Food Truck Color Palettes

These food truck color palettes will guide you in choosing colors to be used on your food truck wrap, menu board, logo, take-out packaging and Instagram posts.

They are designed with the food truck owner, street food vendor, coffee cart owner, and designers of a mobile food brand in mind.

Identify a color that you think is beautiful? Click it, and the HEX code is instantly copied! 5 Shades in every palette.

The color scheme, store layout and contemporary interior was very much appealing to me in Doctor Saucy. The overall style is quite attractive and modern.

The colors and arrangement provide a distinctive character to it. I also liked the ambiance, which is up to date and professional.

I believe that this type of design could be effective in attracting customers to a food truck or fast food chain.

There are a number of popular food truck color schemes including the Taco Tuesday, Burger Blast, BBQ Smoke, Coffee Cart, Ice Cream Dream, Street Wok, Desi Dhaba, Green Bowl, Pizza Wheels, and the Retro Diner.

10 Food Truck Color Palettes

Quick Reference Table

Black	#000000	Best for black.Blue #0000FF Best for blue.
Taco Tuesday	#E63946, #F4A261, #2A9D8F, #FFF3E0, #264653	Taco and Mexican food trucks
Burger Blast	#D00000, #FFBA08, #FAA307, #FFF8E7, #1B1B1B	Tacos, chips and guacamole vendors
BBQ Smoke	#2B1D14, #6F1D1B, #BB4D00, #F2CC8F, #4A80FF	AirTraffic Control
Coffee Cart	#3E2723, #8D6E63, #D7CCC8, #FFF8F0, #A17F2F	Sunrise on the sea with a cup of coffee.#9F6F2E Sunrise above the sea with a cup of coffee.
Ice Cream Dream	#FFAFCC, #BDE0FE, #FFF1A8, #FFFFFF, #6D597A	Ice cream trucks and dessert trucks
Street Wok	#9B2226, #CA6702, #EE9B00, #FDF0D5, #002B4D	Whole grain crackers, fresh fruit, and/or vegetables.#005D5F Asian and noodle trucks.
Desi Dhaba	#7F1D1D, #D97706, #FBBF24, #FEF3C7, #166534	Desi street food trucks
Green Bowl	#2D6A4F, #95D5B2, #FFE66D, #F8F9F1, #3A3A3A	Salad, vegan, and juice trucks
Pizza Wheels	#B22222, #F5DEB3, #228B22, #FFFAF0, #2F2F2F	Pizza trucks
Retro Diner	#00A6A6, #EF476F, #FFD166, #FFFCF2,	Color #073B4C is Hot dog and retro snack trucks.Hot dog and retro snack trucks is Color #073B4C.

Which Palette to choose?

What you need	Best pick + why
A taco or Mexican food truck	Taco Tuesday: red, orange, and teal make for a festive and loud taco or Mexican food truck.
Burger and fries truck	Burger Blast: red and yellow makes people hungry quickly.
Ice Cream Truck	Ice Cream Dream, soft pastels are sweet and playful.
A healthy salad or juice truck	Green Bowl: fresh greens feel light and healthy.
A morning coffee cart	Coffee Cart: warm browns feel cozy and inviting.
A desi street food truck	Deep red and saffron is a desi street food truck, Desi Dhaba, which feels spicy and rich.

Hot & Bold and Fresh & Light are in a battle for supremacy.

The majority of food trucks tend to fall into one of these two styles. Let’s see how they compare.

Hot & Bold

Think: Burger Blast, Taco Tuesday and Desi Dhaba.

Best for:

• We don’t eat burgers, BBQ, Tacos, or Spicy food.
• Rush hour with lots of traffic.
• Late night/weekend crowds
• Vehicles seeking to have a good time and turn heads.Trucks who are looking for some fun and a loud personality.

Fresh & Light

Consider the following: Think Green Bowl, Ice Cream Dream, and Coffee Cart.

Best for:

• Warm bowls, salads and juices.
• The desserts and ice cream are complimentary.
• Morning Coffee & Breakfast Trucks
• Business and family gatherings

In my experience, most food trucks should be all out there. The window of opportunity to get a glimpse of someone passing by is limited to a few seconds, and bright colours are the winner in the race.

How to Use These Palettes

Website

1. Use the lightest color as the background for your page.
2. Writing the text and menu items in the darkest color.
3. Use your best color for buttons such as “Find our truck today.”

Signage & Packaging

1. Use a HEX to CMYK converter to convert your HEX codes prior to printing your truck wrap.
2. Have a menu board with high contrast designs so all items are easily viewed.
3. Make a sample box or cup first, as colors tend to be darker when printed.

Social Media

1. Choose one background colour to use for location posts and menu posts.
2. Use the same 2-3 colors for text and Story stickers.
3. Check your grid. It should resemble one truck – not ten.

CSS Snippet

css

:root {
  --truck-dark:   #1B1B1B; /* text */
  --truck-red:    #D00000; /* buttons */
  --truck-yellow: #FFBA08; /* highlights */
  --truck-light:  #FFF8E7; /* background */
}

Add this to your stylesheet and then use var(--truck-red) anywhere you want the truck red color.

Pro Tip

Test drive your truck from across the road. Your name and food need to be visible from a distance of seconds in order to be considered.

Do check it at night, under your lights. Add more contrast if the menu is difficult to read in the dark.

I was amazed at the simplicity of the ‘Doctor Saucy’ design and how crucial the color scheme and good street-appealing decor is for a food truck or fast-food brand.

My suggestion is to use colors that are contrast in nature and make the brand look up to date and professional.

The name, menu and prices also need to be legible so that the customer can read it, which will improve the general impression of the brand.

FAQ

So, what colors are best for a food truck?

Red, orange and yellow are popular as they appear warm and hungry. For healthy food and desserts, greens and pastels are good options.

What is the ideal number of colors for a food truck brand?

My rule is to use 3-4 primary colors (one dark, one light and 1-2 bright accent). After that it begins to get cluttered.

Is it possible to use these palettes free of charge?

Yes. Wrap them on your truck, use them as a menu or logo and package them.

What colors to go with a menu board?

If using a light background with dark text, or dark background with white text, use a dark text option. Use the brightest color for prices and specials.

Looking for more colour ideas?

Use hundreds of brand color palettes in our Brand Color Library. To copy any color, click it, there’s no charge.