Food Trucks, Small Bricks and Mortar Restaurants: Gastronomic Collective. Key Factors For An Emerging Customer Profile.

IPASJ International Journal of Management (IIJM)
Web Site: http://www.ipasj.org/IIJM/IIJM.htm

A Publisher for Research Motivation ........ Email:editoriijm@ipasj.org
Volume 5, Issue 9, September 2017 ISSN 2321-645X
Food trucks, small bricks and mortar

restaurants: gastronomic collective. Key factors
for an emerging customer profile.
Onsimo Cuamea Velzquez1 , Karen G. Ramos Higuera2
1
Universidad Autnoma de Baja California, Facultad de Turismo y Mercadotecnia Calzada Universidad 14418, UABC,
Parque Internacional Industrial Tijuana, 22390 Tijuana, B.C.
21
Universidad Autnoma de Baja California, Facultad de Turismo y Mercadotecnia Calzada Universidad 14418, UABC,
Parque Internacional Industrial Tijuana, 22390 Tijuana, B.C
ABSTRACT
The problem consists in the lack of knowledge of the factors by which the local residents choose a gastronomic collective in
Tijuana, Mexico. The information was obtained by applying an exit pool survey to a selected sample of 450 local residents in
the city. Seventeen items were included in the exploratory factor analysis. The results show five key factors influencing the
decision: Swiftness-Variety, Quality of Food, Service Personnel, Establishment-Price and Washrooms. The combination of
factors distinguish regular food trucks from the service in a gastronomic collectives, the characteristics of the establishment or
the place where the gather makes possible to offer a better service with personnel, a common area where customers can seat at
the tables and use washrooms as in a establish restaurant, with the same variety and quality food but with faire prices.
Keywords: gastronomic collective, customer profile, food trucks,
1. INTRODUCTION
The increase in gourmet food trucks represents a consumption trend that involves a shift from conventional fast food
chains and brick and mortar restaurants to something more peculiar and local. From the socioeconomic point of view,
the owners/operators of gourmet food trucks made marketing efforts that significantly influence the perception of the
local consumers they attract. Not only do they contribute significantly to the development of a viable customer base, but
it also helps today's gourmet food trucks differentiate themselves from previous versions of mobile restaurants. Such
strategies are essential for these restaurants-on wheels to establish a viable market [1].
The Corporation of the City of Waterloo defined a food truck as a motorized vehicle from which refreshments are
cooked, carried or offered for consumption to the general public [2]. For his part, Rishi argue that is any truck that is
selling food on the street, and includes the Twitter truck also known as gourmet food trucks [3]. For Rivera, there is a
food trade through a mobile unit [4]. In any case, the main objective of this model of business is to offer easy and quick
food to prepare with a very low cost of production. They belong to the formal economy sector because they pay taxes
and have registered trademarks [4].
Huey mentions that a number of hypotheses exist for the dramatic rise of food truck sellers. Some cite the impact of the
recession on brick and mortar establishments, while others point to the use of social media that allow sellers to reach
followers in real time [5]. Also adds that according to a 2012 forecast the food truck industry is expected to account for
approximately $ 2.7 billion in food revenues in 2017, making it a major sector in the food services industry in America
[5].
The results of the consumer profile in Los Angeles show the majority of patrons access food trucks by car, exhibiting
the irony of "mobile" food, since 83% reportedly traveled less than 5 minutes to arrive at the truck. In addition, they
point out that the typical waiting time is between 5 and 10 minutes (almost the same as in a fast food restaurant and
much faster than in a brick and mortar restaurant), noting that consumers visited the trucks because the food tasted
great and the price was reasonable [3].
Volume 5, Issue 9, September 2017 Page 8

