The future of food trucks is sustainable — at least according to Walkingboxes, a German startup creating custom food trucks out of shipping containers. The company, which is barely a year old, is the brainchild of award-winning designer Daniel Lorch. Walkingboxes uses 90% recyclable or biodegradable materials in its construction processes.
According to the founder, the idea stemmed from his mother, who dreamed of opening a street food truck in southern Germany. The designer realized an unmet demand in the market for sustainable, accessible and individual food truck options while doing research for his mom. Instead of purchasing an expensive food truck and outfitting it with unique elements to fit the company’s style, he would opt for lightweight construction with a towable food trailer instead. The resulting design is now available in 213 different colors, three separate sizes and comes either empty or fully equipped with cooking equipment inside.
Thanks to the lightweight construction method to help offset the heaviness of the steel shipping containers, the trailers can be towed by smaller vehicles, like station wagons or minivans. Not only does this reduce fuel consumption, but it allows for more versatility in selling locations. Materials like steel, wood and linoleum go into each design.
The standard version comes permanently attached to a tandem trailer and is already set up for electricity and water. This option is perfect for those with interior design or construction chops who want to fill the inside with their own cooking components. The company also employs mobile cooking experts to help potential buyers plan their interior kitchen layout with stainless steel appliances like gas cooktops, griddle plates and fryers.
Apart from the color choices, buyers can choose from different exterior design options like illuminated lettering, foil lettering, banners, metal signs and flags to set their company apart from other food trucks. The outer fastening system is modular to simplify the process for attaching and exchanging media for menus, specials or announcements.
Walkingboxes turns shipping containers into custom food trucks [Inhabitat]