Most food truck owners think they're profitable until they actually track their daily variable costs. Variable costs shift with your revenue and operating days, directly determining what you pocket from each sale. The gap between thriving and struggling food trucks? It's usually about understanding these daily expenses.
What are variable costs for a food truck?
Variable costs change based on sales volume and operating frequency. They're different from fixed costs like insurance and truck depreciation.
- Ingredients: food cost of your dishes
- Fuel: diesel for transport between locations
- Location rent: daily fee for your spot
- Gas/electricity: for cooking and cooling on operating days
- Packaging materials: containers, napkins, cutlery
- Temporary staff: extra personnel on busy days
Ingredients and food cost
Your biggest variable expense is typically food cost. Food trucks usually see food costs between 25% and 32% of revenue - slightly lower than restaurants since there's no table service overhead.
? Example food cost calculation:
You sell 100 hamburgers for €8.50 each (incl. 9% VAT):
- Revenue: €850 incl. VAT = €779.82 excl. VAT
- Ingredients per burger: €2.20
- Total ingredients: €220
Food cost: (€220 / €779.82) × 100 = 28.2%
Fuel and transport
Food trucks cover serious distance: storage to location, between spots, back to depot. Expect €15-40 per operating day for fuel, depending on your routes.
⚠️ Note:
Don't forget 'empty' trips: getting to your spot before opening, returning to depot after closing. These don't generate revenue but still count as variable costs per operating day.
Location rent and spot costs
Most food truck spots charge daily fees or revenue percentages. Here's what you'll typically see:
- Festivals: 10-20% of revenue
- Markets: €25-75 per day fixed
- Business parks: €15-40 per day
- Events: €50-200 per day (exclusive locations)
Gas, electricity and energy
Your truck burns energy for cooking, cooling, lighting and possibly AC. Budget around €20-45 per operating day, depending on equipment and weather conditions.
? Example energy costs:
Busy day at festival (10 hours open):
- Gas for grill/fryer: €25
- Diesel generator: €15
- Cooling (all day): €8
Total energy: €48
Packaging and disposables
Everything customers take away: containers, bags, napkins, cutlery, sauce packets. This adds up fast and gets overlooked easily. Plan for 3-8% of revenue in packaging costs.
Temporary staff and flexible personnel
Busy days need extra hands. Temp staff runs about €18-22 per hour all-in. This is one of the most common blind spots in kitchen management - you only hire extra help on expected busy days, making it purely variable.
Total overview of variable costs
For a typical food truck pulling €800 revenue per operating day:
? Example daily costs at €800 revenue:
- Ingredients (28%): €224
- Packaging (5%): €40
- Location rent: €50
- Fuel: €25
- Energy: €35
- Extra staff: €80
Total variable costs: €454 (56.8% of revenue)
How do you track this?
Most food truck owners guess their costs, but that won't give you real numbers. Track these instead:
- Receipts from every fuel purchase and location payment
- Exact ingredient costs per dish
- Packaging costs per order
- Energy consumption per operating day
A food cost calculator can help you nail down dish costs and see what each operating day actually nets you, without endless spreadsheet work.
How do you calculate variable costs per day?
Collect all daily costs
Note all costs that are only incurred on operating days: fuel, location rent, extra staff, energy. Keep all receipts from one week.
Calculate food cost percentage
Add up ingredient costs of all dishes sold. Divide by revenue excl. VAT and multiply by 100. Aim for 25-32% for food trucks.
Add up packaging costs
Calculate what each order costs in containers, bags, cutlery. Multiply by number of orders. This should be 3-8% of revenue.
✨ Pro tip
Track your fuel consumption and location costs for exactly 30 days across different spots and weather conditions. You'll discover which locations actually drain your profits once you factor in the extra diesel needed to reach them.
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 percentage of my revenue should go to variable costs?
Are location costs always variable?
Should I count fuel for empty trips?
How often should I check my variable costs?
What if my variable costs are too high?
Do I need different tracking for weekend vs weekday operations?
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
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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