With regard to the Vancouver experience Couturier, Kinsman and Suhotin found that in support of the movement of
food trucks, respondents come to these establishments in search of quality food at a low price. The three main attributes
directly related to satisfaction are food, service and appearance [6].
In the case of Sidney, the Food Truck operators argue that their customer profile depended on the time of service;
during lunchtime attracting a corporate client, and night time service attracting a younger consumer in their 20s and
30s. In sume, they had a younger customer than the average restaurant/food establishment [7].
For his part, Portland has a number of mobile food trucks around the city; the majority of their mobile vending occurs
on private property, particularly surface parking lots and vacant lots [8].
A gastronomic collective is a space of coexistence of diverse proposals of urban kitchen with characteristics that make
it unique. Factors to evaluate this new proposal are customer service, food quality, environment, hygiene and
price/quality ratio [9].
The results of Nguyen show that there is a gap between what customers would like to have and what food trucks offer
them. In terms of product diversity, many of the kitchen and products desired by customers are missing in the market.
However, the amount of money they are willing to pay is actually lower than market prices although they consider that
the current prices are reasonable. Customers claim they would like to receive their service in other locations than
downtown and festival venues. It is suggested that the operational schedules of food trucks be extended not only
clustered for festival or weekend nights [10].
According to the analyzed experiences, the Food Truck regulations prohibit them to offer seating and table service for
their customers; when food trucks break down they cannot serve food to their customers; remain in a fixed location
only on days and times authorized [11]. Since the industry is relatively young and there in not so many academic
researches on food trucks, further studies are needed on consumer profile, behavior and consumer satisfaction level in
food trucks [10].
2. AN ORIGINAL ENTREPRENEURIAL PRACTICE IN MEXICO

A new form of entrepreneurial association of food truck owners emerged in the city of Tijuana, Mexico. This new
business strategy is called a gastronomic collective and is characterized by unique features that distinguish them from
the way it operates in other countries. In the city there are currently eight collectives.
This new business scheme is develop in three modalities. One corresponds to places where only food trucks are
permanently located. The second one refers to a mix in the type of business: there are food trucks and small brick and
mortar restaurants. The third is distinguished by including only small brick and mortar restaurants. In any of these
three ways, they share the following characteristics:
First, they are no longer located in the suburbs nor are they grouped only when festivals are held in downtown, now
they are located all over the city.
Second, usually they pay rent for the space they occupy in the collective.
Third, they have waiter service to serve customers, which reduces waiting times and improves attention.
Fourth, they are grouped in one place and share common facilities (chairs, tables, trash cans, parking, etc.), allowing to
meet a greater demand of customers who seek variety in their food in one place.
Fifth, they have common washrooms for their clients, improving the perception of hygiene and comfort.
Sixth, they no longer move around the city so the customer already knows where to find them, instead look for their
current location through social networks.
Seventh, they are called and promoted as collectives of urban gourmet food.

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
From the problem of lack of knowledge of the factors by which local residents of Tijuana take into account to consume
in a gastronomic collective, it was decided to carry out an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) using the quantitative
method, applying the survey technique to achieve the following objectives.
1. To identify the sociodemographic profile of local consumers in gastronomic collectives.

2. - Classify factors that local residents take into account to consume in a gastronomic collective.
3.1. Sampling Unit

It was determined to survey local residents at the exit of gastronomic collectives, who accepted to respond to the survey,
excluding residents of other cities in Mexico or abroad.
3.2. Definition of Sample Size and Procedure for Data Collection

