Starting a Sandwich van buisness
Discussion
tricky business model unless you can get into a really big business and they all want loads of sandwiches, we have loads round our way now, its a tiny industrial estate and we have Morrisons here. Would you go the pre-pack route or the subway model or made fresh that might give you a bit of a USP. Also I would expect some hostility from current competitors, you will almost certainly stepping on some ones toes. We had our local town Fete and someone was selling a toasted cheese sandwich for £3, he was doing well and thats got to be a good mark up, but i dont think anyone is getting rich with mobile food places anymore. I bet they earn well under min wage but like working for themsleves
Nickyboy said:
Look at the area you're planning to operate in, if there is already one or more doing the same area then forget it. You won't be offering anything different and they have the client base so you are already on the back foot.
Or, there is a market and you can possibly offer better/different/cheaper to the proven client base.Only experience I have is as a customer. We have a few that travel round the town and visit all the offices. Here is my experience:
M&S van - f
king expensive, but you are getting M&S food. Plus they take cards which none of the others do.
Private van - the "roach wagon", very cheap but the food is gopping.
Phat Pasty - seems to have disapeared. Pastys were ok, best thing was chili beef Wednesdays, chili beef soup. Basally chili con carne watered down with stock.
Cafe 2 U - coffee machine and pastrys. Ok, not cheap.
We have 300 staff and these vans get a queue of about 10-15 people each out of that audience.
You will probably have a lot of competition and you will need to think where you fit in against the others. You will find it hard to better say the M&S in terms of quality. The others are a race to the bottom in terms of cost and quality.
Unless you can find a nice niche in the middle or something different I think you will struggle.
How about something like a healthy smoothie van, visit all the gyms etc?
M&S van - f
king expensive, but you are getting M&S food. Plus they take cards which none of the others do.Private van - the "roach wagon", very cheap but the food is gopping.
Phat Pasty - seems to have disapeared. Pastys were ok, best thing was chili beef Wednesdays, chili beef soup. Basally chili con carne watered down with stock.
Cafe 2 U - coffee machine and pastrys. Ok, not cheap.
We have 300 staff and these vans get a queue of about 10-15 people each out of that audience.
You will probably have a lot of competition and you will need to think where you fit in against the others. You will find it hard to better say the M&S in terms of quality. The others are a race to the bottom in terms of cost and quality.
Unless you can find a nice niche in the middle or something different I think you will struggle.
How about something like a healthy smoothie van, visit all the gyms etc?
We've got a lady who brings round home-made rolls and cakes three days a week.
£2 per roll (ham salad, chicken and bacon, cheese and chutney, etc)
£1.50 for cake (victoria sponge, chocolate brownies)
The cakes and roll fillings are all home made. Ham is decent sliced, not wafer thin rubbish.
She goes to mostly small employers on the local industrial parks (our area has lots of businesses with 5-20 employees) only around one town.
She seems happy doing the round, and has plenty of holidays in Australia, France, etc, but I don't know whether she pays for them or if her husband is earning.
£2 per roll (ham salad, chicken and bacon, cheese and chutney, etc)
£1.50 for cake (victoria sponge, chocolate brownies)
The cakes and roll fillings are all home made. Ham is decent sliced, not wafer thin rubbish.
She goes to mostly small employers on the local industrial parks (our area has lots of businesses with 5-20 employees) only around one town.
She seems happy doing the round, and has plenty of holidays in Australia, France, etc, but I don't know whether she pays for them or if her husband is earning.
Get a map and draw a circle with you in the center. Circe can be say 6 miles radius. How many places in this circle have:
Offices/ Warehouses / Industrial estate.
Road access
No competition(Mcd's /existing snack van rounds / cafes)
I assume you will do pre-made sandwiches sell what you can then move to the next location? - if so you want to do flyers in the area, 2 weeks before you 'go live' get a stupid dixie horn or something so people know the sandwich van is here.
Be consistant, If you need to change your route, plan it a week ahead and tell people you are doing so.
Dont underestimate how difficult this will be, early starts, cuts and burns in the kitchen. people complaining they had more cheese last time etc. You will be standing in the rain selling sandwiches to miserable people.
