Wraps Take a Tasty Turn: The challenges and opportunities in wrapping food trucks

When it comes to wrapping vehicles, most wide-format and signage providers are proverbial old hands at managing traditional cars, trucks, and vans — but did you know there are far more vehicle types out there to wrap? One category, in particular, that is a fast-growing opportunity is a very tasty morsel: food trucks.

In 2021, there are more than 24,000 active food trucks in the United States, serving up every type of cuisine possible — from hamburgers to ice cream, to Mexican, to mac & cheese. If you can dream it up, there is probably a food truck serving it somewhere. That push toward small, targeted, mobile restaurants on wheels has only been further fueled by popular media, such as Food Network’s ongoing “The Great Food Truck Race” program, which highlights different aspects of food truck life.

But for a food truck to find success — on television or on your local streets — it can’t just have a great concept with better-than-average food. It also must catch the eye and be memorable, so everyone who sees it drive by or parked on the side of the street will immediately recognize it. In 2020 the food truck space surpassed $1.2 billion in revenue, making it a very lucrative opportunity for those chefs that figure out the perfect combination. And that is where wide-format producers with an expertise in wrapping come into play.

Wrapping Food Trucks

Royal Tea Philadelphia food truck | Credit: Brands Imaging

For Brett Brand, operations manager at Philadelphia-based Brands Imaging, food trucks weren’t on his radar. In fact, he notes, “being located in one of the quickest gentrifying neighborhoods in Philly, food trucks found us, and not the other way around.”

For Christopher Zwirn, the owner of In Sight Sign Company, based in Chicago, the work came to him from someone seeing his company’s online portfolio, rather than being something he deliberately sought out. “The first food truck we ever did was for a company out of Milwaukee Wisconsin,” he notes. “He saw our work online with the good reviews and came all the way down to do business with us.”

One of the things they pointed out is that while wrapping the trucks themselves isn’t more challenging than any other type of vehicle, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, notes Brand, it can be difficult to juggle the timeline, especially if the truck is being created and built from scratch, which means the templates needed for the graphics panels can shift, and deadlines can be impacted.

Noah's Munchies Food Truck in Chicago | Credit: Sight Signs Company

Zwirn, on the other hand, notes that most of his work is on trucks that are already in use, which means they have a completely different set of challenges. “There is a lot of prep work cleaning-wise, and some have failing paint jobs or rust,” he says. “We are not a body shop, so we just make it clear in the first meeting what the realistic expectations should be on a technically non-wrappable surface.”

There are a few things to keep in mind when working with the customer and designer for food trucks as well. First, understand the difference between the “serving” side and the “non-serving” side — “they have very different needs,” notes Brand. Understanding what graphic elements need to be used in which areas can go a long way toward managing expectations and getting the right products into the right areas, considering the inside of the truck will often need to hold up to circumstances such as high heat, and be made of materials that can be cleaned and sanitized easily. Outside, the graphics need to withstand the weather conditions that any other wrapped vehicle will experience.

Zwirn stresses that keeping in mind the branding aspects is also a critical component of designing a food truck wrap. “Big, bold, and easy-to-read branding is the main part,” he notes, “but something that people will be able to recognize from a block away is a plus. As the public gets to know you, they can spot you from afar.” Food truck success is often built around that brand recognition and social media sharing, encouraging customers to be part of a community, and come visit whenever the truck is out and about, which means wraps that are bright, and easy to spot and distinguish from afar are key.

That said, “NEVER trust anyone’s measurements — do your own templates,” stresses Brand. And that is a piece of advice that Zwirn echoes, noting that every truck is different, so learning to make custom templates is a critical skill for a shop that wants to make food trucks a profitable segment of the vehicle wrap side of the business.

A Growing Segment

As restaurants have taken a hit in the COVID-19 era, many have looked to other ways to connect with and serve customers — and food trucks have been a popular and growing option. Whether it is established franchises looking to reconnect in a new way, or a local favorite looking for a way to keep the business afloat when the doors can’t open, food trucks are proving to be a very fast-growing market that printers can and should pay attention to.

“In the new COVID world it seems like a lot of restaurants are getting into the food truck game as a plan B for additional revenue,” says Zwirn. “It’s a smart move — if you can’t seat people inside, or even find staff, you can jump in the truck and go to where the hungry people are at and make some money.”

As the food truck industry continues to grow — with a growth rate of around 2.4% in 2021, and projected growth of 5.5% for 2022, outpacing traditional restaurants, which are projected to grow at around 4.3% — the need for wide-format printers to guide them through the process of creating and installing an eye-catching wrap will only continue to expand. Shops with a focus on food trucks, with the expertise to serve first-time food truck owners, will likely find this to be a very lucrative opportunity in the months to come.