Portable concession stands are an iconic and integral part of any fair, carnival, outdoor event, or gathering. They’re right up there alongside rides in terms of importance! An outdoor event wouldn’t be complete with the tasty food, friendly service, and nostalgic imagery that comes along with portable concession stands. And for concession stand owners, operators, and staff members or employees, portable concession stands often double as portable office containers or a mobile office containers in which non-food related business can be handled. Just think; some of your favorite foods and sweet treats probably come from container pop up shops, so it’s easy to see why they’re popping up all over the place and are no longer restricted to fairs, carnivals, and outdoor events.
Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, competition among portable concession stands is getting fierce. While old stand bys such as hot dogs, hamburgers, candy apples, cotton candy, and fried dough are still widely popular and appreciated, they aren’t enough on their own in order to keep customers engaged. If you’re interested in running portable concession stands or already do and are interested in ways in which you can stand out from the crowd, you may want to considering expanding the kind of food you serve in order to generate buzz and keep customers coming back for more.
Take a look at these examples of popular food items that portable concession stands can use in order separate themselves from the competition and generate more revenue.
Go green, really green
Whether it’s vegetarian, strictly vegan, or a combination of the two kinds of diets and lifestyles, plant based foods are all the rage and for good reason. Not only are they incredibly tasty, delicious, and nutritious, but they’re also extremely affordable and versatile in terms of recipe ideas, flavors, and cooking techniques. You’d be surprised how you can vegetarianize or veganize concession stand favorites such as hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries, blooming onions, fried mushrooms, and more. Since plant based diets have become so popular nowadays, serving up veg-friendly foods is a surefire way to expand your customer base and increase revenue.
Go organic
These days consumers are more informed about what’s in their food than ever before and are demanding that their food be of the utmost quality. That means no harsh herbicides, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers. And with growing concern over genetically modified crops, more and more people are choosing organic produce and foot items over standard or traditional varieties. As such, more and more restaurants and food venues, including food trucks and concession stands, are serving up more organic food items in order to better accommodate their guests. Taking the plunge and going organic is worth the initial investment and will keep customers coming back for more.
Go cultural
Although American staples such as hamburgers, hot dogs, corn dogs, fries, and nachos will always be popular food items at concession stands, more concession stand owners are deciding to branch out and incorporate more cultural food items from different countries. Taking inspiration from street foods sold in various countries can go a long way in terms of generating buzz about your concession stand and attracting customers. Asian fusion foods, Caribbean inspired dishes, Latin finger foods, and other cultural favorites have found their way onto the American food scene and into the hands and mouths of hungry Americans.
Go local
Sustainability and supporting the local economy is important for many conscious consumers. Supporting local farmers and vendors is an excellent way to contribute to the financial well being of the local economy while also making a great impression on customers. In addition local produce tends to be fresher, taste better, is more affordable, and helps you to forge strong professional relationships with local vendors.