Vegan Food Truck Business Podcast

Surviving Cancer to Food Truck Success - Starting a Vegan Business After 60: Ep. 6

• Heather Zeitzwolfe • Season 1 • Episode 6

Share episode

Send us a text

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Annette Swindin, a 67-year-old entrepreneur who started her vegan food truck business at age 60 after surviving cancer. In this episode, Annette shares valuable insights about running a successful food truck business, including:

• How she acquired and modified her food truck 
• Tips for managing events and customer service 
• Using Square POS system for payment processing and data analysis 
• Pricing strategies and cost management 
• The importance of efficient food prep and quick service
 • Working with colleges and event planners 
• Transitioning from food truck to take-and-bake business
 • Using eco-friendly, recyclable products 
• Hiring the right personnel

Whether you're considering starting a food truck business or looking for inspiration to pursue your dreams later in life, Annette's story proves it's never too late to embark on a new entrepreneurial journey. Her experience demonstrates how determination, research, and excellent customer service can lead to success in the mobile food industry.

Connect with Annette Swindin:

Follow Savvy Frugal Vegan:
YouTube
Instagram
Facebook

Check out the website for upcoming workshops, events, coaching, and more
Website

Heather:

I'm Heather Zeitzwolfe Savvy Frugal Vegan, I'm here to help chef-preneurs, just like you, start, build and maintain a vegan food business.. If you want to have financial success in the vegan mobile food industry... whether it's a cart food truck, or pop up, I'm here to help you with business hacks, tips, tricks, and the pitfalls to avoid. Are you ready to map out your business journey, then put the key and the ignition a nd let's go for a ride. I am here today with Annette Swindon. From Vegan A Go Go and The Green Vegetarian. She's a food truck owner. She's done catering, pop ups, and I'm so excited to have you on the show today. Welcome!

Anette Swindin:

Thanks for having me.

Heather:

She is coming from her truck, which happens to be extremely cold braving this winter front that we're in. Where are you located?

Anette Swindin:

I'm in, Canton, Ohio, about, 50 minutes, south of Cleveland. It was minus twelve yesterday and we're up to 23 today.

Heather:

That is rough when you have a food truck when, times get this cold, do you keep your food truck open? Do or do you have to close your doors

Anette Swindin:

I'm done in October. It's too cold. My first year I had the food truck. I did some events in February, but it was so cold. I couldn't open my windows to serve people. once the stove and ovens got going, it was okay. But in October, most of the food trucks around this area are pretty much done for the season. There's a few still out but not many.

Heather:

when does the season start again in your area?

Anette Swindin:

usually March, April,

Heather:

During that gap, to, keep the revenue coming in? Are you doing catering pop ups?

Anette Swindin:

I've been doing some pop ups and, making food and having people, purchasing food from me. starting in a couple of weeks, I'm putting my food in a local grocery store.

Heather:

like a pre packed thing where people can take and bake

Anette Swindin:

Exactly. I'm probably going to hit some farmers markets There's a lot around here. They're all indoors, I'm probably going to try and hit them up. months, I just needed a break

Heather:

on your website you talk about how you had Hodgkin's and then it came back and you found a vegan diet started the food truck. Prior to that, were you a chef already or did veganism turn you into a chef?

Anette Swindin:

When I got the food truck, had never worked in a restaurant. I was absolutely clueless. I just went with it. I used to tell people, I don't read novels. I'd read cookbooks. I always like to cook. and, Fortunately, in my area all the other food truckers are so nice and helpful. They would help me in any way because, I was absolutely clueless. The first time the fire marshal came on my truck to check out the system. I had no idea And he's like, you have to be certified. I played pretty dumb my first year.

Heather:

there's so much, regulation around having a food truck. You mentioned the fire marshal, there's food inspectors. everywhere you go. It's different. licensing you might need or parking permits when you were starting out, you bought a food truck and it happened to be already a vegan food truck. How did that come about?

