When you prepare to sell food at an event, you need to know how many hot dogs to take. For example, a vendor just asked me how many hot dogs, buns, and drinks to bring to an event where there are 1000 people expected.

How Many Hot Dogs?

The short answer is, you should divide the number of people by the number of vendors. If there are 1000 people expected and there will be three food vendors, you might expect to feed 1/3 of those people. So around 330 of those people might buy food from you. And most people will eat two hot dogs, which is why many vendors offer a meal deal of two dogs, chips, and a drink. So you would need twice as many hot dogs as people, or around 660 dogs and buns. Does that make sense?

Consider the Worst Case Scenario

However, always consider the worst-case scenario. If the event ended up being cancelled and you had to take home all of the products, would you have a place to store it? Could you sell it at your regular vending spot? Never buy more than you can afford to bring home and store, just in case. And don't spend money on product if you won't be able to pay the electric bill if you don't sell a single hot dog. Be smart and conservative, so you don't risk too much.

Don't Get Stuck With Too Much Food

Even if you underestimate the amount of food to bring and end up selling out early, that's ok. It's much better to sell everything and go home early, than to end up with lots of extra food that you might not be able to sell. So be smart when you plan for events. Don't take too much food.

Watch the whole video for all of the discussion, and let me know if you have other questions about estimating supplies needed for events.

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