Developing A Food Truck Brand Strategy That Works

Your food truck’s brand includes your name, logo and slogan, but a brand is so much more that these simple creative elements. A food truck brand should represent how your truck and staff members deal with your customers and evoke emotion that calls your customer base to action. Today we’ll discuss the creation of brand identity by developing and implementing a food truck brand strategy.

5 Parts Of A Successful Food Truck Brand Strategy

Answers the question, “Why?”

A successful food truck brand strategy will develop consumer awareness. It also builds a brand identity that sets your truck apart from other food trucks and food service establishments in your community. A well-designed brand strategy consistently reminds any potential and current customers why they should stand in line at your food truck.

Positions against competition

A food truck brand strategy should position your menu relative to direct competition. Decide whether you want consumers to think of your menu is as less expensive than the competition or higher quality than the competition. These and other factors determine your brand and menu in the market relative to your competition.

Provide emotion

Implementing a well thought out brand strategy will provide consumers with a positive emotional association with your food truck. To achieve this, your brand strategy should align with your food truck values and mission, and have clear meaning and relevance to your target market.

For example, brand strategies designed to attract healthy eaters should involve activities that reinforce your food truck association with health and fitness.

Mesh with business plan

A brand strategy works in close with your food truck business plan. Your brand strategy should tie in with your menu pricing strategy, sales and marketing strategy and mission statement. Almost all areas within your food truck business plan feed off of your branding strategy. It provides the foundation that influences advertising campaigns, company literature, public perception and customer loyalty.

Know your market

Food truck vendors typically feel they lack the budget and knowledge to develop an effective brand strategy. Because of this, they usually choose to skip any brand strategy at all. Brand strategies require market and industry research. Vendors need insight into the emotional needs and desires of your target market.

If you don’t have the budget to hire a consulting firm to do this background research, do it yourself. Conduct customer focus groups through social media or through an online survey. This will give consumers the ability to share the emotions and perceptions evoked by your branding ideas.

The Bottom Line

Branding is more than a food truck’s logo and slogan. Implementing a focused branding strategy will help to determine if your food truck brand is ready for long term success or short term recognition.

The success of well-known food trucks didn’t happen by simply creating an iconic logo. Instead, it took a lot of effort for these brands to shape their menu, service, voice, and emotion that can attract and engage the consumers in their markets.

What branding strategies have you implemented for your food truck? What worked and what didn’t? Share your thoughts in the comment section below or on social media. Facebook | Twitter