Food trucks, Ape vans and street food on wheels · a counter that moves
Food truck loyalty card: stamps that follow the van
A food truck loyalty card works when it follows the van: customers join from the QR code on the counter while they wait, and you confirm each purchase from your phone, at Tuesday’s market or Saturday’s food festival. With Iterum the card stays on the customer’s phone, works at every stop and is stamped in the counter app; a connection is needed.
Updated by Radman Sattari, Founder of Iterum
How a food truck loyalty card works
A food truck loyalty card records the purchases of customers who come back to your van, at the market, outside the offices or at an event, and once they reach the threshold you set they earn a reward. Compared with a shop, the counter is what changes: it moves with you, and so do the QR code for joining, the phone that confirms stamps and the place where customers find you again.
The rule is the same as in any food business: a stamp is worth a purchase that meets the rule written on the card, not a stroll past the van. If you also run premises, the page on the pizzeria loyalty card covers eat-in, takeaway and delivery; this page is about the work on wheels.
Put the QR code where the queue forms
On the counter, on the menu board or next to the till, at eye level for people waiting: the queue is when customers have time to join. You print the QR code from the dashboard; sizes and placement are in the guide to the QR code loyalty card.
Let them join while you cook
The customer scans the QR code and opens the card in their phone’s browser, with no app, account or password; meanwhile you prepare the order.
Stamp on hand-over
When you hand over the food and take payment, whoever is on the till opens the counter app, scans the QR code on the customer’s card or types its code, and confirms the purchase.
Reward at any stop
The reward is collected wherever the customer finds you next: write on the card whether it also applies at events and fairs.
How many street food businesses are there in Italy? The Business Register figures
At 31 March 2026, Italy had 4,286 registered businesses whose activity relates to street food, almost double the 2,271 of 2016 (+88.7%), according to Business Register data processed by Unioncamere and InfoCamere and published on 28 August 2026 in the press release Street food, in dieci anni conquista l’Italia (in Italian). The number of municipalities with at least one such business rose from 1,258 to 1,975, more than one in four.
The regions with the most businesses are Lombardy (544), Sicily (514), Apulia (510), Lazio (371) and Campania (361); among municipalities, Rome (129) narrowly leads Milan (128), ahead of Turin (78), Palermo (48) and Bari (44). Sole traders number 3,157, or 73.7% of the total. If you work alone in the van, the person taking payment is also the cook: a stamp has to take a few seconds, and we show how further down.
Two notes on reading these figures. The release does not say which activity codes are counted: the figure covers businesses «relating to street food» and is not the number of food trucks. The release headline says 4,500 businesses, while its tables give 4,286, which is the figure we report.
| Indicator | 31 March 2016 | 31 March 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered businesses | 2,271 | 4,286 | +2,015 (+88.7%) |
| Municipalities with at least one business | 1,258 | 1,975 | +717 (+57.0%) |
| Sole traders | 1,716 | 3,157 | +1,441 (+84.0%) |
| Limited companies | 105 | 620 | +515 (+490.5%) |
Roaming, a fixed pitch or a fair: what changes for the card?
Who your customers are changes, and so does the card’s rule. In Italy, article 27 of Legislative Decree no. 114 of 31 March 1998 includes in trading on public areas «the serving of food and drink on public areas» and defines markets and fairs; article 28(1) provides that the activity is carried out «on pitches granted under concession» or «on any area, provided it is itinerant» (our translations).
A trader with a pitch at a weekly market sees the same customers every week; a roaming trader meets them wherever they stop; at fairs and events many people come by only once. This summary is not legal advice and does not explain how to start a food truck: permits, stopping rules and hours depend on the form you choose, on regional rules and on the municipality, so check with the local one-stop shop for businesses (SUAP) or your trade association.
| Where you work | What Decree 114/1998 says | Typical customers | Card rule (example) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitch at a market | A pitch is the area granted to the trader under concession; a market is an area with several pitches, open one or more days (art. 27) | The same customers every week | 8–10 stamps, one per purchase |
| Roaming | On any area, provided it is itinerant (art. 28(1)) | Local regulars and passers-by | 5–6 stamps, reward valid at every stop |
| Fair, food festival or sagra | A fair is the gathering of traders on set days, for anniversaries, events or holidays (art. 27) | Many come by only once | First stamp on purchase, reward at later stops |
| Private event by invitation | Outside this summary: it depends on the venue and the agreement | Guests often do not pay | No stamp without a purchase; the card helps them find you again |
Stamping with a queue in front of you: who does it and on what signal
In a food truck the stamp comes from a phone or tablet next to the till: the counter app opens in the browser, scans the card’s QR code or takes its code, and confirms the purchase. The stamp appears on the card, updates in the Wallet and is logged in the dashboard. Everyone in the van can have their own account, with roles and permissions, and no plan limits the number of team users.
