truck business:

✅Pros

• A food truck business can be profitable and enjoyable if you have a niche product to sell. 
• You can make good money if you pick a high-traffic location as your primary point of business. 
• Ongoing costs are lower than running a restaurant, as you don’t need to worry about rent, rates, bills, and staff costs. 
• Your biggest attributes are your flexibility and mobility. You can take your business to the customers. Therefore, you don’t need to wait for them to find you.
• Selling practically any type of food out of a truck is possible. Pizzas, burgers, chicken, baked goods, sweet treats, and essentially any other type of food can be made and sold this way.

❌Cons

• The main issue for food truck business owners is a permit. You must have permission from the state or local authority to operate your business. This restricts where you can go and what you can sell. It can be a major headache in some parts of the world. 
• It can be expensive to kit a food truck, particularly if you sell speciality food. You might need to put in a full commercial-grade kitchen, for instance, costing $20,000+.
• In most countries, your food truck business must adhere to strict health and hygiene requirements. If it doesn’t, you risk closure and fines. 
• While mobility can be a good thing, it can also be a negative. Therefore, it can be difficult for food truck business owners to build a steady flow of repeat custom. 
• The industry is very competitive in most countries. You should think carefully about your niche and create a business that offers something unique to your customers to get ahead.

So, is a food truck business right for you? It certainly might be! This can be a fun, profitable, and rewarding business venture. Just be mindful of the cons above. If they resonate with you, it might be a good idea to research how to set up a restaurant or pop-up eatery instead, which has a fixed location.

Step by step: How to start a food truck business in 2025

I recommend you follow these steps in chronological order, as they will help you launch your food truck business in 2025:

Step 1: Start with permit research

The first and most crucial step is to conduct permit research. How do you obtain a permit to operate your food truck business? Which authority do you apply to? What are the requirements you must meet before applying? 

For example, in the UK, you can’t simply open a food truck and park it anywhere you like. Every local authority has zones in which food trucks can operate. They are split into licensed streets, consent streets, and prohibited streets.

On top of the relevant permit, you also need the following to operate a UK-based food truck business:

• A food business registration certificate obtained from the UK government. 
• A valid UK driver’s permit that legally allows you to drive your truck. 
• Food premises approval from the local authority if you’re selling a specific type of food. 
• Premises or personal licenses if you plan to sell alcohol in your food truck business. 
• Commercial gas safety certificate (gas safety record form) and a liquid petroleum gas certificate (if you’re cooking on a gas stove).
• Portable appliance testing certification. 

As you can see, there are lots of permits, certificates, and licenses to obtain! The UK is just one example, but the US, Australia, and most other countries have similar requirements for food business startups.

Harnessing AI to learn of food truck registration permits & licenses

Rather than conducting the research yourself, a shortcut is to ask Arvin to give you a breakdown of the permit conditions in your country. For instance, I asked Arvin to give me details on the permits I need to open a food truck business in New York.

Arvin generated it in seconds and gave me a clear run-through of the eleven licenses required to start my business. You can copy this feat for any state or country and have access to accurate and relevant information in seconds. 

With your checklist ready, you can proceed to step two. Make sure you follow the checklist to the letter and don’t cut corners. If you do, you might find that your food truck business is shut down before it gets off the ground.

Step 2: Formulate a business plan and decide what to sell

The latest statistics show that the standard profit margin for food truck businesses is between 3% and 5%, which isn’t super high. Therefore, you need to plan your business carefully and ensure that you can profit from your intended operation.

My advice is to start with what skills you have. Anyone can flip burgers, but if you’re a talented pastry chef, a French-inspired bakery business could work well and deliver you lots of profits. Another great option is a stone oven pizza business, which has low ingredient costs and high potential returns. 

No matter which type of food truck business you decide to launch, you need to have the skills to prepare the food to the highest quality. As such, you might need to undertake a special course or further training before getting started.

How to write a business plan for your food truck business

Here are the key sections you should include in your food truck business plan to cover all bases: 

• A mission statement that explains what you’re selling and why. 
• Details of the geographic region you plan to operate in. 
• An overview of the current landscape and a brief competitor analysis. 
• A breakdown of the costs of your business and how much you will charge for your products. 
• Growth projections over one, three, and five years. 

Many prospective business owners worry about the complexity of a business plan, but having written several myself, I assure you that the simpler the plan is, the easier it is to follow. 

I highly recommend HubSpot’s excellent free business plan templates as a starting point if you’re not sure what to include. You’ll need to tailor them to your business operations, but they can help guide you as you organize your ideas. 

Another option is to ask Arvin to help you create a business plan. If you go down this route, read our guide to learn how to prompt AI to write your business plan for the best chance of success. 