To define the sample size a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of 5% were established, resulting in 450
local residents being surveyed at the exit of gastronomic collectives. In order to validate the final instrument, two pilot
surveys of the instrument were carried out in the month of September of 2016; each pilot test was applied with a sample
of 40 visitors.
A situation that is necessary to mention is that during the pre-tests a significant proportion of the respondents selected
the "neutral" option, which generated a bias in the obtained information, for that reason it was decided to eliminate it
from the answer. The exclusion of the neutral option does not necessarily change the proportion of responses that
incline toward certain sides of a Likert response scale (positive or negative).
To reduce such bias, the Lavrakas criterion was applied, which states that without the neutral response, the number of
surveys that are usable for the analysis is increased and encourages participants to provide a real answer [12]. In
addition, it was considered that the interviewees were familiar with the subject to be evaluated, since the survey was
applied to the exit of the gastronomic collectives.
This allowed the design of the final survey, which in addition to the socioeconomic and sociodemographic data includes
seventeen factors that local residents take into account to consume in a gastronomic collective. The questionnaire
inquired the respondents to evaluate their dining experiences by using the four point Likert Scale. All items were
assessed on 4 point scale ranging from 1=Not important, 2=Slightly Important, 3=Important, 4=Very Important. Once
the information was obtained in the field, it was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS),
ver. 19.
4. RESULTS
Table 1:- Sociodemographic characteristics of participants
Variable Characteristics Frequency %
Age 18 to 29 268 59.6
30 to 41 121 26.8
42 to 53 48 10.6
54 to 65 11 2.3
66 and above 3 0.7
Gender Male 230 51.1
Female 220 48.9
Preferred day of the week Saturday-Sunday 199 44.2
to visit Thursday-Friday 164 36.5
Monday-Wednesday 87 19.3
Accompanying persons Friends 175 38.9
Family 122 27.1
Couple 90 20.0
Coworkers 33 7.3
None 30 6.7

Source of information Recommendation 188 41.8

Business Sign 163 36.2
Social Networks 91 20.0
Web Page 4 1.0
Flyers 4 1.0
Occupation Employee 257 57.1
Student 82 18.2
Part-time student 59 13.1
worker
Self-employed 32 7.1
Home 18 4.0
Retired 2 0.4
Before reporting the results of this analysis, the study presents information about respondent sociodemographic profile.
As can be seen in Table 1, 59.60% of the respondents fall into 18 to 29 age category. the 26.80% of the sample is in 30
to 41 age group and the 13.6% of the respondents are 42 years old and above. Also, 51.10% of the respondents are male
and 48.90% female. In analyzing the days of the week they prefer to attend to a gastronomic collective, the results show
that 44.2% prefer Saturday and Sunday, while 36.5% chose Thursday and Friday, and the remaining 19.3% select from
Monday to Wednesday.
Regarding the characteristics of the group, it was found that 92.7% of the respondents are accompanied, in order of
importance by friends, relatives, couple or co-workers. Among the main sources to get information about gastronomic
collectives are the recommendation of word of mouth with 41.8%, followed by the business sign on the facade with
36.2%, social networks represent 20%, and finally the flyers and the web pages with 1% each. Finally, the main
occupations of the participants are employees with 77.5%, including employees, self-employed and students with
partial jobs.
4.1. Reliability of instrument

In order to test the reliability of the instrument Cronbach's Alpha analysis was performed; table 2 shows the results of
the analysis and demonstrates the consistency between the measurements scales used in the seventeen variables used in
the research. A score of 1.0 on the Cronbach Alpha indicates 100 percent reliability. The score obtained from .736 is
above the generally accepted score of Nunnally of 0.7 [13]; this result shows the reliability of the questionnaire.
Table 2 Reliability statistics

Cronbachs Alpha Number of elements
.726 17
In order to identify the factors that the residents take into account to consume in a gastronomic group, as well as to
examine the appropriateness of the data to carry out the factorial analysis, the KMO Measure of Sample Adequacy test, as
well as the Bartlett sphericity test was performed. If the total result exceeds 0.50 it means that the factor analysis is
useful with the given data [14].
In this case the results support that the data are suitable for the exploratory factor analysis, because the value of 0.781
confirms that a factor analysis is appropriate. In addition, the level of significance has a very small value (Sig = 0.000),
indicating that the variables are highly correlated (Table 3).
Table 3 KMO and Bartletts test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sample Adequacy .786
Bartletts Test of Sphericity Approx. Chi-Squared 1613.820
df 136
Sig. .000

