Southbound is a new food truck in Orlando, Florida that serves grilled cheese sandwiches and hot dogs. The owners, Kelly and Bob Van Epps, saw an opportunity in the Orlando market for a food truck specializing in these items. Southbound uses local and fresh ingredients in its specialty sandwiches and soups. Kelly oversees daily operations as executive chef while Bob manages the truck. Their goal is to become one of the most popular food trucks in central Florida through quality food and a unique rock and roll themed menu.

1. Final Project
Written by:
Kelly Van Epps
8/5/2015
ENTR 120-620

2. 2
1.0 Executive Summary
Southbound is the newest food truck in Orlando Florida. I am Kelly Van Epps, and I run
the daily operations and I am the executive chef. My father Bob Van Epps is the food
truck manager. We are from Albany, New York and realized there was a gap in the
grilled cheese sandwich and hot dog market in Florida. After realizing this gap, we
decided to open their food truck, named Southbound, to create unique grilled cheese
sandwiches and hot dogs in a rockin’ family run food truck that always has customers
leaving with a smile.
After analyzing the food truck industry we saw that there were very few specialty grilled
cheese sandwich and hot dog food trucks and restaurants in the Orlando area. Having a
dream of wanting to open a food truck featuring our favorite foods, we knew this was the
perfect time and place. Having restaurant experience gives us knowledge in this field.
Southbound features products that are always homemade and made with fresh
ingredients. All of the products we use are locally grown and harvested in and around the
Orlando area. Daily deliveries of food ensure that we are always using the best and
freshest products.
Featured items on the menu include an item called “That Smell” which has pepper jack
and cheddar cheese with bacon, tomato and avocado on sourdough bread. We also
feature an item called “All Night Train” which is mini hot dogs with the works (mustard,
onions and homemade meat sauce). All of our food is served in a unique rock and roll
themed truck. All of the menu items on the food truck are named after famous bands
such as: The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Aerosmith.

3. 3
2.0 Industry Analysis
2.1 Size
There are currently roughly 50 different food trucks in the Orlando area. There is a wide
variety of the food being offered, which include: lobster, BBQ, tacos, Cuban cuisine,
Swedish cuisine and pizza. Out of all the different trucks there is not one truck that sells
specialty-grilled cheese sandwiches. Even with the large market, we won’t have to
compete with any other grilled cheese food trucks.
2.2 Growth Rate
The food truck industry started to become very popular in 2008. Ever since that the
industry has exploded and doesn’t look like it will be slowing down any time soon.
Florida is one area that food trucks are becoming very popular. In 2012 the food truck
industry was estimated to bring in $1 billion in annual revenue (priceonomics.com).
2.3 Sales Projections
When looking at the food truck industry as a whole, the average revenue a successful
truck makes a year is between $200,000 and $500,000 (priceonomics.com). Most of your
revenue is going to come from your lunch menu so we have to make sure we sell enough
lunches during that time period.
2.4 Industry Structure
With the high growth of food trucks, the industry is growing rapidly. People are wanting
to open their own food trucks, which increases competition. The varying prices to buy a
truck can allow you to save on some costs. Buying a lower priced truck at around
$15,000 and putting in some work on it can save you start up costs.

4. 4
3.0 Company Description
3.1 Company history
Southbound is the newest food truck located in Orlando, Florida. After traveling to
Florida many times, my dad and I realized that there were very few grilled cheese and hot
dog food trucks and restaurants in Florida. Growing up in Albany, New York we grew
up eating grilled cheese sandwiches and going to hot dog restaurants such as Gus’s and
Famous Lunch. We decided that we needed to open a food truck that serves unique
grilled cheese sandwiches, mini hot dogs with home made meat sauce, a variety of
homemade soups and french fries with gravy in a vintage rock and roll environment.
3.2 MissionStatement
To create unique grilled cheese sandwiches and hot dogs in a rockin’ family run food
truck that always has customers leaving with a smile.
3.3 Vision Statement
Southbound aims to be one of the most popular food trucks in central Florida within
the first five years of business by serving top quality food made with fresh
ingredients.
3.4 Products
Southbound’s main product is the grilled cheese sandwich. Southbound has a small
product line with many different options for each product on the menu:
 Fresh bread including white, wheat, Italian, rye, sourdough and gluten free.
 Local fresh cheeses such as American, Cheddar, Swiss, Pepper Jack, Brie,
Mozzarella, Blue Cheese and Gorgonzola.
 Toppings that can be added to any sandwich such as bacon, tomato, avocado,
grilled onions, chips, mushrooms, jalapeños, ham, turkey and chicken.
 A house salad.
 Food that is always made to order.

