Life On The Street: street food has taken the world by storm, but can anyone set up a stall and how do you get street food insurance?
The sun is shining (just about), the shorts are on and we’re in the holiday spirit. With scorching days and balmy evenings, what could be better than hitting the streets in search of a stall serving up something delicious and different to satisfy our hunger?
From freshly caught crab sandwiches to tacos or spicy rendang, markets and festivals across the UK are now bursting with fresh flavours thanks to the street food revolution.
It’s not hard to see why we’ve seen such an explosion in the street food scene in recent years. We have become more interested in the foods we eat, have travelled more and are more inclined to try something new than previous generations.
We’re also busier than ever before, finding less time to cook for ourselves, or our families. But at the same time, the cost of living has increased and we can’t all justify eating out at expensive restaurants all the time. No wonder then that street food, with its great value for money, fast service, and exciting tastes, has taken the UK by storm.
And it’s also no wonder that more and more people are picking up their apron and making a career for themselves in street food, but can anyone do it?
Five questions to ask yourself before setting up a street food business
1) Will people want to eat your food?
Whatever type of food you plan to sell, will people buy it? And remember, even if it tastes great, you’re unlikely to sell well if there’s more than one other stall in the same market selling the same thing, so find your niche and become great at it.
2) Do you like working for yourself?
We might all like the idea of ditching the day job and becoming our own boss, but you won’t have that security of a pay packet landing in your account each month. Can you cope with that?
3) Do you have the right training?
If you’re selling food to the public it has to be safe. You’ll need the right food hygiene and safety certificates and will have to show you’ve followed the strict requirements for food safety. Food poisoning and allergic reactions can be uncomfortable at best and deadly at worst, so training and procedures must be taken very seriously.
4) Have you got enough money to set yourself up?
One of the benefits of a street food business is that it costs less to set up than a static restaurant, but you’ll still need to find the money for essential equipment, ingredients and to pay staff if you need to.
5) Can you deal with the paperwork?
You might get into selling street food because you’re passionate about cooking and love talking to people – but to succeed you’ll also need to be able to handle the paperwork. You’ll need to register your business with your local authority, and keep essential documents like insurance fully up to date.
Taking the hassle out of street food insurance
There’s a wide range of insurance products available to help your street food business to succeed, including:
- Public liability insurance
- Employer’s liability insurance
- Vehicle insurance
- Equipment insurance
- Stock cover
The mobile catering scene has changed in the last few years, and so have the insurance products to match. The specialist catering team at Park Insurance understand the unique needs of street food businesses and can help talk you through everything you might need to protect yourself and your company.
We work with some of the UK’s largest insurance providers to find you the right street food insurance at the best price.