Food Truck Cost in India: A Complete Breakdown

‘How much does it cost to start and run a food truck in India?’ 

is a hot topic all over India. Visionary brand owners, hungry for new ways to expand and grow business are asking. Young pioneers, ready to embrace the future of the food industry are asking.

If you too are one of the above, curious about the potential, costs, and pitfalls, and want a real operator’s opinion, I extend to you an exclusive invitation.
Mobile kitchens or Food PODs, which are the future of food trucks, are revolutionizing the way brands can reach customers and elevate the brand’s presence across India. Welcome to the world of mobile restaurant chains with HungryWheels!

We will cover some known and some hidden costs. Starting a food truck business in India is an exciting venture but comes with its own set of challenges and costs, hence we built Food PODs. Before you begin, understanding the full spectrum of expenses involved is crucial for a successful launch. This guide breaks down every aspect of the costs involved in starting and operating a food truck in India. Wherever there are advantages with a Food POD, we have mentioned those for you to make an informed decision.

Components of the Total Cost

Starting a food truck in India is an exciting venture but comes with its own set of challenges and costs, hence we built Food PODs. Before you begin you must understand the full spectrum of expenses involved is crucial for a successful launch. This guide breaks down every aspect of the costs involved in starting and operating a food truck in India. Wherever there are advantages with a Food POD we have mentioned those for you to make an informed decision.

1. Vehicle Purchase

• Small mistakes with big costs
  The food truck price in India will increase with the size of your truck. A smaller truck means lesser cost but also lesser space. Tata Ace food trucks or a 3-wheeler Bajaj or Piaggio auto has 25 square feet of usable space, positioning your brand similarly to a street-food thela. Larger trucks like TATA 407 or Eicher provide 50-60 square feet of usable space, designed to carry heavy goods carrier truck cargo, and come with a heavy price tag.
• Do more with 150 square feet
  Who doesn’t want more for less? A 150 square feet vehicle is business-friendly, accommodating 4-6 staff and offering more equipment and storage. This allows for a broader food truck menu, faster service, and higher sales. HungryWheels recommends a purpose-built vehicle with 150 square feet for scaling your food truck business in India effectively.
• Make it large with 1000 cubic feet

  A TATA Ace food truck or a 3-wheeler Bajaj or Piaggio auto has approximately 180 cubic feet of usable space. Trucks like TATA 407 or Eicher provide 360-400 cubic feet of usable space, as they are designed for dense and heavy cargo. Outside malls and expensive restaurants, the volume of demand is exponential and comes in waves. Choose a vehicle based on how large your business appetite is and how many thousands you want to serve. Autos, tempos, and trucks are great for carrying potatoes and onions, but they lend you the wrong image—too old and foggy to attract youth. Choose your vehicle to match your brand image, and lastly, pick a customer-friendly and purpose-built vehicle that has proven its mettle in mobile retail and does not limit you as cargo trucks do.

  If you are serious about doing business and brand growth, we recommend 1000 cubic feet of usable space. With 1000 cubic feet, you can hold more raw materials for longer, more packing materials for high-demand service, and more—benefiting you by reducing your daily replenishment costs and allowing you to service large crowds without additional costs. Make it large with 1000 cubic feet, do more without adding any extra costs, without extra equipment, and without needing additional vehicles. This ensures your food truck operations are streamlined, saving on overall food truck expenses and reducing the need for frequent replenishments, allowing you to serve more customers.

2. Logistics Trucks Need Bodies:

• New Logistics Truck:
  A new truck comes with just a chassis and never comes with a body, you need a body inside which your kitchen, cooking equipment and staff will go. You will need an approved company to make the body, to get road approval. Truck bodies cost from Rs. 6Lakhs – 14Lakhs. These bodies can be made from low-quality iron and non-food grade interiors or long-lasting Aluminium with FSSAI-approved SS 304 interiors. Investing in the right body materials can mean the difference between a 2-3 years like v/s a 15-30 years like and high-resale value for your vehicle.
• Old Logistics Truck:
  We recommend ensuring a thorough inspection and buying a good-condition body that suits your brand. Logistics bodies are made from low-quality iron. If your old truck doesn’t have a body or a body that won’t last, you will again need an approved company to make a new body to get road approval. These truck bodies cost the same from Rs. 6Lakhs – 14Lakhs.Disclaimer: HungryWheels Food PODs do not need bodies, so you spend Rs.0 on this item, plus every mobile Food POD comes with premium aircraft Aluminium that lasts a lifetime.