Anette Swindin:

prior to getting the food truck. I had Hodgkin's, the Hodgkin's got cured, but I was having issues with my heart because my tumor, was wrapped around the main arteries of my heart. I had to have a triple that's when I became vegan. a physician, asked if I had read Dr Esselstyn. a proponent of plant based foods. I read his book and it kind of changed my mind. from that I had to go to cardiac rehab. I became friends with one of the nurses that's when I Really went into vegan plant based cooking. I did demonstrations for her it was going well. Then I started doing pop ups in my home cooking classes in my home and people were asking me. Why don't you open a restaurant? And I'm like, hmmmmm...I didn't want that 24 7 commitment, so I kind of thought, Oh, I should just do a food truck. the next day, a friend of mine called me. She found this food truck. Some guy in Cleveland wants to sell it was like. The planets aligned. He was selling tacos. It was not plant based. Oh, when I walked into the truck, you could feel the grease. It was terrible. Long story short, he told me, oh, I bought the truck from St. Louis and it was actually a vegan food truck. the people in St. Louis, ended up getting a brick and mortar. So they sold a food truck.

Heather:

the universe really wanted that food truck to be vegan. it had a short stint of, greasy tacos that were not vegan. then went vegan. when you first started your truck being that you've never been in the restaurant business, how did you come up with your first menu and pick that out?

Anette Swindin:

I had been cooking, all along for, pop ups, so I had a feel. And my whole concept was to make regular Meat eater foods and turn it vegan because there's not a lot of vegans in this area or plant based up in Cleveland. I never ventured my food truck up an hour away. I was a little nervous going on the highway with it. Although she probably would have done fine. so I just kind of. Like research, a lot of research and decided, you know, burgers loaded, nachos, vegan hot dogs. then, had kind of a core menu. And would do specials, like oyster mushroom po boys. I would, introduce people to jackfruit, buffalo, cauliflower wraps, that kind of thing I, would. Experiment and see what worked.

Heather:

did you try to keep your menu limited or were you exploring different things? did you structure it?

Anette Swindin:

I had sections. I had, my burger section. So it would be likea cheeseburger I would have like three different burgers. And then I would do, different hot dog toppings, like a Chicago dog, a chili dog. then I would do loaded nachos. They were really popular. I had chili and cheese saucethat I made. Everything was made from scratch with the exceptions of the burgers and the hot dogs. I would buy those. It would be cohesive like I would have. Mac and cheese because I had the cheese sauce. one thing led to the other I usually had two specials, if I got a deal on, cauliflowers I would do the Buffalo cauliflower wrap. They were really popular. I have a local gal that does, mushrooms. so I would do different things with oyster mushrooms and at the farmer's market where the university was, Kent State, I would have a little bit of a breakfast menu because that was early in the morning from nine to one,

Heather:

when you first started out, how did you know which locations to go to? How did you scout those out?

Anette Swindin:

my first year I did anybody that would take me, which was mistake because I'd walk away making 50. then, I started getting smarter last year. I only picked events. I knew I would do well at, in our town in Canton. We have what's called 1st Friday. It's kind of like a party downtown. the 1st years I did that, there was only like 4 or 5 food trucks and it was a big thing if you got picked to do it. this past couple years, the last time I did it, I was not happy. There were 20 food trucks, way too many there's different events around town. I did well at farmers markets because that's where more people are healthy a lot of graduation parties. I did, A couple of weddings, and different parties. when people say, oh, we have some vegans, but will you make regular food And I said, no, my truck is a vegan food truck. I'm not going to compromise that. And I could have made more money,

Heather:

Well, good for you. we have to stand by our ethics so much of being a vegan is sending a message food can still be delicious. Meat eaters can eat vegan food and they'll probably enjoy

Anette Swindin:

a matter of fact. A friend of mine, and her husband neither one of them are plant based, and her husband was like, yeah, your food is so good, you would never know that it's vegan. I know a lot of times when I was at events, they didn't know one time I had a guy come up to me, he ordered, pretzels with my cheese sauce and he goes, there's something off with this cheese I said, well, it's vegan. And he goes, Oh, I have vegan all over my menu all over my truck. I'm like, I'm so sorry. You don't know how to read yeah, it's just different but one person they ordered my chili mac which was my chili with Mac and cheese, and I layer it with more cheese sauce, and they were not vegan. They came back and told me it was the best thing they ever had, then I did another event, and they came. We knew you were going to be here, so we had to come and get that chili mac you made. some people get it, which is nice.

