Food Truck Industry Trends and Statistics in 2025

Food trucks existed for a long time before the 2000s. But with restaurateurs looking to alternate ways to kickstart their businesses and the advent of social media, food trucks have quite literally exploded over the last few decades. 

They offer food truck owners the opportunity to share original food concepts with a wider audience. Mobile food service brings a high degree of flexibility to how you can operate and connect with your community – both in person and through online marketing.

And while the restaurant industry is an ever-changing space, the food truck business continues to grow and change alongside the larger industry. Representing a $1.8B market in the U.S. in 2024, the growth rate of the food truck industry is only expected to rise in the coming years.

With continued interest expected for food truck businesses, we want to take a closer look at industry statistics and emerging food truck trends. Whether you are a first-time food truck owner or a seasoned veteran, read on to learn more about what is happening in the evolving world of food trucks.

A brief market analysis of the food truck industry

Pre-pandemic, the food truck market size in the U.S. was growing at a rate of 7.9% per year on average, starting in 2017. Since then, it has stayed steady even during times of economic uncertainty. Consumer demand for restaurants and dining out is also up, with spending expected to increase further. 

The global market has seen its fair share of growth as well. Demand for food trucks and other mobile food service options is high in areas such as Asia and Latin America where street food is a popular dining option for millions of people. 

And while food truck popularity and consumer demand rose, the food service industry as a whole still saw a significant shift during and after the pandemic. Facing record number job openings, supply chain shortages, and even 40% of restaurant operators not being open at full capacity for indoor, on-premise dining, the restaurant industry had to adjust.

Food truck owners faced their fair share of challenges as well, while also being able to thrive during a period of social distancing. Kerry Hannon reported for the New York Times in 2021 on several food truck owners who saw growth during the pandemic; be that through seeing an increase in revenue, being able to open a second food truck, or by growing their online presence via social media and online ordering systems. Many food trucks tapped into niche markets like virtual food trucks to achieve operational flexibility and stay ahead of the latest trends and challenges.

While many brick-and-mortar restaurants were facing closure, these mobile eateries were continuing to cultivate their small business and customer base even during a massive change in the industry. Based on this growth, expect to see food trucks continue to make up a good amount of small business market share in the coming years. 

Emerging food truck trends and industry statistics from 2024 help give us a deeper understanding of this constantly evolving space. Here’s the latest data and statistics on the food truck industry in 2022.

Food truck industry trends emerging in 2024

Let’s take a closer look at the food truck industry trends that are shaping the food truck market in 2024.

Increased costs and prices

Bills across the board are rising for the food truck industry, from start-up costs to inventory expenses. Key factors include global supply chain and demand disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, which are still being felt today. Paired with general global inflation, especially by rising energy prices, average costs have shot up in all areas of business operation.

Food inflation is pushing the average cost of ingredients up, leading some restaurants to completely rethink their menu items. Toast customer Underbelly Hospitality wound up removing their staple chicken wings from the menu because cost fluctuations were pushing consumer prices up by more than 35% of the normal amount. 

To help keep an eye on profit margins while inventory costs are increasing, use a POS system that automatically tracks the profitability of each menu item.

Start-up costs for food trucks range between $75,000 - $250,000, and are also currently leaning towards the higher end of the scale due to rising car and truck prices, labor costs, gas prices, and other expenses related to operating mobile kitchens. 

For new food truck business owners looking to keep initial costs down, consider renting rather than buying, and starting with a limited menu until you can determine your most successful items. For instance, you might notice a high demand for comfort foods, or healthier options. Keep an eye on consumer preferences so you know what your food truck business requires to achieve growth.

Events and partnerships

Mobile vending is the perfect option for events and partnerships with local breweries, gatherings, and other community events thanks to their mobility and diverse offerings. It’s simple enough to drive your food truck into a parking lot or field and set up shop after establishing a collaborative rapport with local businesses.

Partnerships serve as a win-win for all parties involved – especially as pop-up dining experiences continue to experience rising popularity. You get to operate your business and connect with new customers while the brewery or carnival that you have partnered with gets to fill a gap in their services to their customers.

Breweries, carnivals, and festivals all make for prime partnerships as there’ll often be an overlap in the kind of customer base that you both have. You’ll also both benefit from the added bonus of customers who are there to enjoy the event and food – often coming hungry. This level of customer engagement gets your name out there and helps you achieve business growth.

Social media

Having a social media presence is key to running any kind of food service business. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) make it increasingly easier for food trucks to reach their target audience – be that based on details like locality, age, or consumer preferences for specific food truck offerings.

