Large Event Guidelines
The most common feedback from mobile food vendors following a large event is “We will never do that event again!”
The information below is intended to help those hosting large events to better understand the needs and preferences of mobile food vendors. The WA State Food Truck Association will not assist, support, or promote events that we feel charge excessively high vendor fees or have unreasonable vendor requirements.
Why? The food truck industry, like many others, was devastated by the Covid-19 crisis. Unfortunately, a lot of mobile food vendors went out of business permanently, and many of those who survived are still struggling to return to pre-Covid levels of business. Nationwide shortages of certain foods, restaurant supplies, and qualified labor, combined with skyrocketing costs across the board continue to negatively impact these hard-working small business owners. We are respectfully asking event hosts to keep all of this in mind when establishing event fees.
Below are some of our Large Event Guidelines:
Vendor fees and vendor requirements should be clearly posted and easily accessible. Vendors should NEVER be required to create an online account, or answer a series of questions, just to get access to basic information about vending at the event (e.g., vendor fess and rules). This practice is a huge waste of time, is unnecessarily invasive, and is very disrespectful to these hard-working small business owners. We strongly advise all food truck operators to avoid these kinds of events, without exception.
Vendors should either be charged a reasonable flat fee, or a percentage of gross sales, but NEVER both.
A reasonable flat fee, paid in advance, is always preferred. Flat fees are easy to calculate, easy to collect, and help vendors quickly assess the potential profitability of vending at an event. Conversely, percentage fees can be a hassle to collect, and they arguably penalize the most popular and successful vendors. If the event host is unwilling to share the vendors’ risk of vending (via a minimum sales guarantee), they should not be entitled to share in the profits.
Minimum Sales Guarantee – Is when the event guarantees a vendor a pre-established minimum dollar amount of sales. Example: The event guarantees that each food vendor will make at least $6,000 in gross sales while vending at the event. However, if a vendor only makes $5,500 in gross sales, the event will pay the vendor $500 to meet the minimum sales guarantee.
A percentage of sales fee should ideally be 10%, or lower, and should never exceed 15%. Events charging more than 10% of gross sales must offer a pre-established minimum sales guarantee.
A flat fee should not exceed $300/day. Events charging in excess of $300/day should always offer a minimum sales guarantee. Example: An event charging a $500 vending fee (based on 10% of gross sales), is anticipating $5,000 in total gross sales, and should therefore be willing to offer a $5,000 minimum sales guarantee.
Food trucks are very different from pop-up/tent style vendors and should not be charged by the foot.
Charging food trucks a reasonable fee for plug-in power is fine, as long as the power provided is sufficient to operate the mobile food unit throughout the vending service. If there are any restrictions regarding the use of gas-powered generators, either external or internal, those restrictions need to be made very clear to the vendors, well in advance of the event.
There must be a reasonable cancellation and refund policy. There are many circumstances beyond the control of the vendor (e.g., adverse weather, pandemics, food & supply shortages, etc.), which can force cancellations. A “No Refunds” policy is unacceptable.
Every effort should be made to reduce menu overlap. Competing menus reduce sales for individual vendors and disappoint customers. A good event will offer a wide variety of food options, with very little overlap.
Mobile food vendors need close and convenient parking for support & resupply vehicles, for trailer tow vehicles, and they need easy access to these vehicles throughout the event. Vendors should also not be blocked in or lose access to moving their mobiles. Please consider fire & safety.
It’s fine to book vendors for a multi-day event, however, if sales are lower than expected on the first day, vendors should never be required to vend any additional days, unless the event is offering a minimum sales guarantee. Vendor contracts that require vendors to remain for a prespecified number of days, regardless of event attendance or sales volume, are a huge red flag. Successful events never have problems with food vendors wanting to leave early, so they don’t need rules prohibiting vendors from leaving.
Event hosts should be tracking the sales data from previous years and be able to share this info with prospective vendors. Just telling them others sold out is too vague. A "sell out" could mean 60-customers for one vendor, or 260 to another. If they have previous sales data, they can estimate food prep amounts, it can help them decide if your event is one they want to participate in, and if they know the peak sales times, they can staff accordingly.
Beverage agreements are unpopular, burdensome, and limit the food vendors’ ability to offer appropriate and well-matched beverages with their specific cuisine. Customers don’t appreciate beverage limitations either, especially if they’re paying to attend the event.
In sum, the most common vendor complaints are regarding excessively high event fees and unreasonable vendor requirements. Event hosts would be well advised to start thinking of food vendors as partners, and not as sources of revenue.
Large Event Consulting
If you are having a difficult time booking high-quality and popular food trucks for your large event, or if you have questions about how best to incorporate food trucks into a successful event, we offer consulting for event hosts.
Large event consultation topics include, but are not limited to:
Assessing and selecting the event location.
Determining the appropriate number of food trucks for the event.
Determining the required number of portable restrooms & hand wash stations.
Determining the necessary amount of waste & recycling receptacles.
Determining the necessary amount of staff and volunteers needed.
ADA compliance.
Assessing the permitting & license requirements, specifically for the event.
Working with the local health department / current regulations.
Filing the Coordinator’s Checklist.
Working with city/county regulators / current regulations.
Working with the local fire authority / current regulations.
Appropriate and reasonable vendor fees, deposits, and refund policies.
Special event liability insurance.
Event security and emergency evacuation planning.
Overnight security and amenities for multi-day events.
Marketing, promotions, and social media.
Assessing food vendor contracts and service agreements.
Matching the cuisine options with the event.
Optimal ratio of savory and sweet vendors.
Alcoholic beverage vendors / current regulations.
Event sponsors and partners.
Event layout, vendor placement, and logistics.
Event furnishings, fencing, bollards, and safety barriers.
Event signage for safety and optimal flow.
Power options for vendors.
Gas-powered generators requirements and restrictions.
Recruiting the very best and most popular food vendors.
Types of vendors and/or event partners to avoid.
Retaining high-quality food vendors, year after year.
Event planner timeline & checklist.
Staff and volunteers (specific duties & schedules).
Load-in and pack-out requirements and guidelines.
Event entertainment.
Addressing unique vendor needs.
Guest safety, medical care, and emergency preparedness.
Charging an admission fee and/or using prepaid food tickets.
Rules for event attendees.
Attendee parking and traffic safety.
Event merch, promotional items, give-aways, and food competitions.
VIP’s and special guests.
Biodegradable vs. recyclable vs. compostable.
Planning for all weather conditions (heavy rain, high winds, and heat).
