America’s food trucks nearing $3 billion business, but it’s rough road
Food trucks have increased in visibility and influence, but the path to success is becoming increasingly difficult. According to a IBIS latest reportFood trucks are approaching the $3 billion annual revenue mark at more than 92,000 businesses in the U.S. and are expected to continue growing over the next five years. But once viewed as a feeble alternative to traditional restaurants, today’s mobile kitchens are tackling many of the financial pressures facing traditional restaurants. While the total number of food trucks is expected to increase by 17% in the coming years, IBIS estimates that revenue growth in 2025 will be only 0.2% and will be in decline.
More cities are embracing food trucks due to a variety of factors, including consumers’ growing demand for innovative, affordable food options, return-to-the-office mandates, and bureaucratic easing of regulations. But inflation and tariffs mean operators face rising costs, from transport to ingredients, and often risk pushing menu prices towards breaking point for consumers.
For trucks, it’s not just imported foodstuffs, but also new tariffs on imported aluminum and steel in trucks and equipment.
It was observed that menu prices in fast food and casual restaurants increased by 5%. According to a recent study, items that were once under $10 now cost an average of $11.56. Lending Tree report, and food consumers are pushing back. Chipotle recently reported weak results that sent its shares lower, and that’s at least partially attributable to consumer perceptions about rising overall menu prices hurting sales, executives said on this week’s earnings call.
“This hits us hard,” said Angel Ruiz, general manager of Birria-Landia, a New York City-based food truck that launched in 2019. “The prices of some materials are increasing by around 30 percent,” he said. “We are trying to balance these costs so that it does not affect the customer’s pocket,” he added.
Queens-based food truck recently named the second-best taco spot in America Barkrecently increased prices by 12.5%.
Some experts say the idea that food trucks are inherently cheaper has always been false. Social media-savvy food trucks with unique menus can lead customers to and from the counter at premium prices.
“The mainstream food truck, with its branding, executions and culinary innovations, is always priced at $10 and up,” said Sandipan Sen, professor of marketing at Southeast Missouri State University. “Typically, food trucks are somewhere between fast food and a reasonably priced fine dining restaurant.”
In his view, a one or two dollar increase in the menu due to cost pressures won’t be a deal breaker for many food truck enthusiasts. “Commercial food trucks were never intended to just be cheap,” he said.
Low start-up costs but major logistical hurdles
Cities are becoming friendlier to food trucks as an established part of local culture, and more events are being designed with food trucks in mind. But despite relatively low startup costs compared to restaurants, operating a food truck comes with major logistical hurdles. “A lot of people think it’s easy,” Ruiz said. “But the truck itself can cost $160,000 to $170,000 plus permits and insurance.”
Industry estimates put truck costs at $120,000 to $200,000.
Besides purchasing the truck, managing one can drain operators’ wallets before they even open it to sell their first meal. In fact, “The biggest misconception people have is that a food truck is a cheap restaurant on wheels,” said co-founder and president Ben Goldberg New York Food Truck Association. “You’re talking about running a mobile restaurant: buying the truck, outfitting the truck with kitchen equipment, getting all kinds of insurance and health department permits,” Goldberg said.
Bureaucracy can be a significant challenge. “Between health department requirements, commissioner regulations, parking restrictions, fire suppression standards and individual event permits, the process can be overwhelming,” Goldberg said. “On top of that, there are parking challenges, staffing complexities, and many other pitfalls when competing in some of the busiest and most regulated cities in the country.”
“You have to make sure you get your spot every night. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don’t,” Ruiz said, explaining that the only way to make sure you get your spot is to park your car there during the day.
“They need to have a backup plan for everything,” said Sen. “If the head chef gets sick, who is running the show that day? They need to train backup staff to run operations.”
It’s not uncommon for a food truck to be a one-person business. They also face commuting and seasonal challenges. Sen said, “If the existing routes do not work on a certain day, they need to back up their street routes. They need to cooperate with complementary businesses, especially during the winter months.” he said. He added that the use of technology and social media, in particular, was key to finding a way to operate during the winter months when “there aren’t as many crowds waiting to be served.”
Combining restaurant and mobile food business models
There was a time in the history of the food truck industry when Goldberg said businesses were built strictly around affordable options, but he said “the industry has evolved.”
Quality, creativity and access are more important to consumers now, and “while prices have increased somewhat in recent years (due to inflation, tariffs, etc.), a food truck lunch is still less expensive than the average quick service or sit-down meal in New York City,” he said.
While profit margins for food trucks averaged 5% between 2020 and 2025, according to IBIS, some food truck owners have turned to catering or special event service to diversify their business, shifting the “accessible” dining model to fit the current situation, helping to keep street pricing accessible by supplementing core truck sales with weddings, corporate events and partnerships, according to Goldberg.
“Your truck isn’t just your kitchen; it’s your brand. Think about design, customer experience and storytelling from day one. A great food truck doesn’t just serve food; it creates moments people will remember and share,” said Goldberg. And extending this brand to events becomes more critical to sales success. “Many of our most successful members generate the majority of their income from special events, brand activations and catering, not from street sales,” Goldberg said.
Traditional restaurant and truck models are also converging in some cases, Birria-Landia among them. He plans to open his own facility first brick and mortar location at the Tangram Shopping Center, which houses retail, dining and entertainment in Flushing, Queens.
This should come as no surprise, according to Sen: “Most [food truck] Startups that have survived more than five years either have a brick-and-mortar presence or were originally a brick-and-mortar restaurant and the food truck is an offshoot of that,” he said. “Food trucks are not a long-term business,” he said. “Don’t be surprised if your favorite food truck goes bankrupt or decides to go brick-and-mortar or expands into a catering service.”
IBIS says “American” cuisine remains the largest driver of annual food truck revenue, at nearly $1.3 billion, followed by dessert trucks, Central and South American cuisine, and Asian cuisine. Fusion trucks that blend Asian and Mexican cuisines, such as Roy Choi’s Kogi BBQ and New York’s Korilla BBQ, are also trending.
Goldberg says food trucks often pioneer new cuisines. “Trucks are where you can find mashups, global flavors, and seasonal specialties that you can’t always find in brick-and-mortar locations. So while affordability and convenience remain essential, the experience: discovering something new, dining al fresco, connecting directly with the chef is what makes food trucks so special today,” he said.
“It takes a lot of work. You just have to be passionate and careful,” said Ruiz, who has worked in the restaurant industry for two decades. “If you cook good food, there will always be people coming back.”
But the first step to ultimate success is blocking and overcoming the business model. “Success starts with understanding the economics of your concept, local demand and operational logistics,” Goldberg said.
