Types of Candy Floss Machines

There are 2 basic types of these machines.  The first kind is meant for home use, and is a pretty simple and inexpensive machine.  The truth is that making candy floss is in fact very easy.  All you really need is a motor and a heating element.  Home candy floss machines usually cost somewhere in the range of $40, and are small, lightweight, tabletop units.  All you need to do is get some of the special colored sugar, turn on the machine, pick up a stick, and twist the sweet stuff yourself.

The other type is the kind that is used by people selling candy floss at festivals, street fairs, or pretty much anywhere lots of people congregate.  This type is obviously more elaborate than the home-kitchen models, and therefore costs a bit more.  If you want to get serious about making large quantities of candy floss quickly, then I recommend getting a good commercial candy floss machine.  They cost around $300 for good quality units, but in a busy place you can make your investment back in a single day!  As far as mobile kitchens go, candy floss machines can really rake in the profits, since it only costs a few cents worth of sugar to make a big stick that you sell for a couple of dollars.  This makes it 99% profit, among the best mobile kitchen business models.

If you only need a large machine for one event, consider a candy floss machine hire.  They are available at most large equipment hire and rental businesses, and are a good way to make some extra cash for a weekend fundraiser or event.  Alternatively, check on the online bulletin boards like craigslist.org for a candy floss machine for sale.  You might be able to pick up a great machine at a price of about what it would cost to rent one for the weekend!

After you get your candy floss machine, you are going to need some of the sugary stuff too make it.  You can either order this online, buy it from a rental shop along with your rental, or get it from a candy supplies shop.  These days, you can even make sugar free candy floss, but as with any sweets that are sugar-free these days, they are indeed sweetened with a sugar substitute, so make sure you find out which one it is, since some of them aren’t so good for your health (such as aspartame).  Find candy floss sugar online here, and a selection of candy floss machines here.

The carnival has always been a place for festivities primarily for kids.  But since kids cannot leave the home unaccompanied, adults are their ever faithful companions.  And more often than not, they enjoy twice the fun that their kids took pleasure in.  Kids find joy in every ride and chow booth that a carnival offers, plus the fact that they can bump into school friends or maybe make a few new ones.  While the adults – enjoying a ride or two that could fit them in would suffice, but the joy in their children’s eyes can never equate to a price tag.

Some parents really will do anything just to keep the smile on their kids’ faces.  So having a personal carnival machine that spews out a fluffy, pink, and sweet concoction at home is pretty easy to do these days.  It would have been almost impossible back in the day, but now that candy floss machines for the home are already out in the market, and you can make everyday a celebration.

A candy floss machine is your typical candy floss maker that was made famous by carnivals and now has been hitting homes everywhere.  For a quick treat for the sweet tooth, having one at home would be a good idea, especially for families with quite a few kids.  This machine would be great not just for whipping up an after school delight, but for parties that you plan on having right at your own home.

Most of these machines were designed under the classic color premise of pink.  Candy floss had pink as its standard color, although other colors may be incorporated into the mixture.  The tabletop machine may vary in design, from having the vintage box-on-wheels look or one in a simple round form.

Candy floss is basically a web of sugar.  Although sugar may ring high in a diabetic’s or dentist’s ear, if taken in moderation, you won’t be stuffed with a load of calories.  The resultant size of a local fair serving may be a big lump of wool, but it does not offer as many calories as one would think.  The size doesn’t equate to tons of sugar.  Tartrazine is the dye responsible for its color, which may come in any available color that you could imagine, so you can keep a bunch of different colors on hand to create a rainbow of candy floss.

It may not be advisable to have eat this stuff on a regular or daily basis, but people can satisfy a good craving once in a while.  Probably a weekend family bonding moment would be an adequate reason for your candy floss machine to leave its storage corner.  And when we say “bonding moment,” the doses are obviously not just for the kids, but for the kids at heart as well.

Tags: Appliances, Mobile Kitchens by Jeffrey
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There are certain situations when you need a mobile kitchen.  They come in a wide variety of sizes, from small, compact units to huge setups that can feed thousands of people.  Here are some of the situations that require the use of a mobile kitchen:

• Company and special events
• Food trucks and vendors
• Disaster relief:  Workers and volunteers need to be fed
• Renovations:  For when you can’t shut down your kitchen while you renovate
• Fairs and festivals
• Military camps
• Trade shows
• Temporary health care units and hospitals

Mobile Kitchens for Sale

While many people rent a mobile kitchen, there are many situations when you should buy one.  The most common reason why people buy one is because they want to use it for business.  A mobile kitchen rental is fine, but if you are going to use it more than a few times, it easily makes sense to buy one.  People all over the world have successful businesses that are run out of mobile kitchens.  If you don’t have a lot of starting capital, it is fairly easy to find a used mobile kitchen for sale.  People sell them every day, all over the world, which means that you don’t have to pay top dollar for used mobile kitchens, and can start your business with less money.

