How to Open Your Own Catering Kiosk

Always wanted to create your own street food business in a catering kiosk, catering stall, catering trailer or similar? We have all the information to help turn your ideas into reality.

On-the-go food is a popular way to eat, often found in a variety of different locations and events. As a nation of food lovers, people are more than ready to try different things and broaden their taste buds.

A catering food kiosk allows you to have the freedom to experiment with your food and serve up something a little different to the public. You can be as creative with it as you like, perhaps serve something no one has ever tried before.

Whether you choose a food kiosk or other type of food stall, we are here to help guide you on how to open your very own catering kiosk – so keep reading for more.

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What Is Street Food?

Street food is ready-to-eat food that is served up by a portable vendor, often found in a street setting – which is where it famously gets its name.

Street food is fresh and meant for immediate consumption, particularly popular at all kinds of events including sporting events, weddings, festivals and Christmas markets to name a few prime examples.

Reasons to Open Your Catering Kiosk

There are plenty of reasons why you would benefit from having your own mobile catering business. If you need to be swayed some more, then read below for some key reasons.

You Don’t Need Lots of Money

The start-up costs of the mobile food business are pretty low, this makes it an attractive idea for many. All you may need is a stall, gazebo or kiosk and some set-up equipment. Big Kahuna have a lot of stalls to buy or to hire.

Everything could be set up with as little as £5000, which overall is low cost and therefore low risk.

Your Cooking Skills

This is your chance to make your mark. Whatever the type of cuisine you specialise in, when people start to love it, the word will spread and more opportunities will come your way.

Fulfil Your Passion

You can wave goodbye to the job you don’t love. If you have a passion for food then you can be outside and watch customers in delight as they eat your delicacies. Having your own catering kiosk also allows you to choose when and where you work.

Trends

Street food has already established itself in most of the UK, this business is forever growing and has no sign of slowing down. Some of the UK’s most popular and hippest eating hang-outs are street food markets – bursting with liveliness and flavour.

Low Rent

Rent is relatively cheap for most street food market spaces if you want to pitch up in one of these spaces. Pitches start from just £30 plus a percentage of your takings per day, which is a pretty affordable way of serving food.

How to Open Your Own Catering Kiosk

If you have been persuaded and you would like to know how to start a food kiosk business then follow these easy steps to help guide you.

Plan Your Business

Having a clear business plan will help you clarify how your business is going to stand out from the competition and bring customers in.

For your business plan think about the following points:

The kind of food you’re going to sell
What kind of customers do you want to attract
What is your unique selling point (USP)
The cost of set up, raw materials and equipment
Your menu and profit margins
How you’ll raise the upfront funding
Who your suppliers will be
Where do you hope to be pitched – permanent or temporary pop-up? E.g roadside, festivals, markets or private functions such as weddings
Licences you need
Branding – name/logo/packaging

Form a Legal Entity

Establish your business entity such as a Limited Company. This will protect you from being held personally liable if your food kiosk business is sued.

Register for Taxes

You will need to register your business for tax. Depending on the business structure you choose will depend on the different options for how your business will be taxed.

Open a Business Bank Account

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection. When your personal and business accounts are mixed your personal assets are at risk.

Obtain Necessary Licences

The right permits and licences will allow you to sell food in the street (if this is where you will be based). It is free to register and your registration cannot be refused. You should register your food business at least 28 days before you open it up to the public.

Do note if you are already trading and have not registered, you must do this as soon as possible.

Prepare Your Stall

Once you have found your spot to pitch your kiosk you should prepare your stall. An eye-catching stall will be beneficial to your business – along with the delicious aromas of course. Ultimately, if your food kiosk looks nice, it will help to attract customers to you before they have even smelt or seen your food.

Branding

Your branding should be seen. If you change locations your name will be all your customer has to remember you by.

Your customers should know clearly what you are selling, and having a menu on show is essential.

Carry your branding across all your social media and on your website so people remember you and you are easy to find when searched for on all social platforms. Nailing this could land you more bookings for private events.

Things to Bare in Mind

It may not all be smooth sailing as there are some things to bear in mind when thinking of opening your own catering kiosk.

Hard work – running a street food business is physically challenging. Early mornings and late nights and constantly carrying equipment amount can be a strain
Money – you can earn good money but it’s going to take time to develop your product, built up your customer base and get regular and profitable work
Competition – competition can be fierce and established street food kiosks have worked hard to get to where they are
Limited storage – with small space for a lot of stock, limit your opportunity for big profits
Improving your skills – it’s not just the cooking that is everything, you are going to have to learn marketing, stock control, HR, social media, bookkeeping, and the list goes on!

Big Kahuna

At Big Kahuna, we have a wide range of catering kiosks and other mobile catering solutions for you.

You can buy or hire plenty of options so if you wish to dip your toe in the water with catering kiosks we have ready-made businesses for you to hire, our full packages are ready for you to make a profit from.

From stalls or catering equipment, we have got it all. Contact us at Big Kahuna, if you would like any advice, we are always here and happy to help you with anything you might be looking for.

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