Consumers are becoming increasingly health conscious, and the increasingly popular gourmet food trucks industry has responded by expanding the number of healthy options on their menus, according to IBISWorld, the nation’s largest publisher of industry research.

During the past few years, the gourmet food trucks industry has surged ahead because of new consumer demand for unique and gourmet products.

The industry has sought to fill this demand by offering food trucks that cater to vegan, vegetarian, and other health-conscious consumers.

Gourmet food truck and street food vendors are increasingly investing in specialty, ethnic, and fusion (e.g. Mexican and Korean combination) types of food. Many operations have grown strongly over the past few years and outperformed traditional food truck operators.

According to IBISWorld, while the public's newfound obsession with food trucks will likely subside over the next five years, there will still be some opportunities for growth and sustained interest from major metropolitan areas and demand for street foods will grow as vendors adapt to the growing health consciousness of the public with the expansion of gourmet and healthy menu options.

For this reason, industry research firm IBISWorld has added a report on the Gourmet food trucks industry to its growing Food Service & Drinking Places report collection.

Economy wide, consumers spend less on luxuries like eating out; and when they do, they are buying lower-priced items. Fast food restaurants have increasingly lost business to home-cooked meals in the battle over people's shrinking budgets.

However, according to IBISWorld, consumers' renewed fascination with Gourmet Food Trucks foods allowed them to counter some of these trends. Many gourmet food trucks have carved out a unique niche and developed a loyal customer base.

According to IBISWorld analyst, Nima Samadi, these people often go out of their way to go to the operator's website or follow them on Twitter to determine when the street vendor is near them.

“It is hard for a vendor that has generic and unoriginal food to develop the same cult-like following and devoted customer base,” says Samadi.

“Continuing high quality and personal service will also mean high repeat and return rates from customers.”

 Headquartered in Los Angeles, IBISWorld serves a range of business, professional service and government organizations through more than 10 locations worldwide