As dusk falls, a stretch of the road in Gurgaon’s Sector 29 comes alive. Three food trucks parked side-by-side dish out high quality meals at prices that are less than one-third of any fancy restaurant. Take your pick: Frugurpop, for frozen, fresh fruit popsicles, What The Truck for American fusion dishes, and Drifters Café for Asian favourites.

Not too far away, along Leisure Valley Road, two more trucks — Eggjactly and The Lalit Food Truck Company — have their share of foodies lining up fast.

Food trucks are revving up at high speed. And not just in Gurgaon. The upmarket food truck business is the new hot thing 
in Mumbai, Bangalore, Calcutta, Ahmedabad and the NCR. And just like restaurants, these food trucks are going all out to whip up different cuisines. Just name it: American, Asian, Mexican, Lebanese, fusion street food and even South Indian — there’s sure to be a food truck waiting somewhere to serve the meal that you were craving for.

In case you’re wondering, food trucks are hugely different from the vans that have been serving food to a generation of youngsters and office-goers. While vans are parked at their designated spots, food trucks drive around and can park and do business at different locations.

“The interiors of the trucks, usually done in stainless steel, set them apart from vans. The trucks are outfitted with state-of-the-art kitchens that are high on hygiene,” says Gaurav Gianchandani who started What The Truck last November with his father as he wanted to serve hygienic, restaurant-quality food out of a truck. What The Truck serves American fusion food and the most popular items on the menu are grilled chicken and Chilli Doggie Dog, a hotdog with mutton, chicken and cheese.
 

The trucks come in different sizes depending on the size of the operation and the cuisine served. Most are also given an eye-catching exterior. The entire makeover of a truck can cost between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 30 lakh.

In the absence of specific laws related to food trucks, these operate with a combination of mobile canteen licence, hawker’s licence and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India licence. Most food truck owners rely on permissions from municipal authorities to park at different locations. They also park inside gated colonies or in the driveways of big companies with the permission the Resident Welfare Asso-ciations or the companies concerned.

Delhi’s Dosa Inc. started by Satya Koniki and Jyoti Ganapathi in 2012 is one of the oldest players in the field and it serves up Udipi South Indian including dosas, idlis and vadas. On weekdays, the pair drives the truck to different office complexes and buildings and parks the truck in their driveways. Over weekends they visit residential areas, gated communities and apartment buildings. They don’t visit a place more than once a month or once every two months.
 

Ganapathi says: “When we went to a residential area for the first time we realised that we had hit the bull’s eye. We started at 7am and by 10am had run out of food. People want a break from cooking on Sundays but also don’t want to drive to a restaurant and find a parking spot. We just tapped into this gap.” More trucks serving coastal cuisine and Andhra dishes are in the pipeline, Ganapathi adds.

Closer home in Calcutta, Babumani Sardar started Agdum Bagdum food truck with his wife and brother-in-law this July. Says Sardar who serves Calcutta-style street food from his truck that’s usually parked at Gariahat: “We decided to start a food truck to redefine street food in the city. We do fusion cuisine and our Mutton Kabiraji Burger is one of our hotsellers.”

The food truck business is also taking off in a big way in Bangalore. Says Leoma D’Souza whose S.W.A.T food truck serves authentic American kerbside food: “When we started last December, there were just two food trucks in Bangalore. Today there are 15 and growing.” D’Souza and her partner, Jimson Johns, are planning another truck in Bangalore and also taking the franchise route in other cities. Deep fried Oreos, BBQ Ribs and Chops, Peri Peri Prawns and fries, fish burgers and more cost between Rs 40 and Rs 250. They serve around 80 customers a day.

The owners (who sometimes don the chef’s hat) have different reasons for opting for food truck route rather than opening restaurants. Pallavi Kuchroo, who along with her Mumbai-based partner Sudheer Grover started Frugurpop in October last year, says that they wanted to showcase their ice-pops in a different manner. “We were the only ones in the country to do something like this,” she says.
 

Her fruit ice creams are priced at Rs 100 per popsicle while the cream-based ones sell at Rs 150. Fruit popsicles account for 70 per cent of the sale and Fruitilicious, which has strawberries, kiwi, peach and sweet blueberries, is the star of the show. Triple Berry, a new flavour which combines imported blueberry, strawberry and raspberry too is catching on.

Eggjactly by Lavanika Parti and Vikrant Misra started operations in February from a truck out of sheer necessity. Says Misra: “We wanted to set up a wine and beer café in Gurgaon but the rents were prohibitive and we had no investor to back us.” Eggjactly started out as a breakfast place with a menu revolving around eggs, but today it has expanded its repertoire to 40 items including pastas, burgers, waffles, pancakes and crêpes. The Choco Blast Waffle with Nutella and homemade chocolate ganache are the hotsellers. Messy burger, which has a lamb patty that has been marinated in spices overnight, is another favourite. Dishes are priced between Rs 150 and Rs 200. On weekdays, they serve between 80-110 customers and 140-160 on weekends.

The success of Eggjactly has convinced them to drive in with yet another truck — this time serving Oriental cuisine. While this one will start its rounds within a month, they have plans for another 12 to 14 trucks serving different cuisines in the NCR over the next eight months.

The food trucks business is a win-win situation for everyone. While the customers get high quality food at great prices, the owners have lower overheads and locational advantage. Gianchandani says: “With the popularity of the food trucks growing, the only way this business is headed is up.”