Tessie is a housewife. Her husband is a blue collar worker.

They have four children. They are struggling to make ends

meet.
 She wanted to contribute to the household income. She is thinking of
putting up a food cart business but she doesn’t know where to start.

I want to put up a food

cart business but I don’t
know how?

Hi! My name is Connie

the consultant. I’m here
to help you create your
food cart business.

Wow! That’s great! So

how do I start?

Well first do you know

what kind of food cart
business do you want to
have?
No. I don’t have an idea!
That’s okay. I will show
you that there are a lot
of food cart concepts
you can do.
 Food carts are very popular since they are
easy to set-up. All you need is a 2 sqm space
and you are all set.

Here are some popular food cart concepts for you to

choose from.
 Siomai Goto/Lugaw
Sago’t Gulaman

Hotdog
Waffle

Donut

Hong Kong
noodles
Do you have any food cart
business in mind?
 I see. There are a variety of
concepts to choose from.
How do I know what food
concept will work?

The food concepts I mentioned are

well patronized. They are usually
found in MRT stations and even
supermarkets. Some concepts like
shawarma became popular a few
years back but you don’t see many
carts selling this anymore.

Supermarket

MRT Station
 People who patronize food carts have limited
budget and are looking for a quick meal.

According to a recent study, the street

stalls or kiosks are the most patronized
food outlets. So it makes sense to go into
a food cart business.
 So, do you have a food cart
business idea already? It is
okay if you don’t have one
yet. It will help if you go out
and observe what other food
cart owners are doing.
 What do you do when
you observe?

Observation is one form of

research. Research is
important. In this instance, you
need to go around public
places where carts are located.
Determine why one stall has a
long queue than the other. Use
your five senses in observing
the landscape. So, are you
convinced that you should go
into the cart business?
 I’m not sure. I don’t
know how to operate
one.

It is very simple to
operate a food cart.

It will only take one person

to run a cart. You can man
the cart yourself. There is
no need to hire someone
to look over the cart. You
can realize savings in
manpower cost.
I think I will be comfortable
with having a siomai food
cart. Where can I place my
food cart?
Do you know where you will
place your food cart?
 Okay. How about the
cart itself? How much
will it cost?

The carts you see in MRT

stations and malls will cost
around P10,000. This is
okay if you have enough
capital.

But I don’t have enough

money to buy a flashy
cart. What now?

Don’t worry. You can actually have a simple but decent

cart built by a carpenter. You may also choose to locate
your cart in front of your home initially to save on rent.
But your house should be in a good location where
there are lots of people or mass transit carriers are
present.
How do you compute for the
income of your food cart
business?
 How to compute
for sales:
Selling Price x Volume or Transaction count 50
5
20.00
20.0
20.
20
2
Example:

Selling Price: Php20.00

Volume or Transaction count: 50

Php20.00 x 50 =

Php1,000.00/day
 How to compute
for gross profit:
Sales less Food Cost 400.00
400.0
400.
400
40
4
1000.00
1000.0
1000.
1000
100
10
1
Example:

Sales: Php1,000.00
Food Cost: Php400.00

Php1,000.00 – 400.00=

Php600.00/day
 How to compute for Operating Expense:

Rent Expense (as applicable) Daily Rent computation:

Assuming: Php5,000 monthly rent
Operating Days: 22 days

+ Php5,000 / 22 days = Php227.27/day

Daily Utilities computation:
Utilities
Assuming: Php1,100 monthly utilities
Operating Days: 22 days
Php1,100 / 22 days = Php50.00/day
Daily Total
This is what you
= Operating
need to earn each
Expense day!
Php277.27/day
 How to compute
for net income:
Gross Profit less Operating Expense 277.27
277.2
277.
277
27
62
600.00
600.0
600.
600
60
Example:

Gross Profit: Php600.00

Operating Exp: Php277.27

Php600.00 – 277.27=

Php322.73/day
 How to compute for Payback Period:

Total Investment
Total Investment = Ph12,000.00

÷
Annual Net Income Annual Net Income = Php85,200.70

= Payback Period .14 or 1.7 months

How to compute for Return on Investment:

Annual Net Income

Ph85,200.70

÷
Total Investment Php12,000.00

= Return on 7
Investment
Different volume scenarios and implications

Low Medium High

PROJECTED MONTHLY SALES 22,000.00 30,000.00 40,000.00
Less: Monthly Food Cost 8,800.00 12,000.00 16,000.00
GROSS PROFIT 13,200.00 18,000.00 24,000.00
Less: Operating Expense
Rental 5,000.00 5,000.00 5,000.00
Utilities 1,100.00 1,200.00 1,600.00
Total Operating Expense 6,100.00 6,200.00 6,600.00
NET INCOME 7,100.00 11,800.00 17,400.00
% increase/(decrease) 66% 47%
 What is the potential
income of a food cart
business?

The income that will be

generated by a cart business
is usually modest. But given
the right no. of transactions
and maintaining a good food
cost level of 40%, you can
easily turn a modest income
to a very desirable income.
You should be making a
gross margin of 60%.
 Your inputs so far are
very encouraging.
However, I’m not sure
if I will do well.

Why is that?

I don’t know how to

make siomai?

That is not a problem. There are a

lot of organizations that offer
training/cooking classes even for
free. There are also books on
cooking which you can use as
reference.
Step 1 Step 2

Step 3 Step 4
 I understand. I’m not really
a good cook but I am sure I
can follow a recipe to the
letter. My strength lies in
talking to people. I like to
talk and listen to stories of
people. I can easily start a
conversation with anyone.

That is perfect. You will need that in

convincing clients to buy your food
products. It will come very handy.
You can sweet talk your way to your
client’s heart and stomach.
What was her motivation to go
into the food cart business?
 By the way, where
will I find suppliers
for my raw
materials?

You can try heading to your

local wet market. You may
also want to ask other siomai
sellers.

Make sure that you get only best raw materials and that you get it at the least cost possible.
You can lower costs further by purchasing in bulk. You may want to consider this when your
volume becomes big.
 Aside from making it yourself, there are
several suppliers of ready made siomai.
You can buy it for as low as P2.16 a piece
and as high as P3.50 a piece.

Remember that the quality of the siomai

varies for each price point. The more
expensive the siomai the higher the
quality. The quality of the siomai you will
sell will be dictated by type of customer
you will serve.
 Can I sell other
products aside
from siomai?

Of course. You can sell siopao

also. Even drinks. The number of
products you sell will depend on
how big your space is. I suggest
you stick to siomai and maybe a
few beverages initially.
Operations might become
complicated.

It seems that putting

together a cart business
takes a lot of work for such a
simple operation.
That is true. It will be
difficult at first. But when
you discover you’re bearing You would need to invest
it will be cinch to operate. time in your business. You
need to be on top of things
or else your business will fall
apart.
 Wow! I really learned a lot
from you today. I appreciate
the inputs you shared. You
are a great help.

No problem. It
was my pleasure
to help you.
The End