Small business guide: How to open a pop-up food stall

Starting a pop-up food stall counts as living the dream for lots of foodies. It lets you work for yourself, focusing on the cuisine that you love, meeting lots of new people, and showcasing your creativity. It comes with lots of challenges too of course, which is why we’ve created this mini guide to opening a pop-up food stall.

In it we’ll cover:

• What is a pop-up food stall?
• How to set up a pop-up food stall
• Creating a business plan
• What paperwork you’ll need
• How to market your pop-up food stall

What is a Pop-Up Food Stall?

Firstly, what is a pop-up food stall anyway? A pop-up food stall is a temporary food service establishment that is set up in a location for a short period, typically for a few hours or days, to serve food to customers.

Pop-up food stalls are often used by food vendors or entrepreneurs to test a food concept, showcase a specific cuisine, or participate in events such as food festivals, farmers' markets, or street fairs.

They’re typically small and mobile, often consisting of a food cart or a portable structure, and they may serve a variety of food items such as snacks, sandwiches, desserts, or speciality dishes.

Pop-up food stalls are especially well-known for their unique and often creative food offerings, and they provide a dynamic and vibrant dining experience for customers in temporary and unexpected locations.

Some of the advantages of starting up a pop up food stall include:

• Free publicity: Setting up a pop-up dining experience in an established venue, such as a shopping centre or at a music festival, provides instant potential visibility to a crowd seeking dining options. It can catch the attention of passersby and generate free publicity for your food.
• Cost-effective: Starting a pop-up dining experience is generally more affordable compared to establishing a permanent restaurant. Lower investment, overheads, and labour costs are incurred as pop-up dining experiences are temporary.
• Experimentation: Pop-up dining experiences provide the opportunity to test menus, themes, and pricing before committing to a permanent venue. It allows for flexibility in trying out different concepts and gauging customer preferences.
• Flexibility: Pop-ups provide the flexibility to try different locations, including different towns and cities, to identify markets for your street food. This allows for creative and strategic location choices to attract a wider customer base.

How to Set up a Pop Up Food Stall

Those are some of the benefits you can get, but do you know how to set up a pop-up food stall? They may look like they just, well, ‘pop up’, but there’s a lot of planning and preparation required to make something look as spontaneous and effortless as a successful pop-up food stall.

Let’s dive into what you’ll need to think about before you’ll be able to open up shop:

Creating a business plan

Firstly you need to consider some key aspects of what can make a successful launch:

The Idea

Pop-up restaurants offer a unique opportunity to test out new culinary concepts, whether it's a specific food item like gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches or a cuisine that's not widely available in your area. By identifying gaps in the competitive landscape and tapping into rising restaurant trends, you can bring your culinary expertise and passion to life with a pop-up concept that captures the hearts of foodies. If your concept resonates with customers and receives rave reviews, you may have stumbled upon a winning idea for a lasting business.The Location

The location

When it comes to choosing a location for your pop-up restaurant, think outside the box to make your venture stand out and generate buzz. While street food stalls or food trucks are common options, consider unconventional venues to create a memorable experience. Hosting your pop-up in an existing venue’s kitchen during off-peak hours can help draw a crowd, while setting up in a scenic location like a city rooftop or a rustic barn can provide a picturesque backdrop for Instagram-worthy photos. You could even consider opening near an apartment complex to attract curious residents eager to try something new. Get creative with your location to make your pop-up restaurant truly unforgettable.

Your USP (unique selling point)

To stand out from the competition in a crowded street food market or an area with many dining options, you'll need to find ways to set your food stall apart. One effective approach is to create a signature recipe that is unique and memorable, while authenticity can also be a powerful selling point. If you have a compelling backstory behind your food stall, you can use it to your advantage by showcasing the quality and presentation of your product. Whether it's using fresh, homemade, ethical, sustainable, and locally sourced ingredients, or offering fast and affordable options, highlighting these unique qualities can serve as your USP and differentiate your business from the competition. Remember, finding a way to stand out from the crowd is crucial for the success of your street food stall. Whether it's through a creative and distinctive recipe, an authentic backstory, or unique qualities that appeal to your target audience, showcasing what makes your food stall special can help you attract customers and bui

Accept payments for your business

Another key consideration is taking payments. Being a pop-up food stall means needing to be flexible and mobile. So, when it comes to payment processing for your mobile business, you need a solution that is both adaptable and secure in a potentially chaotic environment. That's where the Dojo Go card machine comes in.

Designed with mobility and flexibility in mind, the Dojo card machine is easy to use and can go wherever your business takes you. It allows you to accept payments quickly and efficiently, freeing up your time to focus on marketing campaigns and creating irresistible offers to attract customers.

With our card machine, you can have peace of mind knowing that your payment processing is safe and reliable. It offers a secure way for a food market stall owner to accept card payments, ensuring that customers' information is protected.

