About this type of business

The Baked Potato first hit the fast-food scene in the early 1980s, after which mobile caterers selling the food type became a staple on the British high street. Companies such as Spudulike subsequently caught on to the mass appeal of the baked spud and opened fixed retail sites up and down the country.

The emergence of baked potato food outlets were initially met with skepticism, though this quickly dissipated in light of their success. Fast forward to present day and the humble spud remains a firm favourite amongst hungry punters looking for wholesome, versatile, wallet friendly food.

The Main Advantages of a Baked Potato Business:

Readily available

Potatoes remain one of the most readily available sources of food and can be grown, bought and cooked en masse! They are also easy to prepare and can be pre-cooked and simply heated before purchase.

Affordable

Their mass availability also means that they remain one of the more affordable ventures for mobile caterers. Savings made by traders also stand to benefit the customer – thus hopefully encouraging custom. The fact that several potatoes can be cooked at once not only reduces energy costs but also ensures that you can easily serve all of your customers in periods of high demand; time is a key consideration for busy workers at lunch times, meaning that this gives baked potato vendors a potential advantage over competitors.

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The Main Disadvantages of a Baked Potato Business:

Time is of the essence!

Depending on the equipment you’re using, it can take in excess of an hour to get your spuds just right! Whilst doing this ensures that your potatoes are cooked to perfection, it can be difficult to gauge how many potatoes to cook at any one time. In times of high demand, baked potato vendors do not have the luxury of preparing food within minutes, as is the case with other food types such as burgers, nachos etc.

Cook too few and you’ll be in danger of having some hungry, disappointed customers who are unlikely to return; cook too many and you end up throwing product (and your money) in the bin – bad for profits and bad for the environment.

Competition

A large proportion of consumers have become more aware of the impact that meat is having on climate change and are opting to have ‘meat free days,’ resulting in an increase in demand for vegan alternatives. This isn’t all bad for baked potato businesses as the spud is unparalleled in its versatility!

These days, even carnivores are occasionally opting for a vegetable chilli on their spud if it looks tasty enough and the requests for vegan cheese alternatives are soaring, giving you the perfect opportunity to get a little more inventive with those fillings!

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