Or is this a viable business idea?

[roxyfoxy89]

For the last few years I've been toying with a business idea. I want to buy a food/ice cream van, that I can trade from in the day around businesses, but also in the evenings/at weekends in residential areas. In winter I'd sell mulled wine, hot chocolate and coffees etc as well as brownies. In the summer I'd sell ice creams/ice lollies and iced coffees! It'd have an artisan feel and be more targeted towards adults.

Is this a viable business idea or a pipe dream?

As PPs said, licences will be your main issue, especially for mulled wine.

It might go down well at events but you would pay for the pitch and they often dictate how you price things.

Although you have a solution for winter, it's incredibly seasonal.

I'd love it if one of these came to my office

I'm surprised that people would pay for coffee from a van when they're at home but it looks like some would from comments above.

@Iwanttogetthisright Well we live in a very crap town in the NW of England and it still does very well. People are more than happy to pay for it especially when you consider just how expensive the likes of pizza hut are.

The demand is definitely there and their genius is that they station themselves outside pubs that don't do food.

It's certainly worth thinking about!

I have a friend who recently did similar. You can't sell alcohol on the streets on a casual licence (pop up bars are fine but limited licences etc)

She also reckons it would take up to 2 years to turn a profit and there's a LOT of red tape.

I would LOVE a mulled wine truck 🤣

Not sure logistically it would work with licensing but concept yes!

Sounds amazing

No-one can say whether your business idea is viable without details of costs such as:

Purchase of Van.
Road tax.
Vehicle Insurance.
Fuel.
Van servicing.
Vehicle maintenance.
Licensing.
Rent for land parked on.
Public liability insurance.
Ice cream maker/machine.
Equipment.
Cost of raw materials to make food & drinks.
Consumables (cups, cutlery etc).
Accountancy fees (for producing accounts & calculating taxation).
Marketing costs.
Machine rental for debit/credit card payments.
Stationary.

There will be loads more stuff but these are things I thought off the top of my head. You will need to cost everything and then come up with a pricing structure for what you plan to sell.

Do market research to see whether you will be able to sell your products at all and at particular price points. You will then need to realistically estimate sales.

Only then can you determine the possible viability of such a business.

Ooh I fancy popping to the van for a nice mulled wine!

You'd need a licence to sell alcohol and I can't imagine you'd get it for that sort of thing, tbh. You'd also need a way of taking card payments, which could be expensive. Otherwise it sounds like a good idea.

It's a lot of expense. A local lady has just set up a catering van near us - she's very popular but she only really trades from one place which is cheaper than travelling around. She does do the occasional country fair though.

Off the top of my head, her costs are:

Van
Running costs
Insurance
Electricity, water, gas.
Pitch license
Ingredients
Advertising/stationery
Plates, cups, cutlery
Things like sugar, milk, syrups for coffee
Napkins
License for commercial waste
Applications to the council for a street trading license
Food hygiene
Contracts with local companies for ingredients.

Also you need to consider things like:
Staff - she has someone with her otherwise it's too much work on her own
Time - she spends every evening baking and sourcing ingredients
Weather - will you be able to trade in all weathers? What if you make no money as the weather is bad? Can you afford to waste fresh ingredients?

I do actually think it's a great idea but it's a LOT of work.

Oh yes, and add on WiFi or GPS for card payments as well as an alcohol license.

ZoeTurtle People already having coffee at home. Yes. Nobody will ever make any money selling coffee outside of the home. Imagine such a thing as a "Coffee Shop" .... it'd be empty all day long

ZoeTurtle

I’ve been amazed at the people on our local Facebook page for local businesses that deliver, they have coffee and cake delivered- from a coffee shop to their home

Fair play, there maybe a market for it

Starbucks make coffee for Uber eats and deliveroo to deliver - most companies have coffee and tea

@vanillandhoney

It's a lot of expense. A local lady has just set up a catering van near us - she's very popular but she only really trades from one place which is cheaper than travelling around. She does do the occasional country fair though.

Off the top of my head, her costs are:

Van
Running costs
Insurance
Electricity, water, gas.
Pitch license
Ingredients
Advertising/stationery
Plates, cups, cutlery
Things like sugar, milk, syrups for coffee
Napkins
License for commercial waste
Applications to the council for a street trading license
Food hygiene
Contracts with local companies for ingredients.