Heather:

what is a big lesson that you have learned that other food truck owners, should know?

Anette Swindin:

the most important thing for me was to not take every event like my first year I did. this past year, I was very selective. in past I might have done. 60 events for this season. some people. Do way more than that this past year. I did maybe 30 I made just as much money. the 1st year. You probably should go out there and do everything to get your name known.... and then you can start. Being a little more selective if you've gone to an event, there's a lot of people there, you know. Oh, I want to get my truck here. that's very important. a lot of times if you get contacted and say, Hey, can you do our event? I always ask. how many people do you expect? how many food trucks are there going to be? even though I'm a vegan food truck and it's very selective. I found like at the Canton first Friday. when there were only five food trucks, I did well because people would go, well, let's try this, right? There's 20 food trucks. They have so much to choose from. They're not going to pick a vegan food truck if they're not vegan. be selective.

Heather:

What about the cost to be at these events? Are some More expensive than others, and how do you justify the cost? Does it depend on how many trucks are going to be there and the promised amount of people at the event?

Anette Swindin:

That's a big thing. that's why I like doing farmers markets. it wasn't very much, but some of these bigger events, they can be 275 the 1 event that I did. Do that cost me 275. I do well, and I've done it every year it's worth it. I make up my money.

Heather:

you've tapped into catering and other type of events. You mentioned corporate events. How are you getting those clients? Are they word of mouth? networking? How do you get those?

Anette Swindin:

Yes, mostly word of mouth That's one thing about doing those events. I would go on Facebook, in my area, there's page called, Northeast Ohio food trucks people post. looking for a food truck. We have this event coming up on such and such date at this place. if you're interested, contact us that's a good way to find events. once you're out there for a year, they contact you. Oh, can you do our event again? I've already been contacted for several events for this season So that's another thing there's a lot on Facebook, I learned a lot from different people asking questions. You have to watch out for scammers I got asked to do an event at a country club. I'm like, why would they want a food truck at a country club? it was for this particular organization and they were having a meeting. I said, I'm going to show up at. That meaning and just find out more about it because I didn't get a good feeling Sure enough. The woman said oh, that's a scam. you just have to be careful if anybody asks for money up front, you just have to be really careful. That's why I always went with places I knew events I knew

Heather:

that's very important because there's so many scammers out there. I put on a vegan event. This past winter and there was a person scamming on Facebook, trying to sell tables at my event. I could not believe it

Anette Swindin:

It's frightening. especially with food trucks, people get burned, if you do a catered event, just say it's X amount my minimum is this and whatever it might be and be real up front And then at like corporate events, I say, my minimum to be there is a 1000 dollars. if I make 1000 dollars. you don't owe me anything. if I only make 800, You owe me 200 you can play hardball with them if you're traveling far, they're telling you, oh, we have 300 employees and then you get there and you're making all this food and. then no one buys it. You want to make sure you're paying for your food that you made.

Heather:

that's a great idea to have a minimum as a base so that you'll at least make that if not more.

Anette Swindin:

I had to learn the hard way if they don't want to pay it's not worth being there because you can't make all your food and come home and you've made negative 500. That's just not worth it.

Heather:

Right. driving there with gas prices, and you buy ahead and you think that you're going to sell a certain amount of food and now you have all this inventory and you can't get rid of it. Unfortunately, food does not keep for very long.

