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Cupcake Truck!?

post #1 of 38
8/11/11 at 1:56pm
Thread Starter 
My friend and I were talking today and she suggested that I should look into getting a truck to sell cupcakes from. I live in CA so I know I would have to rent a commercial kitchen but what are your thoughts on getting a truck and what would the process be? What kind of truck would i need? please help

Thanks!! icon_biggrin.gif
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post #2 of 38
8/11/11 at 2:12pm
Probably one of those food trucks you see on tv that are a kitchen on wheels. My mother just called me two days ago GUSHING about how there is a cupcake truck that comes up from a city an hour away and parks outside office buildings at lunch and how people are just flooding out to buy her cupcakes. Her description. She thought that I should just scrap my ideas on my separate kitchen and get a food truck so I could copy her. AAhh family.

But, if that is something that would work, you would have a mobile cakery. I've never been in one, but I be the space it tight!

Tami icon_smile.gif
Always put your eggs in one basket.......why do you want to carry two?
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Always put your eggs in one basket.......why do you want to carry two?
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post #3 of 38
8/11/11 at 2:49pm
Cupcake trucks don't have ovens to bake in them. Instead, they bake elsewhere and just sell out of the truck. There are several here in the area that do that. They DO tend to have a bit of a line.

I would check to see if there are any in CA where you are. I would imagine LA, at a minimum, probably already has one. And CA has some strict laws about the trucks and how you have to care for them. I saw a show about it once, and they have to be parked together every night and foods come out of a commissary. But that may not apply if you aren't doing real cooking inside the truck.
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post #4 of 38
8/11/11 at 3:03pm
Hubby and I were talking about a cupcake truck just last week. I think it would do really really well and, told him it was something I was seriously considering looking into.

There is a real food truck craze right now so, I bet it would be a hit if you find the right areas. I would also say it would help to come up with something unique to sell along with the cupcakes since people seem to really eat that up. The show Kid in a Candy Shop featured a food truck selling cupcake ice cream cones, dessert nachos, etc.
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post #5 of 38
8/11/11 at 3:29pm
There is a ton of overhead involved in this (buy the truck, staff it, get a permit for the truck, get a permit for the commercial kitchen, pay for commercial kitchen rent, etc.) so make sure you have an airtight business plan.
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post #6 of 38
8/12/11 at 5:38am
Most food trucks are a P20 or P30 (like a UPS/FedEx body style). You can also try to find used postal vans, but they are right hand drive, just be aware. There was the *cutest* green postal van for sale in CA last week. You can also vend (not bake, not enough room) out of a camper or high top van.
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Answers to the most often asked questions re: SPS. SPS instructions are on Page 15 of the Sticky at the top of the Cake Decorating Forum. Supplies can be ordered from Oasis Supply, Global or BakeryCrafts.
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post #7 of 38
8/12/11 at 5:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by leah_s

Most food trucks are a P20 or P30 (like a UPS/FedEx body style). You can also try to find used postal vans, but they are right hand drive, just be aware. There was the *cutest* green postal van for sale in CA last week. You can also vend (not bake, not enough room) out of a camper or high top van.



Very good point! Hey, that has gotten me thinking...we own an ambulance (hubby's business), I wonder if I can use it when he isn't! LMFAO. "Our cupcakes are sooo good they'll make you pass out so, we came prepared!" (Lest somebody think I'm serious, I'm ony jokin)
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post #8 of 38
8/12/11 at 6:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by betty88

My friend and I were talking today and she suggested that I should look into getting a truck to sell cupcakes from. I live in CA so I know I would have to rent a commercial kitchen but what are your thoughts on getting a truck and what would the process be? What kind of truck would i need? please help

Thanks!! icon_biggrin.gif



Betty, are you currently in business? Jason (as always) has an excellent response. Make sure you understand this business before moving ahead. Food trucks appear to be simpler than they really are. And they're the fad right now, which means the market is near saturation.
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website www.BakingFix.com
blog www.BakingFix.com/thefix
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/MimiFix
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post #9 of 38
8/12/11 at 7:30am
Thread Starter 
Thank you all for your input!
seems like i have a whole lot of thinking and planning to do before anything.

thanks again! have a great FRIDAY thumbs_up.gif
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post #10 of 38
8/12/11 at 7:39am
Fortunately the food truck craze has just hit my city.

#strike while the iron is hot
Answers to the most often asked questions re: SPS. SPS instructions are on Page 15 of the Sticky at the top of the Cake Decorating Forum. Supplies can be ordered from Oasis Supply, Global or BakeryCrafts.
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Answers to the most often asked questions re: SPS. SPS instructions are on Page 15 of the Sticky at the top of the Cake Decorating Forum. Supplies can be ordered from Oasis Supply, Global or BakeryCrafts.
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post #11 of 38
8/12/11 at 8:49am
Cupcake trucks do have ovens to bake in them. I work in NYC and at least the Sweet Treats (now Sweetery) truck parked on the street in front of our building, has an oven. I've been there to ask for a chocolate chip cookie for example, and she's told me that it's just out of the oven and to handle with care because it's delicate.

I know I have pictures of their oven inside their truck, but I can't find them right now. Maybe there's one here.

http://sweeterynyc.com/photos

And here's an article on how they are equipped.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/united-states/new-york-rapidly-growing-food-truck-industry-rallies-56696.html
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post #12 of 38
8/12/11 at 1:26pm
Thread Starter 
imagenthatnj
thank you soo much for those links!!! that truck is soo awesome! i would love something like that icon_smile.gif

thank you again!!! icon_biggrin.gif
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post #13 of 38
8/12/11 at 1:47pm
Since I have a permitted kitchen, I can bake there.
Answers to the most often asked questions re: SPS. SPS instructions are on Page 15 of the Sticky at the top of the Cake Decorating Forum. Supplies can be ordered from Oasis Supply, Global or BakeryCrafts.
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Answers to the most often asked questions re: SPS. SPS instructions are on Page 15 of the Sticky at the top of the Cake Decorating Forum. Supplies can be ordered from Oasis Supply, Global or BakeryCrafts.
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post #14 of 38
8/12/11 at 1:58pm
You're welcome. By the way, they sell more than dessert these days. They have finger sandwiches and soups and quiches. Everything is very expensive, but really good, and when it comes to an orange curd filled brioche that Le Pain Quotidien doesn't have (they park right in front of them!) nobody cares about how much. There's always a line.

Oh, and there's that other famous truck around here: Dessert Truck. Three chefs quit their jobs at Le Cirque and started it. But I think they bake at their kitchen downtown.

http://www.dt-works.net/

And....lots of trucks in CA.

http://www.facebook.com/MVBLfeast
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post #15 of 38
8/12/11 at 2:04pm
You can also just haul a trailer around. Airstream trailers are very popular for selling cupcakes out of.
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