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The country I chose for my food truck is Costa Rica. I learned that food trucks gained popularity over the last decade in touristy areas. They eat lots of gallo pinto, casado, chirfijo along with meat with their meals. I tried tying my meals for my food truck with the meals Costa Rica eats. Many of their food trucks are local and have organic ingredients tying with their traditional dishes. The research I did influences Costa Ricas flavors in my menu while trying to attract the tourists. For my marketing part I made it very vibrant and very attractive for tourists and locals to want to try my food truck. The community oriented part helps in the competitive marketing aspect of getting people to try my food truck.

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Some key factors designing my menu were making sure Costa Ricas dishes like chifrijo, gallo pinto, and casado were on it to represent their culture. It was hard trying to find foods that were more on the go rather than restaurant type dishes. I used very vibrant attractive things to get the appeal from people. I tried doing plant-based because so many people eat plant based things, like gallo pinto. I also tried doing healthy alternatives like baked empananas rather than fried ones. I used cilantro, black beans, and fruits that are key Costa Rican ingredients. For their cooking technique they slow cook, and that is what I tried to incorporate for beans while also grilling the meats like they traditionally do.

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My food trucks identity was me using my own design while tying in Costa Ricas colors. The colors were red, white, and blue. I developed my food truck marketing strategy by using their flags colors, trying to make it visually appealing like tik tok, and facebook make their advertisements, and using a slogan ¨Pura Vida¨ because they use that slogan for their country which means pure life. I tried making the poster to target people nearby, like tourists looking for local good food. For my food truck there is also seasonal themes to attract more customers for holidays and festivals. Unique selling points I used to attract customers is using tradtional Costa Rican dishes likke gallo pinto and casdados made with local ingredients. I made it more than just getting a meal from a food truck, I made it a cultural experience that has a great menu for tourists and the people. I considered cultural sensitivity by using spanish and english on the menu, poster and logo for locals and tourists. Featuring local tradtional foods also shows respect to the Costa Rican people. I showed genuine respect for the Costa Rican culture for the food truck.

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The biggest challenge I faced while making this food truck was using cultural representation and education, operating a moving business, unpredictable demand and budgeting. Educating customers about Costa Rican food while not over complicating the menu was hard. To overcome I use a mix of familiar options like empanadas and tradtional dishes like gallo pinto to appeal to a broad audience, I also will make sure to be open for feedback from customers and the Costa Rican community to maintain authenticity. The lesson I learned is cultural respect and education makes customers more loyal while making it authentic. Seasonal customer turnouts can impact how the money is made. I made an idea to stay visible during slower seasons with promotions and specials while also collaborating with local stores. Managing to find busy areas, parking and using the equipment on a moving platform is very hard. I was thinking of using social media to update customers where my location is and build relationships with people with good properties. The lesson I learned is flexibility and communication is very good if you are on the move. Takeaways from the challenges I faced are planning is very important, like researching and preparation for where I go, staying resilient because challenges are part of a process and making sure I engage with and support local community people.

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This project expanded my knowledge of food,culture and business by learning about Costa Rican cuisine, their ingredients, and traditional cooking methods they use. I learned how food connects people across cultures. It also taught me marketing strategies and how to attract customers.This project helped me develop creativity, problem solving, and teamwork skills by me designing a menu, a logo, finding ways to use traditional dishes with a modern aspect. I used problem solving by trying to think where to operate the truck, like with places that have the stuff I need, and find fast answers if something happens. My future goals related to food, culture and business is having more food trucks all around Costa Rica with different foods for people to try and attract people they want to eat more food from my food truck.

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I enjoyed learning more about Costa Rican culture and food traditions. I found finding a color scheme and trying to stay within the culture for the food truck was very hard. I can apply the knowledge and skills I gained from this unit in my future endeavors by customer service, marketing and branding, teamwork and cross culture communication.

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I considered sustainable food practices in my menu by having Costa Rican flavors with global cuisines, gluten free low carb health options, street food options, and using local ingredients. I ensured that my food truck concept was culturally respectful by using authentic representation, their language with English too, no stereotypes and cultural celebrations for the holidays. My logo attracts everyone. I incorporated global food trends into my menu by using the popular flavors and convenience of food truck dining.