The Coolhaus and Kogi BBQ trucks park side by side outside of the Silverlake Flea Market.
Battle of the Twittering Trucks
by Melissa Leu
December 11, 2009
When Pinkberry opened its first store in 2005, Los Angeles saw a plethora of new frozen yogurt shops (ie: Cefiore, Yogurtland) spring up throughout the city.
But as the frozen yogurt trend begins to plateau, the city welcomes yet another food craze with open arms: taco trucks.
Taco trucks have always been a public fixture in Los Angeles, especially in East Los Angeles. But, it hasn't been until recently that these "roach coaches" have shed their notoriety in exchange for popularity.
Just a year ago, few locals would have imagined buying more than just prepackaged ice cream cones and tacos off of a food truck. Today, Los Angeles residents can feast on a variety of food options located all over the city during most hours of the day.
These new food trucks dramatically expand curbside dining options, offering everything from architecturally influenced ice cream sandwiches (Coolhaus) and Hawaiian-style shaved ice (Get Shaved) to fresh, organic burgers (The Green Truck) and Korean-Mexican tacos (Kogi BBQ, Calbi BBQ, Bool BBQ).
To keep their customers informed about the latest routes and menu items, many food trucks have turned to social networking websites, such as Twitter and Facebook, to fulfill their marketing needs.
"We haven't spent very much money on marketing, because, ultimately, we didn't have that much working capital to start with," said Freya Estreller, co-founder of Coolhaus, an ice cream sandwich truck.
At least 45 Twittering mobile food trucks have hit the streets, with most opening shop in the past year.
"Twitter is like a really phenomenal set of power tools. It makes reaching people easier..." said Alice Shin, creative director and social media manager of Kogi BBQ. "Would we be as successful without Twitter? I don't know, but we would still be Kogi."
Garnering a glut of media attention and awards, Kogi BBQ is largely credited with inspiring others to start up their own mobile food business.
"... a savior arrived in the form of a scrappy little taco truck called Kogi BBQ. Kogi (now infamous and considered a revolutionary in the mobile food truck world) gave David the idea to open his own mobile food truck." -Nom Nom Truck Website
However, like Pinkberry's frozen yogurt, success inspires imitation and breeds competition.
"In L.A. right now, a lot of people are jumping on the food truck bandwagon, because it's the cool thing to do or they think they have a really cool, novelty product or item. But I don't know. The whole idea about putting the spirit and love into food... for some people its lost on them." -Alice Shin
Several other "fusion" Korean-Mexican taco trucks have also opened in the wake of Kogi-mania, such as Bull Kogi BBQ, Bool BBQ and Calbi BBQ.
"I wish them all the best, but at the same time, I'm like, 'Dude. Please try and figure it out [on your own].'" said Shin.
Despite the recent spike in the number of mobile food vendors, some food trucks welcome the challenge.
"If there's any competition. It's a competition with yourself," said Pat Roskowick, co-founder of Get Shaved, a dessert truck that began in Sep. 2008. "As long as you have a good product, and you concentrate on making your product good, I don't think you have anything to worry about."
Estreller said she sees an ice cream sandwich truck as filling a void in Los Angeles.
"We don't really compete at all. I dont think. We are just an ancillary addition," said Estreller.
- Faces of Followers
- Video
- Photos
- Featured Twitter Feeds
A look into who eats at Los Angeles food trucks
Faces of Followers - Flikr Photostream
