Coffee on wheels: a coffee truck business plan

Coffee is one of the most popular food truck concepts: a short menu, little equipment, high margins and fast service. Below is how to put together a simple coffee truck business plan. The numbers here are examples only — plug in prices from your own city.

1. Concept and menu

A coffee truck needs only 8–12 menu items: espresso, americano, cappuccino, latte, raf, tea, cold drinks and 2–3 desserts. A short menu means faster service, less waste and simple accounting.

2. Start-up costs

• Truck or kiosk (a compact model is usually enough for coffee)
• Professional coffee machine and grinder
• Fridge, water system, sink
• Branding — logo, colours, menu panel
• Permits and registration
• First month of supplies: coffee, milk, cups

3. Monthly costs

• Supplies — coffee beans, milk, syrups, cups and lids
• Location fee (if any)
• Barista wages
• Electricity, water and other utilities
• Taxes and advertising

4. Working out payback

The core formula is simple: daily revenue = customers per day × average ticket. Monthly profit = monthly revenue − supplies − monthly costs. Divide your start-up investment by monthly profit to get the payback period in months.

Example (hypothetical numbers): 80 cups a day at an average ticket of 25,000 soum is 2,000,000 soum a day, or about 52 million soum a month (26 working days). Subtract supplies, wages, location fees and other costs to get net profit. For a real estimate, check prices and foot traffic in your own city.

5. Choosing a location

Coffee sells best in the morning and at lunch. Try spots near universities, business centres, bus stops, parks and markets. Watch foot traffic for 1–2 weeks: how many people pass per hour, and is coffee already sold nearby.

6. Ways to grow revenue

• Loyalty card — "6th coffee free"
• Combo deals: coffee + dessert
• Seasonal menu: cold drinks in summer
• Taking part in events and exhibitions
• A good-looking truck on Instagram — free advertising

Which truck suits coffee

For coffee, people most often choose the Baaz Classic (compact, 3.5 × 2.0 m), Baaz Retro Black and Baaz Cube (a premium coffee boutique look). We build the truck, coffee station and branding in one place — leave a request or call +998 55 500 66 60.