Mobile Kitchen Rentals

If you just need a mobile kitchen for one situation, you should definitely rent one.  Mobile kitchen rentals are available worldwide, and they vary from small-scale operations that rent vending trucks to large scale businesses that can customize and deliver an on-site mobile kitchen that is literally big enough to feed an army.

Mobile Kitchen Rental Costs

It is a given that the rental costs are going to vary depending on your needs, the location, and the company you choose.  Here are a few guidelines to think about:  It costs a lot to deliver and return a mobile kitchen to its location, so the prices for one day or a few days are going to be expensive.  All rental companies should give steep discounts for weekly or monthly rentals.  It is often the same price to rent a unit for a month as it is for only a few days.  Small kitchen trucks can be rented for as little as $150 per day, depending on the condition, size and intended use of the truck.  Large kitchen trailers cost $2,000 or more per day, but monthly rentals start at around $6,000 and go up from there, depending on the size and features.

Types of Mobile Kitchens

There are two basic types of mobile kitchens.  The first kind is the mobile kitchen truck.  This type of unit is an all-in-one cooking machine.  You can just drive it to wherever it is needed, and then park it and get to work.  Mobile kitchen trucks are good for smaller operations and food vendors.  The sides of the trucks generally open and awnings can be erected as well.  They are run by generators that power the stoves, grills, bar fridge, and other appliances.  These trucks can be custom made by a number of manufacturers, and are the easiest to find used.

The second type is the mobile kitchen trailer.  When you need to feed a lot of people at the same time, a truck usually just isn’t going to cut it.  Mobile kitchen trailers are the solution to large scale cooking in locations that don’t have permanent facilities.  There are different types of kitchen trailers, each specializing in a different area.  Here are some of the most common mobile kitchen trailers that are available.

• All-in-one mobile trailers:  Have everything you need in one unit to cook basic meals
• Bakery production trailers
• Food preparation trailers
• Dishwashing units
• Refrigeration and freezer trailers:  You can get them separately or together.

These mobile kitchen trailers are also called modular kitchens because you can mix and match them to fulfill your needs.  You can get any number of different mobile kitchen units and put them together to meet your demands.

Tags: Mobile Kitchens, Outdoor Kitchens by Jeffrey
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A lot of people have been asking me lately about how they go about buying a used mobile kitchen.  Questions I hear repeatedly are:  What should I look for when buying a mobile kitchen?  Is there some sort of guide for buying a used mobile kitchen?  If you are thinking of purchasing one of these mobile kitchens, here are some things that you need to know first.

First of all, I’m sure you realize by now that you will have to lay down quite a bit of cash to purchase one of these kitchen trucks.  Although prices will vary a lot depending on what your needs are, expect to pay a few thousand for the cheapest models that you can find and well into the tens of thousands for used mobile kitchens complete with all of the cooking accessories.  Nevertheless, spending $20,000 on a mobile kitchen that can easily generate $80,000 of sales in a year is a smart investment.  Some people never step up from the simple table with a popcorn machine, but a fully equipped mobile kitchen is capable of a whole lot more.

The second consideration that you need to think about is weather you want a mobile kitchen truck or just a mobile kitchen trailer.  The difference between the two types is that a kitchen truck is one unit that you can drive around.  The second type is a mobile kitchen in a trailer that you will need to attach to another vehicle to tow it where you want to go.  In general, the trailers are usually cheaper, since they don’t have the truck attached to them, but they are best suited for certain situations.

A kitchen trailer is best for when you have a location where you can just park your trailer for extended periods of time.  Examples of this are state fairs and festivals that last a few days or longer.  Even if you are travelling a long distance from home, you can simply tow your mobile kitchen trailer to the site, detach the hitch, and you will have a truck available to drive around town or to a motel at night without having to take your kitchen with you!

If however most of your business is one day events like farmer’s markets and swap meets, a single mobile kitchen truck may be a better choice.  When you consider the cost of buying the trailer and the truck to pull it separately, it often works out cheaper to just buy them both as one unit, and it is a lot easier to drive a kitchen truck around town than a vehicle pulling a trailer!

As for tips on actually looking for used mobile kitchens for sale, you might get lucky and find a reasonable one near you.  If not, consider looking online for trucks available further away.  Even if you have to fly somewhere to pick up a mobile kitchen at a great price and drive it home, it might be worth it if you have the time.  The best places to look for them are on craigslist under for sale: businesses listings.  There will always be some used mobile kitchens for sale since a lot of people try this business but lack the drive and perseverance to flourish.