With the purpose of determining the minimum number of factors that account for the maximum variance of the data,
the principal component analysis was applied, as shown in Table 4. After reducing the 17 variables indicating the
characteristics that local residents take into account when consuming in a gastronomic collective, and considering only
initial eigenvalues greater than one (1) it was found that five (5) representative uncorrelated components together
explain 55.79% of the total variance over the decision. The rest of the components with initial eigenvalues smaller than
one (1) were discarded because together they explain only 44.21% of cumulative variance.
Table 4 Total Variance Explained

Component Initial Eigenvalues Extraction Sums of Squared Rotation Sums of Squared
Loadings Loadings
% of Cumulative % of Cumulative % of Cumulative
Total variance % Total variance % Total variance %
1 4.012 23.598 23.598 4.012 23.598 23.598 2.341 13.768 13.768
2 1.742 10.247 33.846 1.742 10.247 33.846 2.011 11.830 25.598
3 1.348 7.929 41.774 1.348 7.929 41.774 1.857 10.924 36.523
4 1.311 7.713 49.487 1.311 7.713 49.487 1.664 9.788 46.311
5 1.073 6.309 55.797 1.073 6.309 55.797 1.613 9.486 55.797
6 .996 5.861 61.658
7 .895 5.266 66.924
8 .822 4.835 71.759
9 .752 4.421 76.180
10 .729 4.289 80.469
11 .654 3.849 84.318
12 .583 3.427 87.746
13 .482 2.837 90.582
14 .461 2.710 93.292
15 .409 2.407 95.699
16 .395 2.326 98.024
17 .336 1.976 100.000
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.
The purpose of rotation is to reduce the number factors on which the variables under investigation have high loadings.
The result of the Factor Analysis shows five (5) components that highlight the factors that local residents take into
account to consume in a gastronomic collective (table 4). The rotated component matrix allows identifying the variables
that present significant loads in the same factor, enabling the definition of the common ones (Table 5).
Table 5 Rotated Component Matrixa

Component
Variables
1 2 3 4 5
Waiting time for a table .752
Cleanliness and service at tables .707
Swiftness in order delivery .666
Variety of food and beverages .611
Taste of Food .730
Food presentation .711
Quality of food compared to an established restaurant .700
Waiters kindness .840
Cooks Attitude .815
Staff Efficiency .568
Capacity of facilities .625
Procedure for taking food and drink order .582

Location in the city .538

Comfort of furniture (chairs and tables) .501
Price of products .483
Washrooms Cleanliness .880
Washrooms capacity .874
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.
Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
a. Rotation converged in 6 iterations.
The first component of relevance, which was called "Swiftness-Variety Factor", includes, in order of importance, four
variables: waiting time for a table (.752), cleanliness and service at the tables (.707), swiftness in order delivery (.666)
and variety of food and beverages (.611). By itself this factor account for a variance of 13.76%.
The second component determined as "Quality of Food Factor" includes aspects such as: taste of food (.730), food
presentation (.711), and quality of food compared to an established restaurant (.700), and it represents 11.83 % of the
variance.
Thirdly, appears the component called "Service Personnel Factor", which includes aspects directly related to the
waiters kindness (.840), as well as the cooks attitude (.815) and the staff efficiency (.568), explaining the 10.92 % of
the variance.
The fourth component called "Establishment-Price Factor" refers to the capacity of facilities (.625), procedure for
taking food and drink order (.582), location in the city (.538), comfort of furniture (.501), referring to the tables and
chairs shared in the common area, and price of products (.483). This factor explains the 9.78% of the variance.
The fifth and final component, the "Washroom Factor", it refers to the cleanliness (.880) and the capacity (.874) of this
facility, accounting for a variance of 9.48%.
5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The gastronomic collective entrepreneurs have the ability to control the key factors that resident considered important
to choose them. The strategy should include five factors.
The first factor "Swiftness-Variety" includes aspects as the waiting time for a table and swiftness in order delivery;
these results are in agreement with the findings of Rishi [3], who insists that food truck customers waits between five
and 10 minutes, almost the same as in fast food restaurants and faster than in a mortar and brick restaurant. Continuing
with the aspects included in the first factor, there are cleanliness at tables and variety of food and beverages, as pointed
out by Falcon [9]. and Nguyen [10] customers would like to find product diversity on the food trucks offer and hygiene
in the mobile vendor.
The second Factor designated as "Quality of Food", includes taste of food, the presentation of it, and that costumer
evaluate the product as good and with the same quality of the food as an established restaurant. Couturier, Kinsman
and Suhotin reported similar conclusions in the case of Vancouver; they argued that respondents come to food trucks in
search of quality food at a low price and that the main attributes directly related to satisfaction on the product are food
and appearance [6].
Regarding the third factor named "Service Personnel"; it refers to cooks attitude, the overall staff efficiency and the
waiters kindness. The last element can just be found in the gastronomic collective, not in a regular food truck, because
in most of the cases, the food truck regulations prohibit them to offer seating and table service for their customers;
when food trucks break down they cannot serve food to their customers [11]. The results can point out the relevance of
the gastronomic collective operative procedure, and one of the reasons of the successful in the case of Tijuana, Mexico.
The affirmation of Gall and Kurcab [11] lead to the importance of the fourth factor titled "Establishment-Price",
regarding the comfort of furniture that according to these authors in the majority of the cases is prohibit, then procedure
for taking food and drink order, location in the city and price of products. As pointed out by Nguyen customers value