The Dojo Go card machine can help you streamline your mobile business operations and provide a seamless payment experience for your customers, so you can focus on growing your business and creating an exceptional customer experience.

What paperwork do you need for a pop-up food stall in the UK?

Now you’ve worked out the ‘what’ and the ‘where’, let’s look at the legalities. Navigating the legal requirements for starting a street food stall in the UK is a crucial step in the process. The UK's official food business registration page covers the basic information on how to legalise your business.

We’ve listed the highlights below:

• Street Trading Licences: You will need to obtain the appropriate licences from local authorities to operate your street food stall legally.
• Food Hygiene Certifications and Environmental Health Registration: Ensuring proper food hygiene practices and registering with the local environmental health department are essential for compliance.
• Handwashing Stations: Apart from the sink used for washing cooking utensils, you will need to provide handwashing stations for your staff and customers to maintain hygiene standards.
• Gas Safety Certificates and Electrical Licences: Ensuring that your cooking appliances comply with gas safety regulations and obtaining proper electrical licences are crucial for the safety of your stall and customers.
• Liability Insurance: Obtaining liability insurance for the public and employees will protect you and your business from potential legal and financial risks.
• Risk Assessment/HACCP Completion: Conducting a risk assessment and completing a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan will help you identify and manage potential risks in your food business.
• Street Market Pitch: Finally, you will need to sign up for a street market pitch or obtain permission from the relevant authorities to set up your stall in a designated location.

How to market your pop-up food stall

One potential downside to a pop-up food stall is that its temporary nature makes it hard to attract long-term customers, as the stall isn’t necessarily in one place for any length of time. This is where using the right marketing tactics become a vital tool in allowing you to get the word out quickly and get as many customers as possible, as soon as possible.

Branding

You need to begin with the branding, which goes beyond just a logo on your business cards; it starts with your stall, and the bar is set very high. At the very least, your stall should have a nameplate with your business name that is easy to see and remember, as it will be the primary identifier for customers when you have no permanent location. You can also add lights and colours to decorate your stall, reflecting your brand identity.

The design of your stall directly impacts your overall branding. If you want to convey a sense of fun with a splash of colour, your stall will look different from a chic and minimalist design that exudes big flavours. Be intentional about carrying your branding over to your social media channels, packaging, and website.

Even if you're just starting out, ensure that your logos are consistent across all channels and something you'll be happy with for a while. Rebranding too early may cause customers to think you've disappeared from the scene, leading them to look elsewhere for tasty treats.

Social media

Beyond branding, there are plenty of other ways to get people to take notice. Street food stalls have traditionally relied on appealing to customers through their senses - the enticing smells, sizzles, and appearance of their food, along with little tasters to draw people in. However, with the advent of social media and the internet, customer reach has expanded even further. A strong online presence can attract customers to your stall before they even see it in person.

That’s why it's crucial for all small businesses, especially pop-up food stalls, to have a presence on social media. An Instagram page filled with mouthwatering visuals can entice people to come to visit your stall, while a Facebook page can also help broaden your reach. Social media provides a significant opportunity to grow your business and attract more customers to your stall. Then it’s up to your food to get them to use their social media to tell their friends.

Launch events

Making a splash with your launch event is a good way to attract the right attention. For this in particular, it’s important to define your target audience, which consists of the people you want to attract to your pop-up and to craft your messaging accordingly. Consider how you want your brand to be perceived by your target audience and what key information you want them to know about your pop-up.

Other marketing tactics for your food business

Here are some other ways to market your pop-up food stall:

• Influencers - Instagram is full of foodie influencers. Leveraging influencer marketing can provide a significant boost to your pop-up restaurant. Look for local food influencers on social media and invite them to a soft opening event, where they can sample your food in exchange for posting about it on their social media channels. Most influencers are likely to request paid partnerships but the cost per post or ‘reel’ will depend on the size of the influencer so you’ll need to make sure you're working within your budget and have mutually agreed the terms. By collaborating with influencers, you can generate buzz, increase your visibility, and potentially attract new customers to your pop-up restaurant. It's important to establish clear expectations and mutually beneficial arrangements with influencers to ensure a successful partnership.
• Go old school with offline marketing - While online marketing is crucial for promoting your pop-up restaurant, don't underestimate the power of offline marketing. A simple yet effective idea to generate interest is to print flyers and distribute them in the local area. Include an appetising photo of your food and a discount coupon code to make the offer enticing. If you already own a restaurant and want to attract your loyal customers to your new pop-up, you can leverage our delivery heatmaps to identify high-density order areas and distribute your flyers there, where you know your regulars reside. This targeted approach can help you drive traffic to your new pop-up and leverage your existing customer base for increased success.

We hope you enjoyed our handy guide to opening your own pop up food stall guide. Bookmark this post to ensure you are fully prepared when it’s time to turn your concept into a reality.