I'm Shannon and I am a telecommunications major with a minor in business here at the University of Florida. Since I am pursuing a minor in business, I decided to go that route with my idea for this class as it is more entrepreneurship-like rather than telecommunications, in my opinion anyways.
My idea is a food truck behind midtown for late-night foodies. I am a waitress and have minimal experience with food, but what I think sets me apart is that I want the food to be on the healthier side. The name of my food truck is the Variety Van, which originates from the idea of the food changing on a weekly basis- such as Mexican one week and Asian the other. I will also be providing snacks for those who don't want a full meal.
My food truck is targeted at college students who are looking for late-night cravings. While some could use a snack from the library, others could be going out to the bars and get the drunchies (drunk munchies) and are looking for food. I think they would care about this because the food would be cheap and affordable, yet healthy all the same.
I think the healthy factor and variety aspect really sets me apart from my late-night competitors, Relish, Pita Pit, Jimmy Johns, and Flacos. I personally think all these elements fit together and there aren't really any aspects of my business concept that are weak. However, there was some feedback from my peers that got me thinking about a few more things.
One classmate liked the idea but doubted that drunk people would be craving healthy food. My only response to that is just because the food is healthy doesn't mean it won't be delicious! Food trucks are really trending right now, and I think the cheaper costs will help drive the business. Also, I don't predict all of my customers to be drunk.
Another classmate asked what location behind midtown I would put the food truck. That's something I've really been considering as there is a neighborhood behind midtown and traffic in the streets. If I could get the license to do so, I would put the food truck in the parking lot next to Cantina and where Shucks used to be. If you've never been to midtown, it's a smaller parking lot with 2 exits, and they normally block off one, which allows cars to still get through, and eliminates the possibility of a customer getting hit in the street. This same classmate also suggested that I extend my business to downtown as well. I welcome this idea considering a lot of Gainesville locals like to go out downtown, so I would be able to target both college students and normal Gainesville residents. This was my favorite suggestion, as I already feel like my business is growing!
Shannon, love the idea, especially the menu changes that you don't see in common food trucks. Have you considered having a single truck service the downtown area early in the day for the locals and moving the truck to midtown for the late night crowd? Might be efficient. I would guess that locals might be more apt to eat at a sit-down restaurant for dinner but would grab a quick bite for lunch whereas students would be more likely to submit to late-night munchies. Great job. Here is a link to my post: http://guntotinghippie.blogspot.com/2016/03/idea-napkin-no-2.html
ReplyDeleteHi, Shannon. This is a really cool idea and it's great that you received some helpful feedback on your pitch. I think that both midtown and downtown provide good locations for a food truck. I also appreciate how you are considering the safety of your patrons when looking for locations. That is a very thoughtful and important part of your business.
ReplyDeleteHere is the link to my blog post:
http://rolononariver.blogspot.com/2016/03/idea-napkin-no-2.html
I absolutely LOVE this idea! I cannot believe it does not exist already, because I cannot count the endless amount of times I have been at midtown and was craving something greasy and delicious, but more importantly, cheap! I am also obsessed with food, so maybe that is why I am so in love with this. I loved the execution of this pitch and i definitely think you proof-ready it well. I think our ideas are similar in that they mainly target college students because it is so relevant to us. Nice job! If you could take a second and check out my post, that would be awesome. Thanks! http://ufentlaurenday.blogspot.com/2016/03/idea-napkin-2.html
ReplyDeleteShannon,
ReplyDeleteFirst, congratulations on a great idea. Yes, food trucks are trending on college campuses at the moment so I would say it's great timing. However, I am not sure you would actually want to market your food truck for drunk college students. I also was confused as to why you would just target late night students (drunks as you called them) when you could use this truck to expand the college dining experience, and even late night food could use their college dining card for purchasing your food. To me, that would be an over-the-top truck for students.
One of the other things you might encounter is if you could work with the university and partner with them to have your truck on campus as an alternative dining option, they might like having some added value without having to plan it themselves. With that kind of promotion as a campus food truck, you would get free advertising, even though you might have to pay a parking fee, or pay a small portion of your revenue. But, then you could use that clout to get on campus at local community colleges, etc.
Great idea and all the best. Please check out my idea when you get time.
http://lindayahn.blogspot.com/2016/02/secondshot-at-idea-napkin-week9-you.html
Shannon,
ReplyDeleteFirst, congratulations on a great idea. Yes, food trucks are trending on college campuses at the moment so I would say it's great timing. However, I am not sure you would actually want to market your food truck for drunk college students. I also was confused as to why you would just target late night students (drunks as you called them) when you could use this truck to expand the college dining experience, and even late night food could use their college dining card for purchasing your food. To me, that would be an over-the-top truck for students.
One of the other things you might encounter is if you could work with the university and partner with them to have your truck on campus as an alternative dining option, they might like having some added value without having to plan it themselves. With that kind of promotion as a campus food truck, you would get free advertising, even though you might have to pay a parking fee, or pay a small portion of your revenue. But, then you could use that clout to get on campus at local community colleges, etc.
Great idea and all the best. Please check out my idea when you get time.
http://lindayahn.blogspot.com/2016/02/secondshot-at-idea-napkin-week9-you.html