the place where food trucks park and they like to receive their service in other locations than downtown and festival
venue and the amount of money they are willing to pay is actually lower than market prices although they consider that
the current prices are reasonable [10].
The last factor, "Washroom", it refers to the existence of these, and then clients evaluate the cleanliness and the
capacity of this facility. As mentioned before, this kind of arrangement can just be found in places designed to park
food trucks or as Rogers and Kelley mentioned when the mobile vending occurs on private property, particularly
surface parking lots and vacant lots [8].
Because of the particularities of a gastronomic collective, the consumers profile is young people between 18 to 29 years
old, employed and accompanied by friends, relatives, couple or co-workers, the results of this study are in agreement
with the findings Woolcott Research [7]. Also, the customers obtained the information of the gastronomic collective
from recommendation and they prefer to attend from Thursday to Sunday.
In sum, the combination of factors distinguish regular food trucks from the service in a gastronomic collectives, the
characteristics of the establishment or the place where the gather makes possible to offer a better service with
personnel, a common area where customers can seat at the tables and use washrooms as in a establish restaurant, with
the same variety and quality food but with faire prices.
References
[1]. Hawk, Z. (2013). Gourmet Food Trucks: An Ethnographic Examination of Orlando's Food Truck Scene. Electronic
Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2751. University of Central Florida, Master of Arts in the Department of
Anthropology. Available at: http://stars.library.ucf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3751&context=etd
[2]. CCW (2013). A By-Law to license, regulate and govern food trucks in the city of Waterloo. By-Law No. 2013.
Available at: http://www.waterloo.ca/en/contentresources/resources/government/Food_Truck_Bylaw_13-047.pdf
[3]. Rishi, K. (2013). A Food (R) evolution: a look at how mobile food is changing Los Angeles. Urban &
Environmental Policy Institute. Occidental College. Available at:
https://www.oxy.edu/sites/default/files/assets/UEP/Comps/2013/Rishi%20Kiran_A%20Food%20Revolution--
Comps%20Final%20Draft.pdf
[4]. Rivera, M. (2016) Food trucks una amenaza para la cocina mexicana?, Claustronoma. Revista gastronmica
digital, Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana, Mxico, D.F., disponible en www.claustronoma.mx.
[5]. Huey, J. (2015). On the go: Insights into food trucks regulation. Paper Series: Regulatory Reform for the 21st-
Century City, and Initiative of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. Available at:
http://datasmart.ash.harvard.edu/assets/content/On_the_Go.pdf
[6]. Couturier, T., Kinsman, C. & Suhotin, V. (2016). Assessment of market potential for mobil food vending in
downtown Vancouver, Washington. Case study and research. School of Hospitality Business Management.
Washington State University. Available at:
http://www.cityofvancouver.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/parking_advisory_committee/page/19194/food_tru
ckassessment_of_market_potential_for_mobile_food_venders_wsuv_050115.pdf
[7]. Woolcott Research (2013). Sydney Food Truck Trial Evaluation Prepared for City of Sydney. Available at:
http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/199263/10-Woolcott-Research-Sydney-Food-
Truck-Trial-Evaluation-Report-November-2013.pdf
[8]. Rogers, K. and Kelley, R. (2010). Portland Food Carts: Catering to the Pedestrian. Retrieved from
http://www.planning.org/resources/ontheradar/food/pdf/TPDportlandfoodcarts.pd
[9]. Falcn, E. (2014). La cocina se democratiza: el auge de los colectivos gastronmicos en Ensenada. Revista Todos
Santos. Octubre.
[10]. Nguyen, A. (2017). Customer expectations and current offers from food trucks in Helsinki. Is there a gap
regarding diversity of products, selling price, time and place of operation? Thesis Degree Programme in Hotel,
Restaurant and Tourism Management. Haaga-Helia. University of Applied Science.
[11]. Gall, B. and Kurcab, L. (2012). Seven myths and realities about food trucks: why the facts support food-truck
freedom. Institute of Justice's National Street Vending Initiative. Available at: http://ij.org/wp-
content/uploads/2015/03/7-myths-and-realities.pdf
[12]. Lavrakas, P. J. (2008). Encyclopedia of survey research methods: SAGE Publications Ltd doi:
10.4135/9781412963947