If there are two of you, the stamp is best left to whoever takes payment, not whoever is at the griddle: the phone stays away from the prep surface and the queue keeps moving. Write the rule in the «what a visit is worth» field, for example «one stamp per meal deal»: staff and customers can read it, but it is not an automatic check, so the person confirming decides.
A connection is needed: Iterum does not stamp offline, and at a crowded event mobile data can slow down. As with mobile services, confirmation does not check where you are, so the same card works at every stop; still, have a plan B ready before the evening starts.
| Situation | What to do | What to write in the rule |
|---|---|---|
| Long lunchtime queue | Let people join while they queue and stamp on hand-over; those in a hurry can join next time | That the stamp is given at the time of purchase |
| Weak signal at the event | Note the code printed on the card and confirm the purchase as soon as the connection returns, the same day; or use the organiser’s Wi-Fi, if there is one | That a purchase is confirmed the same day |
| One person pays for the whole group | One stamp for the payer, or one for each person who has their own card | Who gets the stamp on group orders |
| The same customer comes back twice in one evening | The minimum interval between two stamps, from 1 minute to 24 hours, decides whether a second stamp counts | At most one stamp a day, if you prefer |
| Customer’s phone is flat | Type the card code, if the customer has noted it down; otherwise decide whether the stamp can be made up next time | Whether a missed stamp can be made up, and until when |
Stamps or points for a food truck?
For a food truck a stamp card is the easiest to explain in a queue: one stamp for every purchase that meets the rule, for example a meal deal or a main dish. With a points card you decide what a point is worth, for example one point per euro, and type it into the counter app; a wrong entry can be undone within 10 minutes. Iterum does not read the till or the card terminal, so the rule must be easy to work out in your head.
A stamp card and a points card can run side by side within the plan’s number of active cards: 1 on Base, 2 on Pro and 3 on Premium. The guide to stamps vs points loyalty cards explains the choice in general.
| What you sell | Stamp card | Points card | Decide beforehand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandwiches, burgers, piadine | One stamp per sandwich or meal deal | Points for the amount paid | Whether a drink on its own earns a stamp |
| Fried snacks and street portions | One stamp per purchase above a minimum spend | Points per euro | What minimum spend, written on the card |
| Coffee and drinks from an Ape van | One stamp per drink, with a longer threshold | A poor fit: small amounts | Whether a cappuccino counts the same as an espresso |
| Desserts and ice cream on wheels | One stamp per purchase | Points per euro | Whether stamps stay valid over the winter break |
How many stamps if a customer finds you once a week?
It depends on how often a customer can find you: at a weekly market once a week at most, and often less when you roam. With 10 stamps and one visit a week the reward comes after about ten weeks, more than two months; with 6 stamps, after about six weeks. In Iterum a card asks for 1 to 20 stamps.
If the van stops for the winter, write on the card whether stamps stay valid when you start again, as a seasonal ice cream shop would. For a reward already earned, Iterum lets you choose no expiry or 30, 60, 90, 180 or 365 days. The reward cost calculator spreads the cost you enter over the visits required.
| Where the customer finds you | Possible visits in 3 months | Example threshold | Time to reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly market, every week | About 13 | 8 stamps | About 2 months |
| Outside the offices, two days a week | About 26 | 10 stamps | About 5 weeks |
| Roaming stops, one every two weeks | About 6 | 5 stamps | About 2½ months |
| Events only, once a month | About 3 | 3 stamps | About 3 months |
How do customers know where the food truck will be?
Food truck customers need to know where to find you, and Iterum does not run a calendar of stops or a map. Put your calendar where customers already look for it, such as your Instagram profile or your Google business profile, and point people who join the card there; the guide on how to promote a loyalty card explains where to share the link.
