Increase Coffee Truck Sales During Winter Months

Increase Coffee Truck Sales During Winter Months

The seasonality of weather is always one of the unique challenges for coffee trucks and other mobile coffee businesses.

Depending on where you operate your truck and your schedule, some might consider closing shop for the winter and re-opening next Spring. If so, you will want to take some critical steps and winterize your coffee trailer.

Boosting sales for a coffee truck during winter months requires a mix of creativity, customer engagement, and some operational tweaks to suit the colder months.

In addition to improving coffee truck revenue, taking proactive steps to improve your winter sales can maximize your opportunity to generate goodwill, improve employee morale, and strengthen your coffee brand.

Below are some strategies that can help you increase your coffee truck sales during winter.

Further Reading: How to Start a Coffee Truck Business

How to Boost Coffee Truck Sale During the Winter

Add Seasonal Menu Items

Coffee customers are savvy. They expect seasonal options and look forward to them. So prepare early and highlight warm, cozy beverages like pumpkin-spiced lattes, hot chocolate, and specialty teas. Consider offering winter-themed drinks with festive flavors like peppermint, cinnamon, or gingerbread. Oh! I love summer, but these seasonal coffee drinks get me excited!

Comfort Food Pairings: Adding seasonal pastries, small snacks, or convenient breakfast options that pair well with hot coffee can attract more customers looking for warmth and comfort.

Keep in mind that people also inherently expect to pay more for these drinks, which is important to consider as you determine your margins.

Create Limited-Time Winter Promotions

People love to buy more and save – especially when it comes to coffee and food. Bundling products can be a win-win situation for you, giving customers what they want to enjoy and increasing your bottom line.

Seasonable combos: Consider offering seasonal discounts when customers buy a hot drink and a snack together. These can be appealing, especially when people want to warm up quickly. Examples include a spiced latte with pumpkin pie or a hot tamale with a horchata latte. Yum!

Loyalty cards: If you already have a loyalty program, introduce winter-only perks or “double points” to encourage repeat visits. This rewards your customer for braving the cold weather while encouraging sales.

A quick note about loyalty cards: Loyalty cards might work better if you were regularly stationed or parked in a particular spot. The more stable your schedule is, the better your mobile coffee customers will be able to find you and anticipate buying from you.

Holiday Gift Cards: Selling gift cards for the holiday season encourages current customers to return and new ones to try your coffee truck. As with your loyalty cards, customers will be more willing to purchase gift cards (driving up your earnings) if they can find you regularly or buy coffee from you online.

Promote Your Coffee Truck as a Winter Destination

Outdoor Heating and Cozy Decor: If outdoor space allows, set up heaters, blankets, and outdoor seating. Have fun with your space! Decorate with a winter or holiday theme to create a warm, inviting vibe that draws people in.

Photo Opportunities: A festive setup can encourage customers to take photos and share them on social media, which helps spread the word about your coffee truck. Photos on social media can also help spread the word about your business, promote your brand, and sell coffee online.

Engage Your Community With Your Coffee Truck

Engaging your coffee community increases your chance of making more money with your coffee truck.

Winter Pop-Up Events: Take every opportunity to partner with winter festivals, holiday markets, and local events to bring your coffee truck to where the crowds are. These can be great places to attract new coffee truck customers and increase sales.

Seasonal Collaborations: Collaborate with nearby businesses to offer cross-promotions. For example, if you’re near a bookstore or boutique, you could offer a discount to customers who show a receipt from the other business. This might also work if they have additional parking lot space and would utilize your coffee business as a way to attract more customers, bring in more revenue.

Optimize Online Marketing for the Season

When you revamp your seasonal coffee truck menu, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to engage your customers on social media.

Social Media Marketing: Post daily updates to Instagram, Facebook, or other social media accounts – about your seasonal menu, promotions, or events. Highlight warm, steaming drinks to appeal to the season. Utilize videos, pictures, reals, and stories to create a festive mood – and always post where you are.

Email Campaigns: If you have an email list, send out winter-specific newsletters with discounts, holiday deals, and special menu items. Highlight any seasonal events or community involvement, too.

Adjust Your Schedule and Location if Needed

During colder months, your usual spot might not get as much foot traffic. Consider relocating to busy areas where people gather in winter, like malls, shopping districts, or office areas. Other seasonal areas are during Fall or Winter outdoor markets, festivals, and events. These may include pumpkin patches, outdoor ice-skating rinks, holiday art sales, or Christmas tree farms.

Most Important Recommendation: Have Fun

When people have a great time, they feel good, they feel like spending money, and they feel like sharing their experiences with their friends and family.

So, my last recommendation is to enjoy yourself. Remember that you will play a significant part in other people’s memories, holidays, first dates, and family get-togethers. Create a warm, welcoming, and festive atmosphere and offer some great high-margin products, and you’ll likely increase your bottom line.

Adapt Hours to Match Customer Demand: Shorten your hours if necessary, focusing on peak morning and lunchtime hours when people crave a hot drink. Fewer hours can reduce overhead while still catering to your core customer base.

Further Reading: How to Start a Coffee Trailer Successfully

Offer Pre-Order Options for Quick Pickup

Mobile Ordering: Many people want to avoid waiting outside in the cold. If possible, allow customers to order online or via text, making it easy for them to grab their drinks quickly.

Consider setting up an account with a third-party food delivery app or your own.

Promote Gift Items and Coffee Packages

Coffee Beans or Holiday Gifts: Offer bags of your own coffee beans, seasonal syrups, or DIY kits for customers to make coffee drinks at home. These can be popular holiday gift items. Coffee items are perfect for stocking stuffers, holiday work parties, or gifts when visiting homes for the holidays.

Your Own Merchandise: Branded travel mugs or thermoses, t-shirts, caps, and coffee can be a great way to boost sales and keep your business on customers' minds even when they're not at the truck.

Conclusion

Winter weather can put a dent in our revenue, but by planning and being strategic and proactive, you can turn a relatively slow winter season into a coffee truck revenue maker. Starting a coffee truck business can be an incredible opportunity to leverage your flexibility and mobility to create a fun, profitable season.

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