Step 3: Decide how to finance your business

I touched on it above, but you need to create a strong financial foundation for your food truck business. Research shows that a food truck business can cost between $75,000 and $200,000 to start on average. 

Therefore, you need to think carefully about how to finance your business before launching. Naturally, the main cost will be the truck itself. What speciality equipment do you need to run your business? Which type of truck should you buy? How will you modify it to ensure it’s safe to drive? Will you buy a new or used food truck? 

You need to answer all of these questions and more to ascertain how much your food truck will cost. Then, you should budget for the following costs:

• Initial ingredients and enough stock for your first weeks or months of operation. 
• Permit, license, and certification costs. 
• Gas, servicing, and maintenance of your vehicle. 
• Branding and marketing costs for initial months. 
• Any staff costs, including your own salary requirements. 
• Legal and accounting fees.

How to fund your food truck business

There are several ways to access the capital for your food truck business. The easiest option is to tap into your savings, assuming you have enough in your account. This is the lowest-risk and most affordable option. 

Alternatively, you can approach a family member for a low-interest loan. You might have to sell them your dream, but this is often a much better option than acquiring a business loan from the bank. 

Business startup loans are widely available in most countries, but they come with high interest rates that put pressure on new businesses from the very start. If you go down this route, ensure that you can cover the repayments each month, or you will get into trouble right out of the gate. 

Another option is to consider crowdfunding your business. This is where you launch an online campaign to attract investors in different ways. You might give away a small stake in your company, or you can get creative and give investors rewards, gifts, and special deals when your business is up and running.

Sure, you might not be able to fund all of your food truck business this way, but it’s a viable option for attracting some investment for your new business venture.

Step 4: Launch your brand and business identity

You’re now in a position to work on your brand. I advise you to read our excellent Brand Bible to ascertain the crucial role your brand will play in your business success. 

There are numerous steps to launching a brand and identity for your food truck business:

Business name

Begin with a name for your business. You’ll need to think about what you’re selling, where you’re based, and how to represent your offering. Coming up with a business name isn’t easy. You can use our AI company name generator to save lots of time and hassle during the planning stage.

Professional logo

After settling on a name, it’s time to create a professional logo. Your logo is extremely important as it will be the first thing that most of your customers see.

Rather than spending hundreds of dollars on a graphic designer, create a professional logo with our free logo maker. In less than a minute, you will have a unique, professional logo that encapsulates the ethos and values of your food truck business. 

If you don’t like the initial design, simply create another one. You can play around with the tool until you’re happy with the logo you’ve created. 

Your logo is then ready to download and use within your food truck business. It’s also ready to use in all your online marketing materials, including on your website and social media channels.

Online presence

At this stage, you must consider how to represent your brand online. You will almost certainly need to create social media pages on Facebook and Instagram, while you may also launch on TikTok. 

If you will participate in B2B transactions online, you may also launch on LinkedIn. 

Finally, you should create a website for your business. There are lots of website builder tools out there that give you a free or cheap website without breaking the bank. Check out Wix, Shopify, and WordPress as good starting points for your new food truck business. 

If you don’t have time to populate your website with high-quality content, use our AI writing tool to develop a strong and compelling website that you can build on going forward.

Step 5: Roll out your plan and launch your food truck business

The final step? It’s time to roll out your plan and launch your business. To do this, secure your finances and take the first steps to purchase your food truck. 

Online marketplaces like Gumtree and eBay can be good spots to find used food trucks for sale. You can also perform a Google search to find specialist food truck builders in your area if you’re looking for a new truck. 

After purchasing your truck, you can work through your business plan and launch your food truck business by following the steps listed above.

The bottom line: How to start a food truck business this year

As I’ve proven, learning how to start a food truck business isn’t as difficult as you might expect. That said, the permits and licenses required are the key things to consider before launching this venture.

I know from first-hand experience that planning departments and health authorities can be difficult to deal with. So, prepare yourself for this and do sufficient research to obtain the permits and licenses you need. 

Then, you can follow my simple five-step plan to launch your food truck business this year. Check out my FAQs below for more useful information as you plan your new business.

How to start a food truck business FAQ

How do I get started with a food truck?

Before getting started with a food truck, you must research the licenses, permits, and certifications required where you plan to operate. Then, you can write a business plan, secure your funding, and launch your brand.

How profitable are food trucks?

You can reasonably expect your food truck business to return a profit in the region of 3% to 5%, depending on what you sell. As with all businesses, your profit margins depend on how well you run your business, where you sell your products, and how you deal with your customers.

Do I need a permit for a food truck business?

Yes! In practically every country in the world, you need a permit for a food truck business. You should visit the local authority’s website wherever you live for more information. Failing that, use my hack above and ask Arvin to provide you with a checklist explaining how to obtain a license for your food truck, no matter where you live.