Anyone who owns or manages a mobile food business knows how difficult it can be. Competition is tough, food prices change, and consumer preferences can quickly change. Mobile food vendors need all the advantages they can get to grow a sustainable mobile food business.

Thankfully, mobile food businesses got a welcome reprieve with the recent sudden and sharp decline of oil prices!

The effects of plummeting oil prices give many benefits to food truck entrepreneurs. The savings in diesel, propane, and gasoline expenses, are huge and will be felt every single time you fill up the fuel tank. Food trucks will have benefit even more compared to stationary restaurants.  Cheap fuel also decrease in prices of supplies and ingredients that mobile vendors use, as overall shipping costs decline. 

But fuel savings also increase the purchasing power of mobile food customers. According to the EIA (Energy Information Administration), the average US household will spend $550 less on gasoline in 2015 if oil prices remain low. That’s half a grand that consumers have burning in their pockets that may show up at your food truck.

At the moment, many believe that the price of oil will stay low for the coming months. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries stated that their production will remain the same for the next six months as they watch how the market behaves. As the current rising supply exceed the present weak demand, and if OPEC do not cut back on production in the following months, 2015 will be a great year for food truck businesses.

Mobile food vendors can leverage the low oil prices today to create lasting business opportunities With the savings gained from lower operating costs, food trucks can invest on their business by expanding the menu, replacing old equipment, or increase spending on marketing. Try new locations that are a further away but might yield higher sales.

This is also a good time to invest in your business and not just pocket any extra income.  When is the last time your food truck has spent some quality time with a mechanic?

Finally, one of the best way to take advantage of this reprieve is building an emergency fund for your mobile food business.

Predicting oil prices is always challenging. Hopefully the experts are right with their forecast of lower fuel prices staying well unto next year. Yet, despite the unpredictability of oil prices, there is something that food truck entrepreneurs really excel on and that is creating opportunities out of uncertain and challenging situations.

Food on a Truck hopes lower fuel prices stay and continue to benefit mobile food vendors!