At a time when trust in businesses is at an all-time low, the humble coffee van has emerged as one of the most trusted and most liked mobile vending options. This means now is a great time to make money with a coffee van.
In fact, according to recent research, the demand for good coffee and food trucks is massive and has been it’s growing steadily.
With so many different types of businesses operating in this space, there are plenty of opportunities for you to get involved from a small side hustle to something much bigger to make money with a coffee van.
Whether you have experience in the food or drinks industry or not, there are numerous ways for you to make money with a coffee van. From getting financial help from family members to renting out a workspace for cheap and everything in between, we’ve got everything you need to know about making money with a coffee van right here!
Table of Contents
What is a coffee van?
A coffee van is a specialized vehicle that is used to serve drinks and food to customers on the go.
A coffee van is simply a mobile coffee shop. Like any good coffee business, it sells good coffee to meet the needs of it’s customers.
A coffee van is also known as a coffee truck.
Whilst most coffee truck businesses will sell coffee from their espresso machine or drip coffee maker. Some business owners prefer to sell food and become more of a food truck business than a coffee truck business.
A Coffee truck is often used at events and festivals to provide refreshments and street food to guests, but they’re also used in a wide range of other industries. For example, they’re sometimes used by factory workers who would rather buy from a coffee truck than from their own canteen.
They’re also sometimes used by construction companies to provide refreshments to builders on construction sites, and many mobile contractors use coffee vans to provide food and good coffee to employees on the road.
Coffee vans are usually parked in high-traffic areas, such as near offices, shopping centers, and public parks. They usually have a large window or flap that opens up so customers can place their orders, and many vans provide seating for people who want to enjoy their drinks on the spot.
If you want to make money with a coffee van remember it is all about the location so keep your eyes open to see if you can spot an opportunity that other coffee van operators are missing.
Coffee vans tend to avoid an area if there are several coffee shops within easy walking distance. Instead, you will want to focus on areas with lots of potential customers but little in the way of competition from other mobile coffee van businesses.
If you are looking to buy a coffee van business then there are a number of places to check out including eBay
Earn money by selling coffee and other drinks
If you’re already in the business of selling drinks and possibly have your own coffee business, there’s a good chance that you could make money with a coffee van by expanding your offerings.
You can find out which businesses in your area accept deliveries from mobile vendors by checking with your local authority.
Once you have the contact details of businesses in your area, you can reach out to them to find out about their delivery options and pitch your coffee van services.
If you don’t want to go down the delivery route, you could consider setting up a pop-up stand at events and festivals as a way to make money with a coffee van.
Pop-up stands are usually set up on a temporary basis and they’re often used by food vendors at events like carnivals, fairs, and festivals.
You can usually set up a pop-up stand on a temporary basis with a small fee, and some event organizers may even let you park your coffee van on the site.
Earn money by renting out your workspace
If you’re not ready to take the full plunge and start selling goods from your own coffee van, you could consider renting out your workspace to other coffee truck owners.
If you have a commercial kitchen that’s only being used a few hours a day, you could earn a healthy income by renting your space out to another coffee van. You can find other coffee van operators in your area by searching online for “coffee van for hire.”
Keep in mind that you’ll have to comply with all relevant health and safety regulations in your area when renting out your kitchen. You should also consider hiring a commercial kitchen inspector to assess your kitchen and make sure it’s up to the relevant health and safety standards.
In some areas, you may be able to rent out your space on a temporary basis to coffee vans that are visiting your area.
Earn money by selling food
If you’re not just interested in selling drinks, you could consider selling food from your coffee van. Diversifying your business from purely selling coffee is a great way to increase profits.
There are two main ways you can go about selling food from a coffee van, and you can choose the option that best suits the type of food you plan to sell.
The first option is to sell prepackaged food, and the second option is to sell hot food that is made fresh on-site.
Selling prepackaged food is a good option if you want to sell food that doesn’t require any special preparation, but it may be harder to find customers who want to buy your products.
Selling hot food from your coffee van is a great option for foodies who want to sell food that’s made in the same way as it would be in a restaurant. You can either sell food that is made on-site or food that is brought in frozen.
Hot foods such as bacon rolls, paninis, and toasties are all great foods to sell along with coffee.
Earn money by providing services
If you don’t want to sell food or drinks from your coffee van and you don’t want to send your customers away with empty hands, you could consider selling branded merchandise from your van.
You can make money with a coffee van by using it to sell branded merchandise by parking near popular locations or events, such as concerts, sporting events, and tourist attractions.
Keep in mind that you’ll have to secure permission from the relevant authorities before setting up near popular locations.
You could also park your coffee van near outdoor events and festivals, as well as areas where people gather, like offices and college campuses.
Keep in mind that you’ll have to comply with all relevant health and safety regulations, and you may also have to get permission from the relevant authorities before setting up near popular locations.
Wrapping up
The coffee van market is very competitive, which means that you’ll have to work hard to set yourself apart from the crowd.
However, you can make money with a coffee van and the profit margins are good. All you need to do is find a unique selling point that sets you apart from the competition. For example, you could sell coffee and other beverages like hot chocolate with a healthy twist. You could also offer a wider range of products and services that can be bought on the go.
Whichever route you go down, the most important thing is to find a niche that you can fill and that caters to a wide variety of customers.
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