3. Design

• Kitchen Design Cost:
  Designing a functional and efficient kitchen is essential for making profits. HungryWheels approved kitchen designer’s fees can range from ₹50,000 to ₹2,00,000. As patience is thin when a customer is out for a walk or on the streets, our approved kitchen designer’s build to deliver an order in under 5 minutes. MNC and large Indian brands get service timings right at the start in design stage. They know doing jugaad harms business as it slows down cooking and delivery speeds. When there are hundreds of hungry customers waiting, delays are the last thing you want. A brick-and-mortar kitchen designer’s fees can range from ₹2,00,000 to ₹10,00,000 depending on the appliances and customizations required.
• Branding Cost
  A clear, friendly and bold brand is vital for standing out in the hyper-competitive Indian street with 1000s of signage at every corner. To achieve this, you must choose a vehicle with maximum branding space, from 360 at eye level to the roof. Branding designer’s cost including logo design, signage, and online presence, can range from ₹50,000 to ₹5,00,000, depending on the experience of the creator. If you already have these and are an established brand, the costs are zero. Then you need to focus on the exterior wrapper.
• Designing the Exterior Wrapper
  First impressions are the last impressions, a visually appealing exterior wrap is crucial for attracting customers. If your truck looks boxy like all trucks do, it diminishes customer appeal and leaves you with only 40% brandable area compared to a Food POD. We recommend using professional wrapping services that can last up to 3 years – they typically charge between ₹1,00,000 and ₹3,00,000. Alternatively, to optimize costs you can begin by choosing a bright and happy colour for your exterior and put a LED signboard that costs between ₹50,000 and ₹90,000 depending on the number of letters, size and technology you choose.

4. Costs Based on Truck Sizes

The size of your food truck will determine costs both visible and invisible. The invisible costs are your business scale, your cuisine limits, your menu items, your branding space and of course your expenses. Larger trucks can accommodate more equipment and staff, increasing both initial and operational costs. Smaller trucks seem less costly but cost exponentially in terms of how they limit your sales.

• FSSAI Standard Kitchen Furniture
  Equipping your truck with necessary kitchen furniture is the key to staff health and ergonomics, FSSAI-approved hygiene and world-class material science standards. This means you must always choose Stainless Steel 304 furniture only, as anything else will rust and contaminate food, also increase risks of lockdowns during FSSAI audits – kitchen furniture should cost you between ₹1,50,000 (non-standard jugaad) and ₹7,50,000 (FSSAI Standard), depending your final Kitchen Design it can be lesser for FSSAI Standard kitchen too.
• Custom Cooking Equipment
  Once you have got your Kitchen Design, it is time to equip your mobile restaurant with the right kitchen appliances. There are many elements to this decision and here we recommend a 100% electrical kitchen only. A safe and flameless electric kitchen will need items like an induction cooktop, induction grill, fat fryer, refrigerator, industrial grade exhaust hood and hand wash sink,  plus storage for packaging and other raw materials, and potable water – getting this right can cost between ₹2,50,000 and ₹25,00,000, and this depends on your brand. At HungryWheels we collaborate with our clients and install equipment provided by their trusted vendors.