Anette Swindin:

yeah, so that's that's real important to learn You have to learned the hard way. when you're beginning, you do everything because you want your name out there.

Heather:

Yeah. And you get excited Oh, someone wants me. They said, yes, and then we put down our guard and we forget like, Oh, there's scammers out there or, Oh, maybe they're inflating the numbers of people that are going to buy or be at the event.

Anette Swindin:

And they definitely do that. And then, there's times At this big event my girl that helps me, we set everything up I get in the truck It wouldn't start. sometimes that happens I missed out on that event because my truck wouldn't go. you can make money, depending on what area you're in. my area. I tried to keep with mainstream stuff because if I did anything too outrageous, it would be too different I tried to make everything as healthy as possible.. but, depending on where you're at, you can do wonderful things, you know, I sold a lot of burgers. and they were burgers that I purchased from a company called motif. you can't buy them in the store. I went to a vegan, convention in New York a couple of years ago, and I found them there they were just so delicious and lower in fat even though I've been vegan, since 2009, so quite a long time, I still loved burgers, cheeseburgers. to me, they came close to what I remembered, a real cheeseburger, and people loved them.

Heather:

when you first started, what is one thing that you learned

Anette Swindin:

if you own a food truck and you're new, make sure you have a lot. Extra cash because you never know what could happen to the truck my generator was acting up I had to get that fixed it's always a little bit of something.

Heather:

There's so many moving parts that can go wrong. when you first started out, did you have savings put aside? Did you take out loans?

Anette Swindin:

I was fortunate. I had a savings. so I was able to buy my truck and, go from there. lot of credit card. I kind of maxed out you know, go buy food and stuff But then, you make money and you, pay them off, you definitely have to have some reserve of money or are able to get money I don't know if I mentioned, I am selling my truck. anybody needs a food truck. I got a really nice food truck I loved doing it but when you do everything by yourself, it's hard. that's why I think I'm going to break off and do take and bake stuff. I'll be very sad when my truck goes,

Heather:

food trucks are a great way of getting your name out there being seen in the community as stepping stone for something else. it could mean a brick and mortar that you're doing more catering, individual pop ups, parties, and then like you're doing getting into a whole new stream of income Right. I'm assuming you're going to either cook from home or have a commissary kitchen. how did you get into the local grocery store?

Anette Swindin:

when I don't have the truck anymore. I have a commissary kitchen and this particular store contacted me. they knew of my truck heard I was thinking of selling it they were asking me, what are you going to do? they have a commissary too. they contacted me. And then they go, oh, we would love you to. Sell your food in our commissary. I haven't done it yet because I found out I have to have another certification It's like a management certification. And I'm like, oh, my God, I've been running a food truck for 6 years. So. she goes, well, yeah, I know. So

Heather:

Do you have to have labels with the contents?

Anette Swindin:

yeah, the label has to have what's in it. fortunately, when you do plant base, you won't have any unrecognizable names. It'll be like. Nutritional yeast, you know, onion powder, onions, so that's good. you do have to have it labeled. a couple of years ago, I was the vegan chef at a that was a really nice event because it was during winter months, it took me an hour to get there and I had to get up at 430 in the morning, but it was worth it. anyway. a lot of opportunity out there with a food truck. That's for sure. go to a college because they always have some sort of events going on all the time

Heather:

who would they contact at a college? Is there a particular department

Anette Swindin:

call the college and say, I'm looking for the events planner they might say, we don't have that. then say, I have a food truck. I'm looking at the person that might want to. Book us or whatever. they'll tell you who to go to. Fortunately, all the colleges had contacted me because there's not very many vegan food trucks in my area. So, if they wanted plant base, they always would say, we heard about you and positive reviews. I was very lucky I'm sad, to sell the truck, but just on to the next venture.

Heather:

when you first bought the truck, being that it was already a vegan truck, then it was a taco truck, Did you have to do much as far as repairs or upgrades to it, or was it pretty much ready to go?

