OUT THE BOX

NOW THAT’S A GOOD IDEA…MOBILCHEF

MOBILE GROWTH

WITH COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS HAMPERING RETAILERS’ ABILITY TO OPERATE THEIR FOOD-TO-GO ANDCOFFEE BUSINESSES, A BESPOKE MOBILE RETAIL UNIT AND KITCHEN COULD BE JUST THE JOB TOUNLOCK FRESH GROWTH.

WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?

Mobile retail and kitchen units.

HOW DOES THAT WORK?

A company called Mobilchef offers a big range of fully bespoke mobile solutions that retailers can use to add everything from a standalone coffee shop in the car park to a fully-fledged two floor restaurant complete with professional kitchen. They’ve even launched a mobile drive-thru.

HOW MOBILE?

Well, you can’t hook them up to your Fiat 500 and off you go, but they are easily moveable with a low loader and a Hiab, which you can apparently hire for a few hundred pounds for a day.

WHERE CAN THEY BE SITED?

Anywhere you can get permission.

You can stick one in your car park if you have space, you can take it to a local festival or gala day, you can move it wherever you like. With in-store dining restrictions effectively ruling out on-site foodservice, this is an interesting way to expand foodservice operations outdoors and offer shoppers an engaging new alternative. It might be ideal with Christmas around the corner.

WHAT OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE?

The company offers basic, standard and plus versions of mobile units ranging from small single-axle ‘Mobox’ mini kiosks up to much larger Mobox Mega Kiosks. They also offer a range of ‘Food-Tainers’ that looks a little like branded shipping containers but are still mobile, modular fully-fitted kitchen systems, cold rooms and even caravan type mobile kitchens that are fitted permanently to the back of a commercial vehicle. If you want to go mad, you can even order a multi-floor mobile restaurant with its own kitchen.

ARE THE SOLUTIONS PLUG AND PLAY?

Pretty much. Some of the smaller solutions can be installed and selling product within a few hours and all units are available fully complete with literally everything you need built in. All units are also fully customisable and can be fully branded to your specifications.

SOUNDS EXPENSIVE...

They’re not exactly cheap, but they offer a quick and effective way of instantly growing daily sales in high margin categories – so getting a return on your investment shouldn’t take too long. They start around £16k and you can spend hundreds of thousands if you want to go all-singing-all-dancing.

HOW DO I FIND OUT MORE?

Visit www.mobilchef.com or email info@mobilchef.com.