MOBILE vending is becoming one of the go-to business models for fast-food retailing in Jamaica, with the two major meat processors banking on the American mainstay blazing into popularity here.

Bad Dawg, a brand of pork sausages produced by Caribbean Broilers, recently rolled out a mobile vending unit in Barbican which offers hot dogs prepared on the spot and served in a foil paper wrapping that is reminiscent of street-side pan chicken.

Brand manager Alicia Bogues told Observer Food Awards judges recently that plans are in place to have Bad Dawg Sausage hot dogs sold on carts in other locations across the Kingston & St Andrew area.

Prospective vendors will have to enter into an agreement with the company to sell Bad Dawg Sausage on the units, which will be branded by CB Foods after being financed and pre-approved.

Jamaica Broiler’s Reggae Jammin’ brand also launched an entrepeneurship programme last year which operates like Caribbean Broilers’ new mobile franchising venture, showing how much traction vending carts have been gaining in quick-service retailing.

Under the Reggae Jammin’ programme, vendors sign a contract with the company to operate branded carts and purchase minimum quantities of Reggae Jammin’ products such as frankfurters and burgers to offer for sale as part of a quick meal.

Vendors have the option of purchasing a suitable cart independently and then branding it according to the agreement with Reggae Jammin’, or through a payment plan to acquire a company cart for $500,000.

Reggae Jammin’ currently has 20 carts in operation, with one on the UTech campus in Papine, and others in places such as Portland and Mandeville.

Patrick Turner, owner of a Reggae Jammin’ mobile unit that serves in the Greater Portmore area, said that though this method of food vending is still new to consumers and has yet to mirror its success in America, he sees potential for growth.

“I’m planning on getting a second cart soon,” Turner said. “The one I have now is mostly successful with school children, so what I’m planning to do is move this around to different schools in the area during the week.”

With a price point between $120 and $150 per small hotdog, Turner said his cart also does good business when it is posted at events with large crowds.

The product of a $10-million investment by CB, Bad Dawg Sausages currently has five food carts in operation, said brand manager Alicia Bogues. The Barbican unit and another at Devon House are the only ones currently with a set location.

“In terms of projections, we naturally have ambitions of having Bad Dawg Carts all over Jamaica,” said Bogues. “But our rate of growth is dependent on entrepreneurs buying into our concept and purchasing a cart for themselves. We’re here to facilitate business but we won’t be operating the carts ourselves.”

Cart owners are free to determine the hot dog toppings they offer on their menus — which can range from traditional ketchup to the more adventurous tamarind sauce — as well as set their own prices, which Bogues said currently range between $150 and $250.

Although the biggest benefit of the movable enterprise is its inherent mobility, Turner said his greatest challenge is getting permits to

operate in high-traffic locations such as Half-Way-Tree.

“I applied for a permit from the KSAC, and I was told that I couldn’t get one to operate there on a long-term basis,” Turner said. “So that is a difficulty. Because cart vending isn’t widespread as yet, there hasn’t been any regulations regarding how they can operate.”

Errol Green, Town Clerk of the KSAC, was unable to say why the Council denied the permit, but Turner maintains that Jamaica’s burgeoning hot dog vending sector will soon need

official recognition.

In the US, each city’s health department regulates food cart permits. They are particularly sought after in New York City’s food cart littered landscape, where there is a 2,000-person waiting list. The average annual revenue for a hot dog cart there is around US$14,500 ($1.3 million) according to the New Yorker magazine.