Start Up Costs
There’s nothing cheaper in terms of start-up costs than a coffee cart. Generally speaking you’ll be able to get your hands on the cart itself (with no equipment) for less than $12,000 in most cases. So once you’ve got a hold of your coffee machine and other equipment you can be up and running for under $25,000 which is pretty damn good. On the other hand basic shipping container cafe can cost a similar figure as well, but as you move up in size you move up in complexity and cost.
Winner: If all you’re concerned about is cost then a coffee cart is definitely the cheapest.
Product Offering
Both coffee carts and shipping container cafes force you to keep your offer simple. There’s no room for unnecessary extras in terms of food and drink. This may be true for both but coffee carts in particular can only have a very limited food offer (Muffins and biscuits etc) due to council licensing and lack of space. Shipping container cafes on the other hand can provide a much broader and more complete food offering depending on the size of container used. You can use a 20 foot container and have a mini kitchen or keep things simple and closer to that of a coffee cart in an 8ft container.
Winner: Choice is always a good thing and shipping container cafes give you that with your product offering.
Ease of Operation
This mainly comes down to access to space. Operations as I see it includes preparation for service, service itself and back of house storage. Shipping Container Cafes are a lot more self sufficient compared to coffee carts in all of these areas. Storage space is of course very limited in something as small as a coffee cart so this means you will always have a reliance on storing and preparing things in another location – often at home. This isn’t always convenient. Shipping Container Cafes can provide a lot more in terms of storage and space, you may not even need to keep anything outside of the container. As for ease during service the more space you have the easier it will be to run your service. I’ll let you work out which is better from here.
Winner: Shipping Container Cafes.
Flexibility
Unlike traditional brick and mortar coffee shops with shipping container cafes and coffee carts you’re not stuck in the same location forever – unless you want to be. You can take your business just about anywhere with a coffee cart and this flexibility can be fantastic for people who are up for the challenge and want to chase the business. One weekend you could be at a music festival and the next you could drop in at a busy farmers market. The possibilities are endless when you have the ability to pick up and move quickly, easily and at a low cost. Shipping container cafes are moveable but there is more of a cost attached. You’ll need to hire a crane truck and if you’re moving within a hours drive you can do it for as little as $400. Flexibility with shipping container cafes means you can use them in lots of different locations but the preference is not to move them at all once you have found the right location. But if not, both coffee carts and shipping container cafes can be moved to greener pastures.
Winner: Both options are really flexible but Coffee Carts win by a nose due to easier and cheaper transportation costs.
Security
Everyone wants to feel secure. With a coffee cart, you might sometimes feel like you are swinging in the breeze a little – open to the elements and randoms just walking by. What if it rains, cold, sun, heat, dust – you get the drift. With a coffee cart, you are more open to the elements. On the other hand, shipping container cafes give you more security and protection – both when you are operating and after hours
Winner: Shipping container cafes give more security than coffee carts – hands down.
Durability
Equipment can get bashed around. Your investment in equipment will be much better protected in a shipping container cafe as opposed to a coffee cart. Might seem like an extreme example but you can hit a shipping container with a sledgehammer – don’t try that at home with your coffee cart!
Winner: Shipping container cafes are tough as!
Summary
I suppose you’re expecting us to pick an overall winner to conclude the article. Well the truth is the only person who can really pick the winner is you. As I’m sure you gathered from the points above both approaches have their strengths and weaknesses – so what separates them is whatever is important to you. Each person will have different needs for their coffee business depending on a lot of different factors. Some people will need a coffee cart because they’ve got connections that can get them into busy markets every weekend and the other will need a shipping container cafe because they’ve found a small inner city location that has plenty of foot traffic.
If you’d like to find out more information about starting your own Shipping Container Cafe check out our ULTIMATE GUIDE on the subject or click below to register your interest and get in touch with us.