5. Compliance costs

• Insurance Options
  Insurance for your vehicle, insurance for your kitchen equipment, and insurance for your staff is vital for protection against accidents, theft, and liability. Costs can range from ₹10,000 to ₹50,000 annually, depending on coverage. Please note all HungryWheels Food PODs come with pan-India valid insurance. Benefits of ‘India’s first mobile real-estate POD’.
• RTO Number Plate
  Most people in India are doing jugaad, they are not getting road-worthy vehicles from jugaad fabricators whose responsibility ends once you leave their workshop gate. Obtaining RTO licenses is mandatory, and now you need a commercial HSRP number plate, your cost will increase with your truck tonnage size. We recommend getting a two-year registration, with national permits, so you can choose where you may roam and this can cost around ₹20,000 to ₹50,000. Please note all HungryWheels Food PODs come with two years of valid commercial HSRP number plates and two years of valid national permits. Go further!
• FSSAI Compliance
  Adhering to FSSAI standards is mandatory. Registration costs between ₹2,000 and ₹7,500, ensuring food safety and hygiene compliance. You can apply online and – you are deemed to have been given the license on the date of application. All Food PODs come with FSSAi approved and compliant kitchens, making it easy peasy to get a license and face no issues in audits.
• Local Body Licenses
  Licensing requirements vary by city, municipalities need permits and trade licenses for business, health certificate, FSSAI certificates, Insurance, RTO registration, and fire (if you do a gas kitchen). All cities do not allow trucks legally, but for HungryWheels Food PODs all cities including metros like Mumbai and Delhi have relatively clear and transparent application processes, with costs ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹30,000. Our on-ground teams facilitate permits for Food PODs only pan-India.
• Parking Permit/Space Costs
  Securing parking for your food truck can be a tedious task, and frankly is a deterrent for almost anyone looking to begin. It is because on the streets jugaad food trucks get heckled as much as street food vendors, and why not? When you build a jugaad kitchen on a non-approved vehicle with no RTO approval just a jugaad NOC, no FSSAI, and no local body compliance and to beat it all – operate with gas – what’s the difference between your high and mighty brand v/s a street-food vendor? At HungryWheels we provide parking and permits. Monthly costs for parking Food POD (future of Food Trucks) can be between ₹1,200 and ₹20,000, depending on the location. In some private locations, the owners may also charge or only charge ‘revenue share’ – this can vary from 2-18% of your gross sales per month.

6. Mobility costs

• Cost Per Move or Cost Per Km
  Every food truck owner must watch their Cost Per Move or Cost Per Km. This usually involves hiring a driver with a salary of Rs.15,000 to Rs.35,000 per month for one driver plus ESI and PF. In case your business hours need two shifts – that’s a total of Rs.30,000 to Rs.70,000 per month plus ESI and PF. Additionally, you can expect fuel costs at a mileage of around 7-10kmpl for trucks, at today’s cost of diesel Rs.100/litre the fuel cost alone is ₹7-₹10 per kilometre, with the average truck moving 50-100 km per day.
• Truck Maintenance Costs
  Maintaining your truck is crucial, especially as it ages. Annual maintenance can cost between ₹30,000 and ₹1,00,000. You will need to add service cost, tyre change costs to cost per km. And if you move less than 50 km per day, you can be sure that from year 3 onwards the cost of engine and battery maintenance will make it unviable to move, as break-downs will increase and the downtime will cost your business sales – you won’t be able to show up at your parking. Benefits of Food PODs: Rs.600 maintenance cost per annum for 10 years. Zero downtime due to engine or mechanical issues for 30 years.

7. Operations costs:

• Raw Material Costs
  Raw materials form a recurring expense, and see a 15-day capital cycle – that means you can recover your raw materials investment every 15 days, meaning you do not need to keep pumping this money in time and again. Monthly costs for raw materials are usually calculated as a percentage of sales and can vary between 10-40% (for imported items) and the cost of raw materials can vary from ₹50,000 to ₹2,00,000 depending on the menu and volume of sales. You can generate your business plan in one click with our A.I. Business Planner.
• Marketing Costs
  Effective marketing is essential and is the backbone of a good business and brand today. With digital becoming transparent and marketing becoming location-centric, you can use geo-fencing to let those nearby walk up to you and buy your wares – you can Google, Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp and more depending on what your target audience is hooked onto. We recommend allocating 2-5% of sales or ₹20,000 to ₹1,00,000 monthly for social media, online ads, and promotional events. It is advisable to take calls as per your brand guidelines.
• HR Costs and Retention Issues
  No one likes talking about it, but it’s every foodpreneur’s dinner table talk and the stuff Freudian nightmares are made of. Hiring and retaining skilled staff is challenging when your friendly neighbourhood restaurant can buy loyalty for Rs.500/ month. This is when the excitement of moving with a restaurant-grade Food POD mobile kitchen, the coolness of being recognized as the genius chef behind the counter, and the joy of watching customers smiling during customer service, participation in events from inside a super Instagram-friendly Food POD and not to mention the awesome comforts of being in the best place to work on wheels come in handy. Monthly salaries range from ₹10,000 to ₹25,000 per staff member. Investing in staff welfare can improve retention and HungryWheels Food PODs are built for Health, Safety, Security and Energy efficiency that makes staff life a breeze.

Financing Options- Various financing options are available for HungryWheels Food PODs, including bank loans, NBFCs, and crowdfunding. Interest rates and terms vary, so it’s essential to choose the best option.