Also you need to consider things like:
Staff - she has someone with her otherwise it's too much work on her own
Time - she spends every evening baking and sourcing ingredients
Weather - will you be able to trade in all weathers? What if you make no money as the weather is bad? Can you afford to waste fresh ingredients?

I do actually think it's a great idea but it's a LOT of work.

This. It is way more expensive than people think to have a business that is a combination of service and product based. Not to say it can't be done but it's practically impossible to turn a profit in the first year if you want any kind of meaningful longevity (2/3+ years) for the business. There are so, so many costs that people who may not have experience of running a small business won't have come across before. That's why it's always worth researching business consultants to work with when setting up a business like this.

I'd love this to come round to our studios 🥰 I say viable!!

As well as liquor licence you'd also need a food hygiene certificate if you're making & selling food. Nice idea tho...

I really like the idea!

Have a look at this van which is local to me. It cost 30k to have it fitted out with everything required. He always has fresh soup which is great in winter.

www.nicattos.co.uk/vehicle.html

@vanillandhoney

It's a lot of expense. A local lady has just set up a catering van near us - she's very popular but she only really trades from one place which is cheaper than travelling around. She does do the occasional country fair though.

Off the top of my head, her costs are:

Van
Running costs
Insurance
Electricity, water, gas.
Pitch license
Ingredients
Advertising/stationery
Plates, cups, cutlery
Things like sugar, milk, syrups for coffee
Napkins
License for commercial waste
Applications to the council for a street trading license
Food hygiene
Contracts with local companies for ingredients.

Also you need to consider things like:
Staff - she has someone with her otherwise it's too much work on her own
Time - she spends every evening baking and sourcing ingredients
Weather - will you be able to trade in all weathers? What if you make no money as the weather is bad? Can you afford to waste fresh ingredients?

I do actually think it's a great idea but it's a LOT of work.

Also gas if you plan gas (though everything named sounded like an electric only so that's easier). The licences for food vans are harsh. You can go only certain palces and park in certain places. Number is limited so if someone already has route you want, you might not get it.

One of the things which can be incredibly expensive is equipment. Soft serve machine can be anywhere from 1k to 10k. Good coffee machines too. You can hire the equipment but that brings your monthly outgoings up a lot so again quite considerable sum to be considered.

That all said, it's a nice idea. Sounds a lot like a nice coffee shop on wheels and if you get good locations, it can work. But buy batteries for calculator because financially it will be very high cost.

Re the business consultants. Depending on your age and gender you might be able to get advice from places like Princess trust or organisations aiming to help women. There is lots of help out there (might be bit harder now with offices close but it's there)

@wannabebetter

As well as liquor licence you'd also need a food hygiene certificate if you're making & selling food. Nice idea tho...

The kitchen the food is produced in will also need to be inspected by the local authority.

There are 800million of them round here and they’re always busy. They each have a clear theme: gin, coffee, pizza, etc. I follow some on Instagram and they seem to hustle: always updating people about where they’ll be (if it’s not their usual spot) and building their social media presence. They also are present at local fairs, food festivals, etc. I imagine some might do other events like car shows and weddings.

I live in a fairly ‘wealthy’ commuter area of 5000. There is a coffee van regularly in a local pub car park - one of the few pubs that hasn’t gone down the fancy coffee route itself! The area I live in, is exactly the sort of area where everyone is always talking about their marvellous new kitchen, and their fancy coffee machines. But the van is still busy...

I would be wary of launching this type of venture at the moment- sure, over lockdown people WFH have wanted their treats, and to keep themselves going when life is so depressing and oppressive...but job losses have only just started. Anyone in a "Crap Town" is likely to be at risk financially, probably for a good 5-10 years after the start of the pandemic. Once serious job losses hit, disposable income will dry right up.
Your overheads will be huge, and even tiny increases in fuel costs and ingredients/food supply costs (definitely will happen after Jan 1st) will hit you hard, and you will compromise on quality to make ends meet. People popping to a van for coffee and a pastry don't want something out of an Asda/Costco multipack heated up, they want an unctuous luxury product that they can't produce themselves, so you'll lose out on repeat business.
Work is changing- people are less likely to be based in offices than previously.
Yes- you could absolutely love doing this...and you might just break even in terms of costs in/money taken, but the hours you will put in (my local baker works 18 hour days to keep going) will kill you.

I've no idea about profit margins etc...

BUT I would love it if you came to my street

Getting a nice coffee and a slice of cake is the only thing I miss about working in an office. Ohhh and I second PP's comment about fresh croissants!