Precious pop-up: Nivi’s Minis is more than just cute–it’s smart

Naveen Moinuddin and Muhammad Mashwani of Nivi’s Minis // Photo by Sarah Sipple

I recently attended an event that brought in Nivi’s Minis to provide food. The portable cart is the latest in Kansas City’s diverse selection of food trucks and pop-up vendors.

Nivi’s Minis is a family-owned snack cart that sets up primarily at events, offering three different menus. The menu I had featured mini pancakes, but it also provides soft-serve and elote–just not all at the same time. 

Each menu type offers customers a selection to create a custom dish. For example, the mini pancakes could be topped with a variety of sweet sauces, fruit, sprinkles, cookie crumbles, and more, plus whipped cream or powdered sugar. I chose Nutella, strawberries, and powdered sugar for mine.

Nivi’s Minis seems to have struck a business sweet spot

Owners Muhammad Mashwani and Naveen Moinuddin were inspired by Mashwani’s sister, who runs a snack cart in Houston. For her, it’s a full-time business with 12 menus. Mashwani says, “We’re not the first people to come up with this idea. That’s why we put an extra passion behind personalization and creating good visual content so that we can add our own unique contribution to this business.”

Each small menu focuses on just one dish, yet they can flex to fit nearly any situation. Pancakes might not be the best fit for a hot evening event, but soft serve sure would be. Or when a savory option is best, they’ve got customizable elote for that.

The strategy is clever, and the execution is cute

The cart is clean and bright, and an umbrella adds some visual height to help it stand out in a crowded room. At the event I attended, wooden forks were personalized with stickers for the host. On their social media accounts, there are images of further personalization: even the cart itself can be decorated or repainted for a bespoke look. The cart itself helps provide a sense of legitimacy to consumers when compared to other food vendors who may operate from a folding table. Cutesy branding may draw people in for their first visit, but to earn repeat customers, the food and service need to be solid.

Specialization–even more narrow than that of a traditional food truck–allows them to maintain a succinct inventory and ingredient list, establish efficient routines for serving customers, and have a few distinct dishes that become recognizable as guests share their experiences across social media. 

Nivi’s Minis // Photo by Sarah Sipple

To further explore the agility of this model, consider the weather

Nivi’s Minis cart is ultra-portable, which allows them to set up indoors or outdoors. Food trucks are limited to outdoor events, of which there are many, but are at the mercy of the increasingly extreme Midwestern weather conditions. The mobile cart allows them to serve at indoor events, big and small, even at individuals’ homes for private events. Being able to work year-round is a big plus for an event-based food provider. 

There are limitations to a food cart. Equipment is limited to what a food cart can hold, or a separate workstation must be assembled. Things like fryers and some heating elements are not as feasible with this model. And, the more additional tables, coolers, and workspaces required beyond the cart, the less agile and small-space friendly the setup becomes.

Storage is limited, as well, but Moinuddin and Mashwani have a plan for perfecting their inventory when developing a new menu. If you’re booked for an event and expected to serve 150 guests, how does one know how many batches of batter to prep the first time? How many cases of strawberries to bring? How far ahead can they be washed and remain fresh?

When testing a new menu, Nivi’s Minis will pop up at an event, keeping close counts on all ingredients and supplies. Then, when they run out, they can calculate the number of servings they were able to get to, which informs how many people can be served with the inventory. Then those numbers can be scaled up or down depending on the size of the next private event. If there are leftovers after an event, they bring home the rest and serve to neighbors, spreading free food to their community while further honing inventory management. 

The next trend in the KC food scene

Will we see a resurgence of food carts in Kansas City? Moinuddin says, “People love the cart. I feel like it’s not as common of a concept in KC as it is in other places; I grew up in Chicago, Muhammad grew up in Houston, and the cart scene in those places is huge. Like it’s almost saturated.”

Though the menu would be limited by space, this could prove to be a viable option for up-and-coming makers. A cart’s mobility and adaptability, compared to a traditional restaurant or food truck, have enshrined their spot in the culture of other cities. But with a lower barrier for investment, as more carts enter the KC scene, they will have to really shine in quality or service in order to stand out.