How To Start a Coffee Truck: Farmer’s Markets

Image with text Starting a Coffee Truck on a Budget with Farmer's Markets and Community Events

Wanting to Start a Coffee Truck on a Budget? Start simple with Farmer’s Markets and Community Events! With only a tent and table to build revenue before you buy a trailer out of your own pocket.

***This post is purely an opinion piece and should not be taken as financial advice nor legal advice. Please seek professionals in those areas for more accurate information to your specific situation.***

Starting a Coffee Truck on a Budget: Tent and Table First

We recently started a coffee business with the ultimate goal of owning a mobile coffee trailer. Some areas are saturated with food trucks however our area has only TWO drive-thru coffee options and honestly they aren’t great coffee. So we figured heck why not do good coffee but in a food truck setup so that it was mobile and drive-thru accessible. As a mom to three I would kill for a good and quick coffee stop and not have to drag my entire crew inside.

So what’s our plan?

Currently we have about $3thousand of our own cash in the business. You can read about how we got started here. This accounts for start up costs such as; flyers and stickers, cups, coffee beans, grinder and machine (read our other post to see how we looked for a good deal), syrups, milks, etc.

UPDATE: It’s 3 months later, and we have about $6k of our own money in the business now. BECAUSE!!! We bought a really cool camper trailer off of Facebook Market place from a couple two hours away from us and snatched it up for just under three thousand are currently spending a couple evenings a week to renovate it into our dream coffee trailer! We’re hoping to only have to put in another $2 or $3k (from the business however, not our own dollars) to update it. It pays to have a handy husband.

Our goal was to put in as little of our own money as possible and let the business build the revenue for the next steps in our plan without taking loans.

So, because we are avoiding loans we decided to go with a pop-up tent and table to begin with. We load up our Kia Telluride twice a week and hit up the local Farmer’s Markets and other Community Events as they come along. We bring a 5 gallon bucket of cold brew concentrate (we use Green Joe’s recipe and ratios) and make iced cold brew lattes and Italian Sodas.

We’ve SOLD OUT the last few events with very little prep work. We are hoping by the end of summer we will have enough revenue to afford the coffee trailer to further expand our business.

Starting at Farmer’s Markets and Community Events

Like I said above, we are doing Farmer’s Markets and other Community Events to build the revenue to afford our Coffee Trailer Dream on a Budget.

So the big question is How do I even start? How do I become a vendor?

How do I even start?

Facebook is your friend. Seriously. We live in a small town and all of the farmer’s market info and other events put out their info on the big ol Facebook. Simply look for events in your area. See if there are Facebook groups for food trucks and vendors in your area. Join them and other community groups if you aren’t in them already.

Message them if you can’t figure out your area. We have found so many other food truck vendors that are willing to help and give insider information that can be pivotal in getting into events. They also will tell you which events are super profitable!

How do I become a vendor?

Watch those Facebook groups and other food trucks like a hawk. This first year while doing a tent and table set up it is super important to be observant. Take notes!

Many events will post that they are looking for food trucks or vendors way before the event is to take place. Coffee trailers/trucks fall in that category so apply as soon as you see those wanted posts pop up.

When you see that events are putting out application many times they will charge a vendor fee.

A vendor fee can be a set fee ahead of time OR the event might require you to give them a certain percentage of your profits at the end. We have even done an event that required a donation to the fundraiser as the fee. Different coffee truck owners differ on opinion whether the set fee or the percentage is better. Personally, I think the beginning fee is better because if it’s a huge event you have better odds of coming out with more money.

Events might also require you to send a copy of your insurance in. If you are just doing a tent and table set up to start, I suggest finding a cheap liability insurance to get you through until you grow a bit bigger. (This is my personal opinion and shouldn’t be taken as legal advice).

Our two local Farmer’s Markets cost $25 and $65 for a season spot. We aren’t planning to be at every single market day but it is much cheaper to pay the season pass than the “drop in” fee they require for each day you want to attend. We simply let the market manager know which dates we plan to attend and not attend and this allows us to also have dibs on our choice spot and not lose it to someone else.

What events can I start out in?

Where are all the big food vendors in the area going? What events are they attending? They more than likely will put posts up about how big of a success different events were or announce if they sold out. Take note and if you didn’t get in this year make sure to put it in your calendar for next year. We missed a couple super big events but made sure to note to apply to attend next year.

Most events will allow you to operate as a tent and table setup as long as you follow health and safety codes. Check your local ag department or food and health safety department for details specific to your area to make sure you are complying and legal.

As mentioned before, it can be super nice to be friendly with other food truck owners in the area who can give you the hot tips into which events will bring in the profits. We began with first applying to the Farmer’s Markets and it just so happened there was a food truck as a “drop in” at the second market and once we got to talking they invited us to be part of the area’s food truck group where they share with each other the different events they’re signed up in and other juicy info. She also told us what events were coming up and who to contact to hop into those events last minute. So make friends! Or at the very least talk to the other vendors.

For reference, here’s a list of events we did our first summer:

Farmer’s Market in town #1
Farmer’s Market in town #2
Pride Parade

Local Fair time events
A Hot Air Balloon Festival
National Night Out

Start of Summer City Bash
Father’s Day Car Show
Cinco de Mayo

Harvest Festivals
Set up at a Pumpkin Patch each weekend in October

Food Health and Safety Codes

FOLLOW THE CODES

Don’t chance it and think oh I’ll be fine to just bring the bare essentials this event. It’s not worth begin shut down and losing profit and customers because of a whim. Check your local health departments (or ag department if you’re rural like us) and if you can’t find specific details for food trucks or pop-ups then call them.

We live in a pretty rural area here in Wyoming so ours are pretty basic. In our area we have to; have a way to wash our hands (a water source and soap plus a bucket for all of that to go into), keeping cups inside their plastic wrapping to avoid unnecessary touching, separate coolers for ice used in drinks versus ice used for keeping milks cold, and a thermometer inside the milk cooler to ensure its at 41 degrees F or below. Pretty simple but pretty important.

Grind it out and get that dough!

That’s it! Take the plunge!

Follow other food trucks and trailers who seem to have it figured out and apply to your first event. Soon you will be adding more and more events to your calendars.

Start with the Farmer’s Markets and other big local events in the summer, start with the basic tent and table set-up, and build your business from the ground up….literally!

There is no need to spend tens of thousands of your own money on a risk. Business is risk taking. Start small and grow as you learn the ropes and can make smart and calculated choices that will ensure your risk brings rewards.

Did you start your Coffee Business with Farmer’s Markets? What community events are you planning to attend?

Best wishes,

Ashley

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