Your demographic will vary based on factors like the food you serve, where you’re located, and your overall brand. Social media gives you a simple way to interact with your target audience and the ability to market directly to them. You can share various locations if you move around frequently, unique behind-the-scenes looks at how you operate, and even share your menu if you routinely switch things up.

Having an established social media presence for your food truck brand is all about engaging with your customers. For example, Toast customer Gateway Bagel Co. has a distinctive, casual social media presence on Instagram that they use to highlight their online ordering system and the numerous bagel creations they whip up on the regular.

The labor shortage

The restaurant industry at large has long since had major challenges in recruitment and retention of staff. Once COVID-19 was in full swing, sit down restaurants found themselves closing down and dramatically reducing staffing. 

In 2024, the restaurant industry, food trucks included, continues to grapple with an industry-wide labor shortage. COVID-19 accelerated many already existing issues – low wages, lack of benefits, and employees feeling severely undervalued. A substantial number of restaurant employees have left the industry over the last few years and the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that about 955,100 openings for food and beverage related workers are projected each year from 2021 – 2031.

But despite the labor shortage, restaurant sales continue to grow. Based on sales from restaurants on the Toast platform, total restaurant sales are up 41% year over year. This rebound has helped to fuel restaurant growth and can hopefully provide space for adjustments to be taken into consideration for food truck operations.

Consider focusing on your staffing retention efforts and double up on your hiring tactics. You can also take advantage of efficient technology like the Toast Food Truck POS that helps streamline the ordering process and keeps your customers moving quickly, helping you to keep up with the growing demand.

Vegan and Plant-based alternatives

According to a the 2024 Plant-based meat market report, the market size continues to grow significantly due to increasing demand for sustainable, healthy options among more health conscious consumers. That coupled with vegan eating becoming a mainstream niche in recent years belies the growing trend of health conscious menus in the food industry, including vegan and plant-based alternatives.

More and more customers are interested in vegan-based dishes and plant-based alternatives for a range of reasons – personal taste, health, concern over animal cruelty, or just because they want to dip their toes into vegan eating. These alternative options have taken off and the food truck industry has not been left untouched.

With a focus on sustainability, plant-based menus offer customers an appealing option in the food truck space – especially on campuses, near busy urban centers, and in rural locations that may not have access to fresh, vegan options regularly.

Consumer trends

Food truck customers run the gamut of what they are interested in eating. This opens the door to essentially endless possibilities in terms of what local customer bases want to see in their food truck scene. Over the last few years, consumer trends have pointed to a few popular types of food trucks that do extremely well, no matter the location.

Some of the most popular types of food trucks in 2024 include:

• Tacos

• Street food

• Grilled cheese

• Ice cream

• Sandwiches

• Baked goods

• Smoothies and juice

• New food combos like the Phoritto (Pho burrito)

• Regional foods specific to your area

• Coffee

Alternate options to traditional restaurants like food truck takeout and delivery are here to stay. Between 2021 and 2024, the global food truck market expanded due to increasing demand for convenience and unique dining options. A report by Global Market Insights shows that the food truck market size is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 5% during the forecast period of 2024-2029. To help keep that momentum up for your own business, keeping an eye on market trends in terms of food truck ideas can serve a strategic purpose and increase your revenue growth.

Technology Innovation

Labor shortages are still impacting the restaurant industry as we discussed previously. But restaurant technology, like Toast POS, is serving a critical support role for restaurants and food trucks this year. Innovative features like QR codes, mobile apps, and offline mode streamline the ordering process for employees and customers alike.

In a Restaurant Trends Report, we saw that most restaurants using Toast completed 4.5% more transactions for each employee hour worked in 2021 vs. 2020 - automation from POS systems and mobile and online ordering make restaurant operations far more efficient, while also improving the dining experience.

Restaurant technology was a crucial feature during the pandemic and following. POS systems and their automated processes helped address a wide range of issues that restaurants were facing – keeping customer communication effortless and quick.

The food truck industry keeps on trucking

The emerging trends and statistics in 2024 highlight that there have been many long-lasting changes that operators, employees, and customers are contending with. And while certain areas of the industry are facing difficulties, the food truck industry is still standing strong.

According to 2024 National Restaurant Association report, after adjusting for inflation, eating and drinking sales rose 0.5% between October 2023 and October 2024. This represented the first time in five months that restaurant sales recorded a positive 12-month growth on an inflation-adjusted basis. Growth in other sectors was not as consistent in recent months. That suggests that consumers are still prioritizing restaurants in their spending decisions, which is great news for food industry trends.

Food truck operators have responded to rising challenges by shifting their menus online, working to retain their staff, and embracing the use of the Toast POS system to keep their trucks operating smoothly. The 2024 trends and statistics reflect the resiliency of the food truck industry as a whole, even as the space continues to evolve.

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