Today we’d like to introduce you to Misti Buard.
Misti, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In 2014 I worked as a Publicist for an entertainment agency. One of our clients was Walt Disney Pictures. At the time we were promoting the movie Frozen – and the client decided that they wanted a food truck, branded with the frozen theme, to drive to movie theater’s and pass out frozen treats and coloring books.
I didn’t know it at the time, but that idea stuck with me! See, I’ve always loved food trucks. In fact, I fell in love with one in 2013. I literally chased him all over Houston. I chased him so frequently that I gained 20lbs that summer! A colleague said to me one day – “You should become the food truck lady!” And, that’s exactly what I did. I began tasting food from different food trucks and started talking about it! This grew instantly. I turned into the “go to” person for booking food trucks for events. I worked with a local food truck park to help schedule food trucks on the weekend, and I was even invited to the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) Food Truck Conference to speak! To help food trucks across the country I created an online course titled: How to Get Your Food Truck Rollin’.
I absolutely loved being @thefoodtrucklady, but I wanted more. I was sitting with a friend in September 2015, and I told her – I want to customize food trucks for marketing promotions AND for weddings, and other celebratory events. I told her I needed help with the name of the business. She asked me to give her a couple of days and she’d come up with a name for me. (She is truly a wordsmith.) Instead of two days later, two hours later she called me back and said – “What do you think about brand appétit?” I knew then…that was the perfect name!
Has it been a smooth road?
It was not a smooth road per se, but hindsight is 20/20 and I definitely think everything worked out the way it was supposed to.
One of the hardest things I had to overcome was the rejection I received from a local business plan competition. I was excited and I KNEW I would be a finalist. Instead, the judges stated that they loved my idea but food trucks were only a fad, so my business wouldn’t last long. That hurt!
My BIGGEST obstacle was getting people to understand the concept. What does a personalized food truck look like? Finding and finessing the proper words took some time. The goal of every elevator pitch is to catch someone’s attention and ensure they understand what it is you do – this sounds simple, but it took a lot of work!
There was also the financial struggle. My corporate background is in marketing. I love marketing; traditional marketing that is. So you have this burning desire inside of you. This desire to launch your “baby”, yet you still have to pay bills and eat, right? So trying to balance a “job” that didn’t take much brain power, so I could use all of my brain power for brand appétit® – meant I wasn’t getting paid a lot.
At one point I felt like I was “hustling backwards”. What does that mean? Doing 20 odd jobs to barely bring in enough money to survive. Eh. NOT a good feeling.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the brand appétit® story. Tell us more about the business.
So you’re planning an event, and you’re spending upward of $20,000 to $30,000 on the event. This is an event that you definitely want your guests to remember. I am the person who makes your event unforgettable.
At brand appétit® we personalize food trucks for celebratory events such as weddings, Mitzvahs, Quinceaneras, birthdays and marketing promotions. What does a personalized food truck look like exactly?
You go to your professional photographer – take your family photos or your engagement photos. You tell us which photos are your favorites, and we will wrap the food truck with those pictures for your event. You tell us the type of cuisine you want, and we will serve that from your personalized food truck. That’s what we do at brand appétit®.
I am proud that we get to offer something completely out-of-the-box to those planning events. We have introduced something new to the Houston community, and we are proud that we clients are receptive to the idea and love how unique it is.
Where do you see your industry going over the next 5-10 years? Any big shifts, changes, trends, etc?
Over the next five years, I see this creative concept becoming even more unique; adding panache to conferences, festivals, and creating amazing marketing promotions for brands of all sizes. Especially new brands or companies looking to re-brand themselves.
Pricing:
- Truck and Treats Package – $3,750 (to see what is included in this package visit brandappetit.com)
- Savory Street Eats Package – $5,000 (to see what is included in this package visit brandappetit.com)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.brandappetit.com
- Phone: (281) 855-0303
- Email: booking@brandappetit.com
- Instagram: @brandappetit
Image Credit:
@secondshotsphotography, @photographercj
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