[13]. Nunnally, J. (1978). Psychometric Theory. New York, Mc Graw Hill

[14]. Hair, J., Black, W., Babin, J. and Tatham, R. (2006) Multivariate Data Analysis, 6th Edition, Prentice Hall.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
AUTHORS
Onsimo Cuamea is a full-time research professor at Facultad de Turismo y Mercadotecnia, Universidad Autnoma
de Baja California, Campus Tijuana. Member of the Academic Group Integral Management of Tourism and Marketing.
The research lines involved in the group include medical tourism, regional planning and border tourism. Full member
at the Mexican Academy of Tourism Research (AMIT). National Executive President of the Mexican Association of
Tourism Schools (AMESTUR).
Karen G. Ramos is a Professor of Logistics and Operation of Tourism Events and Global Business Environment at
Facultad de Turismo y Mercadotecnia, Universidad Autnoma de Baja California, Campus Tijuana. PhD in Global
Development Studies.

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IPASJ International Journal of Management (IIJM)

Web Site: http://www.ipasj.org/IIJM/IIJM.htm

Food trucks, small bricks and mortar

Keywords: gastronomic collective, customer profile, food trucks,

Volume 5, Issue 9, September 2017 Page 8

2. AN ORIGINAL ENTREPRENEURIAL PRACTICE IN MEXICO

Volume 5, Issue 9, September 2017 Page 9

1. To identify the sociodemographic profile of local consumers in gastronomic collectives.

3.1. Sampling Unit

3.2. Definition of Sample Size and Procedure for Data Collection

Volume 5, Issue 9, September 2017 Page 10

Source of information Recommendation 188 41.8

4.1. Reliability of instrument

Table 2 Reliability statistics

Table 3 KMO and Bartletts test

Volume 5, Issue 9, September 2017 Page 11

Table 4 Total Variance Explained

Table 5 Rotated Component Matrixa

Volume 5, Issue 9, September 2017 Page 12

Location in the city .538

5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Volume 5, Issue 9, September 2017 Page 13

Volume 5, Issue 9, September 2017 Page 14

[13]. Nunnally, J. (1978). Psychometric Theory. New York, Mc Graw Hill

Volume 5, Issue 9, September 2017 Page 15

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