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 Homemade soups made from family recipes.
 Beverages including: soda, lemonade, ice tea, chocolate milk and white milk.
One thing that we strive for in our company is to have fresh and local ingredients. All
our bread, meats and cheeses are made from local businesses and are fresh every day. All
menu items are listed in Appendix 1.
3.5 Ownership
Kelly Van Epps is the owner of Southbound. Southbound is a private corporation; all
shares are held by family members and Kelly. No shares are publicly traded.
3.6 Value Proposition
Southbound is different than its competitors because it is a family run food truck and I
wants to share the passion I have for food with others. There is no other food truck in the
Orlando area that sells specialty grilled cheese sandwiches or mini hot dogs with meat
sauce. Mini hot dogs are a new product in Florida and we have the advantage of knowing
how to prepare them since they are a New York food staple. We think that bringing food
that is very popular in New York down to Florida is going to attract a lot of customers
and make us stand out from our competition.
Southbound has found that while looking at other restaurant menus in the area we have a
menu unlike any other.
 We offer fresh and local ingredients that are always used in homemade
recipes.
 Our menu has high quality products that are always offered at low prices.
 Southbound is located on the beach where a large portion of tourists will
be.
 Customers can enjoy New York style menu items, which are offered
nowhere else in the area.
 Weekly specials of specialty grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade
soups.

6. 6
4.0 Market Analysis
Southbound is going to be a part of the food truck market in Orlando, Florida. This is a
market that is made up of different food trucks and food trailers that can either move
around from location to location to sell their products or they can stay parked in one
location for the day to sell their products.
4.1 Market Segmentation – Appendix 2
After looking at the market-product grid, we see that it is best for Southbound to segment
our market towards: tourists in the spring and summer, local residents and college
students and businesses. These numbers reflect that local residents will be going out to
lunch and dinner often; spring and summer are the biggest tourist’s seasons and college
students and business employees will also be going out to lunch often.
4.2 Consumers and Competitors Analysis
Large amounts of people in the Orlando area go out to eat on lunch breaks and for dinner.
With a vast amount of chain restaurants, there aren’t many places where consumers can
go to get a freshly prepared meal with local ingredients. Most of our consumers will be
people on their lunch break who need a quick and fresh meal. With over 50 different
food trucks, we will have a lot of competitors who already have a loyal customer base but
we will be bringing a new product to the market.
4.3 Target Market
After conducting interviews and surveys, we concluded that our primary target market
was going to be local residents with families and tourists. Our secondary target market is
going to be college students who go to school in the area and local businesses.

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5.0 Marketing Plan
5.1 Price Strategy
Southbound uses the penetration pricing strategy. This strategy was chosen because we
want to sell our products at a low price and sell in volume. This strategy also works well
with our target market being local residents, tourists, and college students.
5.2 Product Strategy- Appendix 2
The numbers can also help us determine our hours of operation. We will be open at
11am for lunch every day of the week. Sunday thru Thursday we will stay open until
10pm and Friday-Saturday we will be open until 12am. College students have one of the
highest snack numbers and most of those snacks take place late at night, after dinner and
on the weekends. Since they are in our secondary target market, staying open later on the
weekends can benefit us when they come to eat later in the night.
5.3 Promotion Strategy
As a new food truck, we know that we are going to need a lot of promotional activity to
gain the attention of customers. In order to advertise in the most productive ways, we
want to write an article in the Orlando Sentinel and the Orlando Times newspapers; have
flyers and menus in the tourist center in the city and at the local colleges; have coupons in
the local food magazine and make a Facebook and Twitter account for Southbound.
Word of mouth will also be a large part of our promotion strategy. We want as many
people to learn about Southbound and enjoy the food and tell their friends about it.
5.4 Distribution Strategy
We are going to sell our products to our consumers directly. They will order and pick up
their food at the window in our truck.

