A food truck owner recently discovered they were losing €43 every day at their regular Tuesday spot, despite feeling busy. They'd been guessing their break-even point instead of calculating it precisely. Here's exactly how to determine the minimum daily revenue your food truck needs.
What is break-even for a food truck?
Break-even is the point where your revenue equals your costs exactly. You make no profit, but also no loss. For food trucks this is crucial because your daily costs vary per location and day.
💡 Example:
Food truck with daily costs of €180:
- Fuel and parking: €40
- Ingredients (at 30% food cost): €54
- Labor (yourself): €60
- Fixed costs (insurance, depreciation): €26
Break-even revenue: €180 / day
Gather your fixed daily costs
Start with all costs you make every day, regardless of how much you sell:
- Fuel: Calculate what you consume per day in diesel or petrol
- Parking and pitch costs: Market fees, event costs
- Daily portion of fixed costs: Insurance, truck depreciation, permits divided by number of working days
- Your own salary: What do you want to earn minimum per day?
⚠️ Note:
Don't forget to include your own labor costs. As an entrepreneur you also need to allocate yourself a realistic salary.
Calculate your variable costs percentage
Variable costs increase with your revenue. For food trucks these are mainly:
- Food cost: Ingredients, usually 25-35% of revenue
- Packaging costs: Boxes, napkins, cutlery, 3-8% of revenue
- Payment costs: Card transactions, 1-2% of revenue
💡 Example variable costs:
Average food truck:
- Food cost: 30%
- Packaging: 5%
- Payment costs: 1.5%
Total variable costs: 36.5%
Apply the break-even formula
The formula for break-even revenue is:
Break-even revenue = Fixed daily costs / (1 - Variable costs %)
You subtract the variable costs percentage from 1 (= 100%) because this is the portion that remains for your fixed costs. This represents one of the most common blind spots in kitchen management - many operators forget this crucial calculation step.
💡 Calculation example:
Fixed daily costs: €120
Variable costs: 36.5%
Break-even = €120 / (1 - 0.365) = €120 / 0.635 = €189
You need to generate at least €189 in revenue to break even.
Check your break-even per number of sales
Divide your break-even revenue by your average transaction value to know how many customers you need:
- Break-even revenue: €189
- Average order: €8.50
- Number of customers needed: €189 / €8.50 = 22 customers
⚠️ Note:
If your break-even is too high for your location, you have three options: lower costs, raise prices, or find a better location.
Use digital tools for accurate tracking
Manually tracking all your costs and revenue takes a lot of time and is error-prone. Tools like food cost calculators help food truck entrepreneurs to:
- Automatically calculate cost prices per dish
- View daily break-even quickly
- Monitor food cost percentage in real-time
- Compare profitability per location
This way you get instant insight into whether a day was profitable, without spending hours calculating in the evening.
How do you calculate your break-even revenue? (step by step)
Add up your fixed daily costs
Note all costs you make every day: fuel, parking, your own salary, and your fixed costs divided by working days. Add this up to one amount per day.
Calculate your variable costs percentage
Add up food cost, packaging and payment costs as a percentage of your revenue. For most food trucks this is between 35-40% of revenue.
Apply the break-even formula
Divide your fixed daily costs by (1 minus your variable costs percentage). This gives you the minimum revenue you need per day to break even.
✨ Pro tip
Track your actual break-even performance every 2 weeks by comparing planned vs. actual customer counts. If you consistently need 25 customers but only serve 18, adjust your location strategy within 30 days.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
What if my break-even is higher than what I can achieve at a location?
Then you have three options: lower costs (cheaper ingredients, work more efficiently), raise prices, or find better locations with more footfall.
Should I include my own labor in the break-even?
Yes, absolutely. As an entrepreneur you also need to allocate yourself a realistic salary. Otherwise you're working for free and that's not a sustainable business model.
How often should I recalculate my break-even?
Check this monthly or when your costs change significantly. Fuel prices and ingredient costs fluctuate, so your break-even changes with them.
Does break-even differ per location for my food truck?
Your fixed costs stay the same, but parking costs and pitch costs can differ. Therefore calculate your break-even per type of location.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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