Choosing a color is important for your food truck's brand and identity. A color can suggest part of your company beliefs, traits and objectives or simply can grab some attention.Many people have the same natural responses to colors, so picking colors is part of creating a first impression. We've talked about food truck branding before, but below is a list of some of the most popular colors, what they tend to represent and some examples of popular food trucks and the colors they chose.
RED
Creates a sense of urgency, which is good for grabbing immediate attention. Red encourages appetite, thus is frequently used by fast-food chains. Red also physically stimulates the body, raising blood pressure and heart rate, associated with movement, excitement, and passion.
Our long-time client Mama's Meat Balls in Pennsauken, New Jersey chose red to grab attention and pull you into to their delicious smells. They are a top 101 food truck in the country for good reason.
BLUE
The preferred color of many major brands and food trucks. It’s associated with peace, water, tranquility, and reliability. Blue provides a sense of security, and stimulates productivity. The most common color used by conservative brands looking to promote trust in their products. Blue is a very popular colors amongst men and women which also makes this a popular pick for the masses.
Dia de los Tacos is a customer of ours located in Marquette, MI uses a bold blue to promote their popular truck and brand.
GREEN
Associated with health, tranquility, power, and nature. Used in stores to relax customers and for promoting environmental issues. Green stimulates harmony in your brain and encourages a balance leading to decisiveness.
We can't think of a better green example than the Green Truck from Los Angeles! They have a sustainable, all organic food truck that has been serving since 2006. Their green colors work perfecting with their mission and brand.
PURPLE
Commonly associated with royalty, wisdom, and respect. Stimulates problem solving as well as creativity. Frequently used to promote beauty and anti-aging products.
ORANGE AND YELLOW
Cheerful colors that promote optimism. Orange is considered a youthful color, which evokes a feeling of excitement and fun. Yellow is used to create a sense of urgency that can draw in impulsive buyers and window shoppers. Both are favorite colors of the food truck industry because they stand out and scream fun!
Our super popular and growing customer BrewWings in Los Angeles uses a fun orange to build exciting around their brand. Chicken and Waffles is enough reason to eat from their truck, but their awesome branding doesn't hurt.
BLACK
Associated with authority, power, stability, and strength. Often a symbol of intelligence, but can become overwhelming if used to frequently. There has been a recent trend of all black food trucks. They want to let you know they are bad ass. Just be sure if you go black your food is as bold as your color choice.
Bacon Bacon food truck was based San Francisco and was one of only a few black trucks at the time. They have since gone to brick and mortar, but still rock the same black and white colors.
GREY
Symbolizes feelings of practicality, old age, and solidarity. But too much grey can lead to feelings of nothingness and depression.
We haven't seen many grey food trucks out there, probably because it doesn't grab attention like some of the bright colors mentioned above. There is something to be said about being different though if you want to give grey a shot. We did find Tumbleweed Gourmet in Bozeman, MT who started grey and went blue... that gives you an idea of their opinion on owning a grey food truck...
Most food trucks use more than one color in their brand. You want your logo to stand out,but also represent your mission. Before making a commitment to a new logo or a rebrand or an existing logo, check with your team, current clients, friends and family to make sure you are on the right path. Hopefully you stick with your decision for quite some time as rebranding can create confusion in the market and create feelings of uncertainty of your company. It's very exciting to work on your brand, but you have to take it slow to get it right.If you have any questions about branding or identity,just ask! We love talking to new food truck ventures in the planning phase and may be able to help.