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6.0 Operations Plan
Southbound is going to be run by three or four family members and two to four other
staff members. Kelly is going to be in charge of making the schedule and ordering
products. We are going to prep our food in a professional kitchen where we will rent
space.
Southbound will be located in Orlando, Florida which has a population of 255,483
people. There are also many colleges located in the area and we will be parking near
those schools at different times of the year.
To start our business we need the food truck itself to and equipment to cook with. Some
of the equipment needed will be a deep fryer, flat top grill, refrigeration, freezer and sink.
7.0 Management Team and Company Structure
Southbound is going to be made up of fewer than ten employees. I will be the executive
chef and CEO. Bob Van Epps is going to be the manager of the every day operations and
the driver of the truck. Mary Kay Van Epps is going to be the CFO. She will be in
charge of all of the financials and keeping the books. The other staff members are going
to work the window and be line cooks.
Having a strong team is going to be critical. Working with a small staff in a small area
we are going to need to find people who we know want to share the passion that we do.
Hiring staff is going to be very important because we want to hire staff that are going to
be friendly and want to help us grow our business into one of the best food trucks in
Florida.

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8.0 Financial Projections- Appendix 3
8.1 Start Up Cost
Our start up cost is going to include the price of the truck where we hope to spend
$15,000 and make some repairs and updates costing $15,000. Our other start up cost is
going to be getting a permit. You can receive a two-year permit for $200 if the list isn’t
too long. Or you can buy a secondary permit for up to $15,000. Southbound is going to
apply for the two-year permit. I will be using personal funding for the startup cost of the
business and take out a personal loan if needed.
8.2 On-Going Cost
Our equipment cost will be any repairs that we have to make over time. We will have our
food costs each week along with payroll of the staff members. Other costs we will have
are gas, supplies, insurances, kitchen space and workers comp.
8.3 Monthly Sales
We are projecting selling 100 meals a day at an average price of $12 each. We believe
that as a new food truck it is going to take a little while to gain a large customer base so
we are setting our numbers low. Our 100 meals a day projection is lower than some other
food trucks but we feel it will increase rapidly and be on average with other trucks in
Orlando.

10. 10
Appendix 1
Southbound
Build Your Own Grilled Cheese
Price starts at $5.25 and additional cost per topping
Boogie Man- Choose a cheese and topping
DreamOn- Choose a cheese and two toppings
Sweet Emotion- Choose a cheese and three toppings
Walk This Way- Choose a cheese and four toppings
Breads
White, Wheat, Sourdough, Rye, Italian, Gluten free
Toppings
Bacon, Tomato, Avocado, Grilled Onions, Chips, Mushrooms, Jalapeños, Ham, Turkey, Chicken Veggies and
chips add $.25, meats add $.75
Cheese
American , Cheddar, Swiss, Pepper Jack, Brie*, Mozzarella*, Blue Cheese*, Gorgonzola* *add $.75
Specialty Grilled Cheese
GimmeThree Steps- Pick three cheeses….$5.00
Blue Sky- Cheddar and American with tomato on white….$5.50
Midnight Rider- American and cheddar cheese with meat sauce on Italian….$5.50
Win, Lose or Draw- Nan’s mac and cheese on Italian….$6.00
That Smell- Pepper jack and cheddar cheese with bacon, tomato and avocado on sourdough….$6.25
Hot Dogs
Ramblin’Man- Plain…$.75

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All Night Train- with the works*….$.90
*works (onions, mustard, meat sauce)
Sides and Soups
One Way Out- French fries….$2.75
Call Me the Breeze- French fries and gravy….$3.25
Jessica- House salad….$4.00
Old Friend- Creamy Tomato
Soul Shine- Mom’s chicken noodle
Stormy Monday- Uncle Gene’s pasta fagioli
Saturday Night Special- Soup of the day
Small Soup-$2.25, Large Soup-$3.00
Drinks
Soda, Lemonade, Ice Tea, Chocolate Milk and White Milk
Appendix 2
Market Segment Lunch Dinner Snack Total
Local Residents 5 4 3 12
Tourists
Spring 5 4 3 12

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Summer
Fall
Winter
5
3
4
5
2
3
4
2
2
14
7
9
College Students 5 5 4 14
Businesses 5 2 3 10
Appendix 3
Attached Excel Spreadsheet
Works Cited
Mayyasi, Alex. "Food Truck Economics." Priceonomics. N.p., 14 Mar. 2013. Web. 05
Aug. 2015. <http://priceonomics.com/post/45352687467/food-truck-economics>.
Chang, Jerome. "Food Truck Start-up Costs- A Realistic Breakdown." Upended.
Upended, 2012. Web. 5 Aug. 2015.
<http%3A%2F%2Fupended.net%2Fpost%2F25574021175%2Ffoodtruckstartupcosts>.
( for financials)

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