If you really want to do this, then I wish you the very best of luck. Let us know how you get on.
Offices/ Warehouses / Industrial estate.
Road access
No competition(Mcd's /existing snack van rounds / cafes)
I assume you will do pre-made sandwiches sell what you can then move to the next location? - if so you want to do flyers in the area, 2 weeks before you 'go live' get a stupid dixie horn or something so people know the sandwich van is here.
Be consistant, If you need to change your route, plan it a week ahead and tell people you are doing so.
Dont underestimate how difficult this will be, early starts, cuts and burns in the kitchen. people complaining they had more cheese last time etc. You will be standing in the rain selling sandwiches to miserable people.
If you really want to do this, then I wish you the very best of luck. Let us know how you get on.
dfen5 said:
I used to have an office near reception and I reckon we'd get someone different asking if we wanted their van to drop by pretty regularly.
Ref' the air horn, anyone who used one to signal their arrival was instantly banned from site, including the icecream van.
I recently saw a scuffle between two females with the stainless back sandwich wagons, the ones with the loud jingles. It's a free for all. Ref' the air horn, anyone who used one to signal their arrival was instantly banned from site, including the icecream van.
Have you thought about approaching your local council with regards to the environmental health implications and all the hoops you might have to jump through to start such a business?
It's one thing to make sandwiches/food that you consume .... but once you start selling to the public then every step of you storing the ingredients, prepping the ingredients and the storing/transportation of the finished product prior to its sale has to be approved and certified.
So your van would have to be registered and certified as would anywhere you store and/or make/prep anything.
If you're not going to store/prep everything in the van then the building you use might need business insurance, then there's business vehicle insurance and the all important public liability insurance.
Cover all of that and you can start getting into the territory wars ....... and then finally you can find some customers to sell something to.
It's one thing to make sandwiches/food that you consume .... but once you start selling to the public then every step of you storing the ingredients, prepping the ingredients and the storing/transportation of the finished product prior to its sale has to be approved and certified.
So your van would have to be registered and certified as would anywhere you store and/or make/prep anything.
If you're not going to store/prep everything in the van then the building you use might need business insurance, then there's business vehicle insurance and the all important public liability insurance.
Cover all of that and you can start getting into the territory wars ....... and then finally you can find some customers to sell something to.
I've worked at quite a few place where these vans come around, to be honest it never struck me as a particularly profitable or easy thing to be doing, selling cheap and nasty pastry products and butties door to door.
You'd be as well to get a catering van and find a decent layby on a busy A road I think, at least if you poison someone or they don't like your food it's all passing trade and you'll probably not see them again.
You'd be as well to get a catering van and find a decent layby on a busy A road I think, at least if you poison someone or they don't like your food it's all passing trade and you'll probably not see them again.
I - for the last 16 years have travelled round small factories for work -many of which have these quilted vans at lunchtimes.
After 2 years I made a rule that I will never eat anything bought from anything with wheels on again.
Occasionally, when I'm too busy to do anything else, I will use them, and invariably have some sort of alimentary malfunction.
Get a cafe on or near an industrial estate/offices of on a mainroad with parking and no competition and offer deliveries. Perhaps on a sign written bicycle to start.
After 2 years I made a rule that I will never eat anything bought from anything with wheels on again.
Occasionally, when I'm too busy to do anything else, I will use them, and invariably have some sort of alimentary malfunction.
Get a cafe on or near an industrial estate/offices of on a mainroad with parking and no competition and offer deliveries. Perhaps on a sign written bicycle to start.
I think you'd do better if you just took, collected and delivered KFC, McDonalds & Subway orders... 
We have a couple around here and the food is average and prices are high. Id happily treat myself (and all staff) once a week if somebody would actually turn up with some food we were excited to eat. Does it have to be sandwiches - I like hot food!
We have a couple around here and the food is average and prices are high. Id happily treat myself (and all staff) once a week if somebody would actually turn up with some food we were excited to eat. Does it have to be sandwiches - I like hot food!
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