Thinking about starting a food truck business that specializes in crepes? To start with, crepes are pancakes but they differ from the usual items as these are purposely made exceptionally thin. You can stuff anything in each piece – veggies, fruits, cheese, whipped cream, peanut butter, even meat, poultry and seafood.

Therefore, a crepe is already a meal in itself. Establishments that exclusively sell the goodies are known as ‘creperie’ and mind you, the restaurants engaged in this venture have become fashionable all throughout the country.

Factors to Take into Consideration

There are many factors to consider before you make the first move. First off, look around you and observe how these yummy thin pancakes are making money even just around the neighborhood or in the adjacent community.

Secondly, try to explore if there are any existing entrepreneurs near you who are into the same business. You need to know who your indirect competitors are, like cafes and restaurants. This is because your direct competition might be limited – who knows? These, and more related information you need to gather to ensure that your target venture will turn out a success.

Afterward, start asking yourself if this business is really lucrative. Well, most crepes are sold from anywhere between $4 and $9, depending on the filling. As what most restaurants do, crepes come with a serving of a small side dish and that would add up to the cost.

From the experts’ point of view, this business of selling crepes is substantially profitable. Based on the estimates of Pancake World, selling each piece for $4.10 can give you a net profit of $2.43 per piece. And with a statement like that coming from such a prestigious company as Pancake World, it must be credible. FYI, Pancake World is the world-leading specialist when it comes to crepe mix, waffle mix as well as crepe-making equipment and accessories.

A Guide to Starting the Business

Now, if you’re bent on venturing into this type of business, here’s a guide we can share to steer you in the right direction.

Do a thorough market research

It’s at this stage where you get to know the actual state of the creperie market. Would there be any place for crepes when the market is already saturated with all sorts of fries, burgers and pizzas that are doing very well financially? 

Why do you think there are some investors who are quite undecided about joining the creperie market when experts have estimated that the profit margin can be as high as 90 percent in certain instances? You would be able to unearth what secrets lie behind once you did your due diligence.

Create a solid business plan

This is where you put into the proper perspective all the data that you have gathered during your research. Consult a professional if you must, to ensure that all aspects are clear and easy to comprehend. Your plan should reflect all the implementation steps from start to finish. And that should also have a provision for sustainability – something you can fall back on if the business starts to tread on rough roads.

Furthermore, another important aspect of the plan would be your business location. Will your creperie make good in an urban center where competition is at its stiffest? Or will it be ideal to open the business in, say, a seaside resort where you already have a captured market of hungry eaters tired from their water rendezvous? 

But then, the winter months can also heavily impact your sales. With this option, it surely is a good idea to have a complementary business that could give you a steady stream of income no matter the season.

Establish a financial forecast

There are numerous marketing techniques to attract the desired number of customers but whatever concept you select, see to it that there’s a matching financial forecast that goes with each concept. 

A financial forecast is a valuable tool used by most entrepreneurs to predict the performance of a business in the future. This is applicable when creating your budget and/or valuation and further, helps pinpoint revenue and expenditure trends in the future that may have an influence over your business goals.

These steps mentioned above are just simple guides but there are definitely more in between. Consult a professional for the details. Moreover, it’s equally important to solicit ideas and advice from trusted family and friends as well as like-minded allies.

Food Truck Concerns

Experts estimate that if you’ve got less than $100,000 to invest in your crepe food truck, this can give you an average revenue of between $250,000 and $500,000. Meanwhile, it will cost you around $50,000 to $60,000 to get a food truck including the required permits. Obviously, your largest expense would be the truck itself as you can have it in the price range of $15,000 to $100,000 and may be lower if you buy used.

In terms of costs, the brand-new ones are, of course, more expensive. But you can find used trucks in good running condition from legit dealers. To get the best deals, check out UsedVending.com today.