Tags: Mobile Kitchens by Jeffrey
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If you are going to have a go at the prepared food business, you have a few choices when it comes to getting started.  Many people lease a restaurant space and simply dive headfirst into their venture.  While this may work for some dedicated and talented people, many others see their dreams fall by the wayside when they can’t keep up with their costs.  For this reason, many people try launching their business with a mobile kitchen.  There are plenty of reasons for this.
First, it costs just a small fraction of what you would have to pay for restaurant space.  This means that you have a longer time frame to build your loyal customer base.  Second, operating a mobile kitchen lets you move your business where the customers are.  This means that you can set up shop at festivals, events, or even large construction sites.  The third reason buying a mobile kitchen for sale is a great way to get started is that you have very low overhead costs.  It is easily possible to do all the work by yourself with a mobile kitchen, which eliminates the need for hiring employees like wait-staff, dishwashers, and cooks, which are pretty much a necessity for conventional restaurants.

Types of Mobile Kitchens for Sale

There are many different types of mobile kitchens for sale, because they can be used for so many things.  Of course, you have the option to either purchase a new truck or get one second hand.  Unless you have a large amount of start-up capital, it is usually a wise idea to look for used mobile kitchens for sale.  They cost only a small fraction of the new price and there are many of them out there due to the high turnover rate of this type of business.  You should be able to find one that has the accessories you need.  If it looks a little rough on the outside, you can usually paint it and decorate it nicely for a lot less than the price of a new truck.

Here are some of the more popular items mobile kitchen trucks are selling food to people:

• Ice cream and shaved ice
• Coffee, espresso, and other drinks
• Shakes and fruit smoothies
• Hot dogs
• Tacos and Burritos
• Burgers
• Falafels

Of course, there are plenty of successful entrepreneurs who sell their own unique items.  Nearly every large university has food trucks that provide students with inexpensive and diverse lunch options.  While the school cafeterias are unlikely to offer interesting dishes like Chinese of Middle Eastern cuisine, food trucks can easily fill this void.

Popularity of Mobile Kitchens

Although there have been mobile kitchens roaming the streets for decades, in recent years some of them have achieved almost inconceivable popularity.  There are now hundreds of gourmet mobile food kitchens roaming the streets of Los Angeles and other cities.  One enterprising landowner even set up a mobile food truck station on his vacant lot, with numerous trucks offering their culinary delights.  You can read more about this story in this article.

Tags: Mobile Kitchens by Jeffrey
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There are a few different types of mobile kitchens, and each one is built to serve a specific purpose.  The main kinds of mobile kitchen are small food trucks that sell meals, tent kitchens that can be set up for events, and finally large modular kitchens that are enclosed in trailers.  Let’s take a look at these three types and what each one is used for.

Mobile Kitchen Trucks

The most common type of mobile kitchen is the truck that is used as food vending business.  You can find them on city streets, in company and construction parking lots, and in fairs and festivals.  These trucks are great for running your own small vending business because you can drive them around to where they are most needed.  Many people make good livings with these trucks, and in some cities people truly love them, standing in long lines for a simple lunch at one of these mobile truck kitchens.  Read this LA Times article for information on this mobile food phenomenon.  If this business sounds like something you want to get into, you don’t have to dish out the huge sum of money that a new truck will cost.  Look for mobile kitchens for sale on Craigslist or the newspaper for a used mobile kitchen, which will be a fraction of the new price.  When buying a used mobile kitchen truck, some sellers will want you to pay extra because you are really taking over their business.  While this might add to the price, one advantage of doing it this way is that the previous owner will have already gotten the health and safety permits necessary to operate, saving you a bit of time, hassle, and red tape.

Mobile Kitchen Tents

Mobile kitchen tents are the type that you see on the grounds of county fairs and company picnics.  Although you can buy them, most of these are rented from large rental companies.  These tents are usually only used for short events because they can’t really be locked up like a truck or trailer can.  Additionally, they are exposed to the weather.  You can find a mobile kitchen rental in every larger city, and these tend to be cheaper than large kitchen trailers because you can pick up the equipment in a smaller truck or van and transport it yourself if you want to.

Mobile Kitchen Trailers

A mobile kitchen trailer is normally used for temporary meal preparation in places where normal kitchens are unavailable.  Common uses are disaster stations, volunteer stations, festivals and fairs, and for use as a kitchen during renovations.  Most people rent these kitchen trailers because the cost of setting up a new one is usually very expensive.  Different types are available, with each trailer set up to do a specific task.  You can choose from all inclusive kitchen trailers, freezer trailers, prep stations, and others.  Some customers rent a few of these, place them side by side, and use them to feed hundreds, or thousands of people.  Another important thing to know about kitchen trailers is that there are deep discounts available for long term rentals.  This is because the delivery and pickup costs are so high.  In many instances, it is actually cheaper to rent them for a month than for a few days!

Tags: Mobile Kitchens by Jeffrey
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