Market Trends of United States Food Truck Industry
The Customized Truck Segment is Expected to Gain Traction Between 2024 and 2029
Food truck owners need a variety of specifications to operate their business, including the size of the trucks, kitchen size, and other parameters. Therefore, the customized truck segment has witnessed promising growth in recent years, owing to rising demand for customization. Although these types of trucks are costlier than the standard models that manufacturers extend to customers, with the increasing need for comfort, cooking space, and maintaining hygiene, this segment is expected to gain traction between 2024 and 2029.
Over the past few years, the van segment has been one of the most significant segments in the market, owing to its ease of use and the enhanced mobility experience. However, a rising demand for customized models exists with shifting needs and new brands being established. Commercial food brands increasingly prefer to use food trucks that they can operate for greater visibility. These brands target places such as malls, schools, universities, and other public parks to engage customers and expand their business profitability. These types of customers are one of the major end-users for customized trucks. Therefore, with consumers' growing interest in visiting public parks, a lucrative opportunity exists for brands to operate customized food trucks in these places to attract consumers across the United States.
- According to the Trust for Public Land, Central Park in New York, Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, and Lincoln Park in Chicago were the leading parks in the United States, with the highest visits in 2022. Central Park in New York recorded 42 million visits in 2022, followed by Golden Gate Park with 24 million visits and Lincoln Park with 18 million visits during the same period.
Moreover, various administrations and authorities of public parks and universities across the United States are attracting bids for leasing specific spaces for food truck businesses, which is expected to impact the segment's growth positively. For instance, the National Park of Boston announced a bid in March 2024 to lease out specific spaces for food truck vendors. The lease provided to the food truck owners helps the administration generate more revenue and attract consumers to these establishments. This is anticipated to foster the growing demand for customized truck segments across the United States in the coming years.
The Fast Food Segment Accounted for the Largest Share in the Market
Fast food consumption in the United States is rapidly growing, with a preference for food items such as pizza, burgers, chicken, sandwiches, and fish and chips. To cater to the increasing demand, various business owners increasingly prefer to launch fast food truck brands that can provide seamless customer service at an affordable price and at a lower turnaround time.
- Pizza, burgers, and chicken were the most ordered fast foods in the United States in the first quarter of 2023. According to a survey, pizza retained the top spot, with 29% of individuals stating they ordered this item frequently in the first quarter of 2023, followed by burgers (25%) and chickens (19%).
Fast food truck vendors are eyeing to expand their brand presence by launching several outlets in different cities to gain a competitive edge in the market. The integration of several fast food truck segments is also becoming crowded; therefore, these players are extensively focused on offering quality food items to consumers. These brands compete on various parameters, including location, food quality, delivery time, number of items on the menu, and a standard operating procedure. These owners prefer availing vans or food trucks depending on the size of the kitchen and the estimated average number of customers they want to cater to per day.
In the coming years, the vegan and plant meat segment is also expected to contribute to a major share of the market, owing to the rising preference for consuming healthier alternatives and tackling the issue of animal cruelty. Even though the vegan and plant meat food truck market is expected to showcase considerable growth, the demand for the fast food segment will be intact in the market. Apart from the fast food segment, the desserts and confectionary segment of the market also holds a substantial share.
