Revealed: the cost of setting up food truck in Dubai
Bespoke Trailers is a UAE-based company that manufactures mobile units for various business concepts
The cost of setting up a standard size food truck in Dubai is around $36,758 (AED135,000) on average, according to the co-founder of Bespoke Trailers, a UAE-based mobile unit manufacturer and retailer.
Speaking to Arabian Business, Jamal Wick said setting up food trucks which are smaller in size costs between $9,530 (AED35,000) to $16,337 (AED60,000), while rent space costs between $4,000 (AED15,000) to $6,800 (AED25,000) a month.
Wick founded the company in 2016 after failing to attract enough funding for a brick and mortar business.
The lower capital investment required to start a mobile unit allowed him to establish eight food trucks in Dubai including meat concept Sir Loin & Sons and Cuban eatery Cubano.
“We saw a wave of food trucks coming to the region and we couldn’t afford to go on full brick and mortar investment with big real estate developers in Dubai, because we had no funding for it. We thought food trucks require low capital investment and they’re trendy, cool and hip,” he said.
It was following the success of its F&B concepts, however, that the firm decided to focus on the manufacturing of mobile units in line with high market demand.
“We grew from being consultants to creating our own concepts. We’re involved in licensing, permits and more. We went to the manufacturing side because people kept asking about our food trucks when we attended events such as Formula 1 or Rugby Sevens. We currently present the concept via a showroom in Dubai,” he said.
The popularity of businesses on mobile units is rising among young entrepreneurs, as many opt for the cheaper option when compared to brick and mortar space, according to Wick, particularly Emirati females operating a business from home.
“At the moment, we see a lot of locals, especially female locals, approaching us to launch their pastry or dessert business which they operate from home, in order to test it and take it to a commercial level,” he said.
Corporate giants
The firm is also working with corporate giants including Majid Al Futtaim, Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Five Guys and Carrefour to create mobile unit branches.
“These companies are already established but want to grow their reach geographically without going full brick and mortar. Having mobile unit branches allows them to be flexible,” said Wick.
The firm operates under Flip Management & Consultancy, initially co-founded by Wick in 2014, with the intent of “flipping around failing concepts.”
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