Where to Buy Food Trucks- Food trucks can be purchased only from the showrooms of specialized OEM manufacturers like TATA, EICHER, or BAJAJ etc. Then you need to go and get them customised by a jugaad body-builder. Body-builder prices and quality vary, so thorough research it is crucial. HungryWheels does not sell trucks, we only sell 100% compliant and ready to ‘Plug-n-play’ Food PODs.

Unit Economics- Understanding the unit economics of any mobile kitchen helps in pricing your menu and managing costs effectively. Consider factors like cost per meal, average order value, and profit margins. Calculating and optimizing unit economics in a food truck involves analyzing the cost of goods sold (COGS), operating expenses, and revenue per unit sold. Start by determining the COGS, including ingredients and packaging, then add fixed costs like labour, EMI, parking fees and utilities to get the total cost per unit. Subtract this from the selling price to find the gross profit per unit. To optimize, focus on reducing COGS by negotiating with suppliers, minimizing waste, and streamlining operations. Increasing sales through marketing, menu optimization, and strategic location planning can also boost profitability. Regularly review these metrics to ensure sustainable growth.

After-Sales Issues- Non-standard or old trucks, jugaad body-builders, non-standard kitchen furniture, and custom fabricated equipment can lead to high after-sales costs, service issues and operational downtime. Choose reliable vendors to minimize these problems. Use approved vehicles. Choose FSSAI compliant kitchen suppliers. Choose Food PODs – and rest in peace.

Hidden Expenses- Hidden costs such as emergency repairs, fines, and unexpected downtime can affect your budget. Allocating a contingency fund is advisable. Operating a food truck involves hidden costs that can impact profitability. These include maintenance and repair expenses for the truck, insurance premiums, fuel costs, parking fees and harassment money as you won’t have necessary permissions from FSSAI/ RTO/ INSURANCE. Additionally, food trucks often require special permits and licenses, which can add to the overall expenditure. A Food POD on the other hand can help reduce these costs significantly. Food PODs generally have lower insurance premiums and maintenance costs, as they do not require an engine or fuel. They can also be parked in one location for extended periods, minimizing parking fees and the need for constant relocation. Moreover, Food POD often qualify for lower licensing fees, have zero to no harassment as they are FSSAI, RTO, and INSURANCE compliant and can be towed by a personal vehicle, reducing transportation costs. By choosing a Food POD, operators can cut down on these hidden expenses, improving their bottom line and allowing for greater investment in quality ingredients and marketing efforts, ultimately enhancing their business success.

Cost of Starting a Food Truck v/s QSR v/s Cloud Kitchen v/s Mall Food Court Kiosk:

Psst… Psst… A food POD is affordable compared to everything above.

Why Choose a Food POD Over Brick-and-Mortar Options?

1. Flexibility and Mobility
   Food PODs provide unparalleled flexibility. In today’s work-from-home era and fluctuating customer demands, Food PODs can move to high-demand areas, reducing dependence on fixed locations and increasing sales opportunities.
2. Lower Initial and Operating Costs
   The initial and operating costs for Food PODs are significantly lower than Food Trucks, and traditional brick-and-mortar options, making them a more viable choice for new and scaling Franchisors, and entrepreneurs.
3. Overcoming Real Estate Challenges
   High rentals and limited space in prime locations are common challenges for restaurants. Food PODs bypass these issues, offering a more scalable business model.

   Food PODs offer a smart investment for aspiring food entrepreneurs in India due to their flexibility, lower costs, and ability to overcome real estate challenges. As the demand landscape continues to evolve, food trucks allow for closer proximity to customers without the burden of high rentals and limited space.

“Retail is Mobility.”

Frequently Forgotten Points (in case you didn’t have the patience to read the full thing.)

1. What are the hidden costs of operating a food truck?
   • Hidden costs can include emergency repairs, fines, and unexpected downtime, and smaller vehicles mean more replenishment costs.
2. Are second-hand food trucks a good option?
   • They can save initial costs but may lead to higher maintenance expenses. Ensure thorough inspections before purchasing.
3. How do Food POD costs compare to traditional restaurants?
   1. Food POD generally have lower initial and operating costs compared to QSRs, fine-dine restaurants, cloud kitchens, and mall kiosks. They are also more affordable v/s Food Trucks.