Start or Grow Your Business With a Mobile Coffee Cart

The mobile food industry continues to see strong growth, at an annualized rate of 6.4% since 2017 according to IBISWorld. It's no secret that many entrepreneurs and business owners are turning to more versatile, affordable, and mobile options when starting or growing their business.

A traditional brick-and-mortar location is no longer imperative to running a successful business, and the same goes for coffee shops. Whether you want to start a coffee business, expand an existing one, enhance customer service, or reach new customers with a unique experiential marketing tool, a mobile coffee cart could be a great option for you to consider.

Start a mobile coffee cart business

Coffee carts are a unique alternative to food trucks or brick-and-mortar coffee shops because they are accessible, scalable, and most of all mobile.

Whether you're looking to take your passion for coffee to the next level, or want to validate a coffee concept for your existing business, serving coffee from a mobile bar is an attractive new way to break into the coffee industry.

Accessible price point

Coffee carts offer unprecedented accessibility for businesses of all scales, with pricing for most carts starting under $5,000 ⁠— far below the $50,000-$175,000 one can expect to spend on a food truck buildout, according to Roaming Hunger. With fewer parts and no requirement for fuel, coffee carts also eliminate the majority of long-term maintenance costs that come with food trucks.

Because of their low cost and limited overhead, coffee carts provide plenty of great low startup cost business opportunities and profit-earning potential for aspiring entrepreneurs and experienced business owners alike.

Scalable platform and business model

Coffee carts provide a modular platform that's easily scalable for any growing business. Mobile bars for coffee are easily retrofitted for any need: start with a basic cart to open a mobile coffee bar for vending drip or pour over coffee, add an espresso-machine to serve a wide-range of craft coffee drinks, or add a tap system to serve cold brew on tap on hot Summer days. Coffee carts provide an adaptable platform that can stay relevant throughout your business' life.

And if your business outgrows its first coffee cart it's easy, and cost-friendly, to add counter space (and start your own mobile coffee fleet at the same time) with the purchase of additional carts. You can also easily turn your coffee cart into a platform for serving baked goods or a retail display to sell branded merchandise and your own coffee bean blend in a pop-up shop style format.

Mobile design

A coffee cart's smaller profile makes it far more maneuverable than a traditional food truck, opening up a world of possibilities when it comes to vending locations — and they can even be used indoors.

With their small footprint, a food cart setup for coffee can seamlessly fit into any space: from farmers markets and festivals, to weddings and private events; creating limitless sales opportunities where space makes a food truck prohibitive (there will also be plenty of room for your customers to line up when they can't get enough of your coffee).

Coffee carts can be set up and taken down more quickly than food trucks, so they're perfect for events that don't offer a lot of set-up and breakdown time. These quick set-up and breakdown times also give coffee carts the edge when it comes to moving between multiple locations in a single day. Provide customers with their Sunday-morning wake-up brew at the farmers' market, then take to the shore and give beachgoers an afternoon pick-me-up with craft iced coffee or cold brew on tap.

Grow your business with a mobile coffee cart

Whether you already have a brick-and-mortar coffee shop and want to reach new customers by taking your business mobile, you want to expand your catering business' service offerings to encompass coffee drinks, or you're looking to expand an existing mobile coffee fleet, coffee carts can offer a number of unique advantages for your business.

Reach new customers

Mobile coffee carts are a great tool for coffee shops looking to take their business mobile. Maybe you want to hand out craft coffee drinks at a local festival to bring new customers into your brick-and-mortar, or maybe you see an opportunity to capitalize on an underserved or expanding market; a coffee cart is an affordable way to grow your business and get your brand in front of more potential customers.

A coffee cart can even create mutual growth for you and other local businesses through collaborative use. Provide pop-up coffee shops within existing retail space of a partner business, then when you aren't using your cart, allow your partners to set up their own pop-up retail display within your coffee shop.

Or maybe you're looking to expand your business into new areas: food carts and mobile bars provide a low barrier to entry (and a truly unique experience) for catering weddings and private events.

Your only limit is where you can fit your cart (and our coffee carts have a footprint of only 32"W x 52"L, so that's pretty much anywhere).

Enrich your customers' experience

Mobile coffee carts are an attractive way to supplement your business initiatives or marketing efforts, even if you're not in the coffee industry.

Customer service

A pop-up coffee bar can be used as a unique customer service tool to add value for clients and enhance their experience. Coffee carts make it easy to add paid or complimentary food and beverage to any existing business.

If you're looking to increase your sales, quality customer service is key! Serving coffee provides a convenient way for your customers to get their caffeine fix while they're already in your business. And once your customers have a cup in hand, they're sure to shop longer while they sip. On top of that, providing complimentary coffee shows you care about your customers' needs and are willing to go the extra mile to provide them with excellent customer service.

Experiential marketing

Experiential marketing focuses on creating unique, branded experiences to encourage customers to interact on a more personal level with your brand. The goal of experiential marketing is to create a positive association with your brand to encourage customer loyalty and engagement.

A coffee cart can be a great way to supplement experiential marketing initiatives or branded activations. Setting up a coffee bar within your activation helps not only attract customers, but get them to stay longer — which could mean the difference in closing a sale. And most coffee carts are easily customizable so you can ensure they won't look out of place with the rest of your branding. Experiential marketing is all about crafting a memorable experience, and a mobile coffee cart could be just the thing to differentiate your brand and get your customers talking!

Mobile coffee carts from Bar a la Cart

Whether you're thinking about turning your passion for coffee into something more, or you're looking for a mobile solution to grow your existing business, a coffee cart is a great tool to set yourself up for long-term success. Our mobile bars and food carts offer a unique, cost-effective way to start a business, validate a concept, reach new customers, improve customer service, or create a memorable experience. Feel free to contact us if you're interested in learning more about our coffee cart solutions, or just want to say hi. We'd love to hear from you.