As a food truck owner, you’ve had to deal with the difficulties that come with trying to design a menu that meets your customers’ different tastes. It is getting even tougher to accommodate for the never-ending list of special dietary restrictions that many consumers now follow. When it comes to food safety, how much food transparency do you share with your food truck customers?
Today’s consumers are voicing their opinions for better food safety and more food transparency around ingredients in the dishes they purchase. But their desire for food transparency is about more than curiosity.
Why Consumers Care About Food Transparency
Here are a few reasons customers care more than ever, and how food trucks can deliver.
- They’ve been fooled before. Numerous books and documentaries have exposed many less-than-pleasant practices within the food industry. Knowing what goes into the food they eat is something consumers demand. Consumers want to know what’s really in the food they’re purchasing.
- Consumers have more access to information. With just a keyword searches, today’s consumer can learn nearly anything they’d ever want to know. If your food truck has ever provided false information, poor quality ingredients or a suffered through a major supplier recall, they will know.
- They expect it. From allergens, special diets to lifestyle choices, dietary restrictions have become a norm in our society. Luckily food trucks have started learning the needs of these consumers. A green V next to a menu item will thrill vegetarian customers, just as much as a GF informs gluten-free consumers that you’re looking out for them.
How You Can Offer Food Transparency
There are many ways you can link customers with the information they desire:
- Offer transparency of your suppliers. This can be as simple as naming the specific farms where you sourced your produce.
- Make this information easy to find on your food truck website. Make it easier for consumers to find out what they are being served. This will make it easier it is to build trust in the products you sell.
- List every ingredient coming off your truck. This practice is most appreciated by those looking for triggers of common allergens and animal product based diets.
- Share bad news. If any of the ingredients are under recall, make sure to communicate the mislabeling or contamination openly and honestly.
- Publish information about your food safety program. Do you have a food safety program for your food truck business? If so, shout it out loud and let your customers know how it works. If you don’t currently have one; get to work on one quickly, then get it published on your website.
By making it easier for your your food truck customers to obtain the information they want, you can build strong, authentic relationships, build brand loyalty and gain an edge over the competition.
RELATED: Know What You Are Purchasing For Your Food Truck
The Bottom Line
Inquisitive customers want to know where their food came from, whether it’s organic, how fresh it is, and how the livestock was treated. Making this information available is food transparency, and it is one of the biggest trends in the entire food service industry right now. Follow these tips to help you get started becoming more transparent in your food truck today.
What are your thoughts on food transparency? Share your thoughts in the comment section or on social media. Facebook | Twitter