With Iterum you can send messages on the card only to customers who have consented, and within the plan limit: 2, 4 or 8 a month per location. That is not enough to announce every stop: use them for the month’s calendar, a new square or your return after a break. How to collect and respect consent is covered in the guide to loyalty card GDPR.
What reward should a food truck give?
The best food truck reward is handed over in seconds, at the counter, without slowing the queue: a drink, a side, a dessert or the dish of the day. Write on the card whether the reward applies at every stop and also at events, where prices and menus may change.
More ideas are in the guide to loyalty card reward ideas; if you are thinking of a gift other than what you sell, read the guide to loyalty card rules in Italy first.
| Reward | Cost to you | Good when | Write on the card |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free drink or coffee | Low | You want a short threshold | Which drinks are included |
| A side or a portion of fried snacks | Low, made with the order | You sell meal deals and portions | That it comes with a purchase |
| Dessert or ice cream | Medium | You have a regular dessert on the menu | While stocks last, if it is a daily special |
| Free sandwich or main dish | High | The threshold is long and customers come back often | Whether it also applies at events with a different menu |
What Iterum does for a food truck, and what it does not
Iterum is a digital loyalty card for local businesses: for a food truck it covers joining from the QR code, confirmed purchases and rewards, not your calendar of stops or payments. If you run several vans, each can be a location on the same account, at a separate cost shown on the pricing page, and the card can be valid at every location or only some. The demo designs on this page show made-up data: they are not real customers or results.
Set up the card before paying
In the card designer you set the design, stamps or points and the reward, and see a preview.
Try it for 7 days
Activate the 7-day free trial: you pay €0 today, a payment card is required and, unless you cancel, the selected plan continues after the trial. Base includes 300 new customers a month, Pro 1,000 and Premium 5,000, with unlimited customers in total; prices are on the pricing page.
- Does: a stamp or points card on the customer’s phone, from the QR code or the link, with Apple Wallet and Google Wallet on supported devices.
- Does: confirmation in the counter app on a phone, tablet or computer, accounts for the whole team, a minimum interval between two stamps from 1 minute to 24 hours.
- Does: a customer list with each customer’s last visit, statistics on visits, customers and rewards, and messages on the card only to customers who have consented, 2, 4 or 8 a month per location depending on the plan.
- Does not: a calendar of stops or a map, orders and payments, reading the till, stamping without a connection.
Sources and method
Sources read on 17 October 2026: the Unioncamere-InfoCamere press release Street food, in dieci anni conquista l’Italia of 28 August 2026, with its tables (source: InfoCamere-Unioncamere, Movimprese); the current text on Normattiva of Legislative Decree no. 114 of 31 March 1998, articles 27 and 28. Quotations from Italian sources are our translations.
Situations, rules, thresholds and rewards in the tables are examples, not data collected from real businesses. The information on Iterum describes the product as of 17 October 2026, as shown on its public pages and in the dashboard, and does not promise more customers or more sales. Iterum is loyalty card software and has no connection with Unioncamere or InfoCamere.
Frequently asked questions
- How does a food truck loyalty card work?
- The customer scans the QR code on the counter and opens the card in the browser, with no app. On each purchase, whoever is on the till confirms the stamp in the counter app, using the card’s QR code or its code; once the threshold is reached, the reward can be collected at any stop.
- Does the customer have to download an app?
- No. They open the card from the QR code or a link and, on supported phones, add it to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. Without Wallet the card stays available from the link.
- What if there is no signal at the event?
- Iterum does not stamp without a connection. Note the code printed on the customer’s card and confirm the purchase as soon as the signal returns, the same day, or use the organiser’s Wi-Fi, if there is one.
- Is the card valid at every stop and across several vans?
- At every stop, yes: confirmation does not depend on where you are. With several vans, each can be a location on the same account, at a separate cost, and the card can be valid at every location or only some.
- How many stamps should a food truck ask for?
- It depends on how often a customer can find you. With one stop a week, 8 stamps lead to the reward in about two months; with less frequent stops, a threshold of 5 or 6 stamps works better.
- How much does it cost to try Iterum with a food truck?
- The trial lasts 7 days and you pay €0 today; a payment card is required to activate it. The price of the selected plan is shown before you confirm, and the plan continues after the trial unless you cancel.
Find your sector.
These are demonstration previews made with the Iterum card catalog. Names, rewards and stamps are examples.