Congratulations! You’ve got yourself a food truck—but guess what? You’re not the only one.The food truck industry has seen remarkable growth over the past few years, and for good reason. According to industry statistics, each food truck in the United States earns an average revenue of $290,556. That’s a lot of gyros, and it also means a lot of competition among food truck owners who are vying for a bigger piece of the pie.A passion for cooking and the drive to start your own business is all it takes to break into the food truck industry, but you’ll need to stand out if you want your food truck to be successful. The best way to attract new customers and separate your truck from the dozens of others on the same street is with a professionally-installed vinyl wrap. A good truck wrap design can transform your rolling kitchen into a rolling work of art. But before you jump head-first into the world of vinyl food truck wraps, there are a few things you need to consider.To help you along the way, we’ve put together this “checklist” of sorts to guide you through the process of designing and installing a food truck wrap.

Step 1: Develop a Brand Identity

The first thing to consider is how you want people to look at your business and the food you serve. Should they perceive it as fusion? Exotic? Classic? The choice is yours. Your brand identity is like a theme for your business, both in style and in tone, and having the right brand identity can go a long way. Not only will it help set the groundwork for all marketing and advertising efforts relating to your food truck, but it will also help make your truck more visible and recognizable around town.Pro Tip: Incorporate the cuisine you serve into the branding for your food truck, which might mean using the colors of the flag where your food comes from or images associated with the dishes or treats you offer.

Step 2: Create Your Brand Image

Your brand image is what people will picture when they think of your food truck—more specifically, the logo and slogan. The logo is the direct image that represents your business. A great tool to get started is Adobe Illustrator. It’s easy to use and produces high-quality images, allowing you to design a professionally-looking logo instead of sketching something out on your computer’s basic paint program.When designing a logo, focus on a large, central image rather than many smaller ones. You only have a few seconds or less to grab a customer’s attention, so make sure your logo can be grasped quickly. A great logo should also convey a message about your food truck, like the type of cuisine you serve up or the difference between you and your competitors.If you feel like designing a logo is a bit too daunting, you can always hire a graphic designer. It never hurts to get a little professional help, and designers are well versed in best practices regarding colors, fonts, images, placement, and other important logo considerations for food trucks.Pro Tip: Make sure all food truck imaging effectively communicates the type and quality food you sell to stimulate appetites and attract customers who are looking for just what you’re offering.

Step 3: Tie It All Together

Now it’s time to create the overall design for your food truck. As mentioned before, hiring a graphic designer doesn’t hurt, but if you want to tackle this on your own (even just taking the first few steps), you’ll need a template tool to get started. StudioFluid offers a free food truck wrap template for use with Adobe Illustrator. At the very least this is a good tool to help you brainstorm ideas and present your vision to a commercial vehicle wrap installer who can help to extract and refine the idea you have for your food truck.When designing a wrap for your food truck, use eye-catching colors that will help you stand out and get noticed. Contrasting colors can be used to draw attention to your logo and slogan, which will help build brand recognition and ultimately grow your food truck business. Speaking of the logo and slogan, these should be prominently displayed on both broad sides of the truck if possible. As far as text goes, be sure to include important contact information like your phone number, email, web address, and social media information.Pro Tip: Depending on the size and complexity of your menu, try to incorporate in the vehicle wrap (placed near the ordering window, obviously) to give your food truck a more polished and professional look

Step 4: Your Branded Food Truck is Born

It doesn’t matter if you’ve designed the best truck wrap in the world if you attempt to cut corners when it comes time to install the wrap. There are a lot of places you can save money as a business owner, but attempting DIY food truck wrap installation is not one of them. Wrapping a food truck is no easy task, and it takes highly skilled and experienced hands to make sure the finished job looks great.Pro Tip: Before you roll your food truck in to be wrapped, touch up any chipped paint and repair the truck’s body where needed to give the vinyl wrap installers the best possible canvas to work with.If you want to be the envy of food truck owners in South Florida, contact Auto Super Shield to learn about our commercial vehicle wrap design and installation services. Our workmanship, customer service, attention to detail, and high-quality materials are what set us apart from the competition. Contact us to get started on a custom vinyl food truck wrap today!