Anette Swindin:

it was pretty much ready to go. there was just a flat top in here. There wasn't an oven. the 1st year I did use that. the fryer was in here. I never use the fryer. the 2nd year I. Got the fire out and then I had a stove put in like a regular stove. that was probably the only thing I changed in the truck. when I purchased it, it was ready to go. I had my refrigerators and my steaming, table ready to go.

Heather:

if someone wants to buy your truck, then it's pretty much good to go.

Anette Swindin:

nice about my truck is my generator's built in. if you go events you'll notice people, have their generators away from the truck Mine's built in. So, all I have to do is hit the switch and it goes on. My propane tank is also built in underneath the truck. when I bought the truck, I had no idea about any of this. I didn't realize how lucky I was

Heather:

You hear so many horror stories about all the things people have to do

Anette Swindin:

Someone was watching over me for sure.

Heather:

when you first were taking payment, you're new to all of this, did you have A POS. were you taking cash credit cards? How did that work for you?

Anette Swindin:

I take any form of credit cards and use, square. I highly recommended you do have to pay for that. It's a percentage of your total sales. It didn't amount to that much because then at the end of the event. I would put the menu on the Square app I could see how many burgers I sold, how many nachos I sold. it was really nice. then I knew year to year, Oh, I went to this event last year and sold a lot of mac and cheese, so I better make a lot of mac and cheese. it was really helpful. highly recommend Square.

Heather:

I love that you looked back at the data and you made conscious decisions around like, this is what sold before. I'm going to double down on this again the next year. How did you determine your pricing? Did you just look at what everybody else was doing? you measuring each thing to figure out how much you're going to charge? How did that work for you?

Anette Swindin:

I would get yelled at by my sister. You don't know exactly how much you make. And I kind of did because like, let's say a burger. I knew how much I paid per burger per piece of cheese. hamburger bun. I figured, okay, it cost me X to make this. I can charge X, X, X, to make profit. my prices were well within everybody else's food trucks.

Heather:

what about all of the extra things like utensils I don't know in Ohio if you have any kind of regulations but some places they have to be compostable Did you have any restrictions to abide by that was more expensive

Anette Swindin:

since I'm a vegan food truck, I try to be, proactive. recyclable. products that's what I use in your pricing, you figured how much is that going to cost you?

Heather:

any last thoughts you want to tell people if they're wanting to take the same kind of adventure you have?

Anette Swindin:

I would say go for it. I did this adventure at 60. I'm turning 67 in April. that's why I decided it's time to semi retire the food truck. I figured I was in my last chapter of my life. I should just go for it. So I would say go for it. I knew absolutely nothing. if I can do it, anybody can do it. I did a lot of reading and research. you have to have some extra money available. to pay for gas and propane and all of that, but it is definitely worth it. it depends on your area too.

Heather:

you've got such a great personality. I think that probably lent itself for you. Getting so many gigs, through your truck you have this aura about you it's very comforting.

Anette Swindin:

Oh, yeah. on big events, I had somebody help me taking orders that person is very important my backs. To whoever's buying my food because I'm busy prepping it. So whoever is your person taking the money make sure they have a great personality because you could lose sales fortunately, I've had great people helping me that were just as vivacious and Fun, a lot of people would make comments. Oh, those 2 girls were so much fun she was phenomenal. I've had great people to help also you have to be fast. That's really important. There's only ever been 2 people on my truck, me and another person. And I'm the only 1 that's basically doing the food. 1 time I went to a food truck and there were 3 people helping and the food took forever. I have everything prepped and ready to go because people hate to wait.

Heather:

especially at an event where there's things going on. Maybe there's music and people want to get to a concert. They're just going to get annoyed. you don't want that to be what they remember you by

Anette Swindin:

exactly.

Heather:

Annette, thank you so much for being on the podcast today.

Anette Swindin:

Oh, thanks for having me. It was so fun. if you know anyone that wants a food truck, contact me.