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Cottage Oven

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Viewing 10 posts - 11 through 20 (of 20 total)
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  • #73198

    Cottage Oven
    Moderator

    Bags would certainly be less expensive than bottles.

    The thing to compare would be bulk prices on small zipper-closure bags versus some kind of bag where you would use a heat (“impulse”) sealer. For my baked goods, I use plastic food bags and a heat sealer ($30 – $50 on Amazon). Of course, you could use something like a Foodsaver or Seal-a-Meal, if you have one, but the added expense isn’t necessary unless you absolutely must have the capacity for vacuum sealing.

    For labeling, you could just use address labels and a laser printer (an ink-jet printer would probably run through ink too quickly) and then stick the labels directly to the bags. To be a little more elegant, you could attach a piece of thin cardboard to the top of the bag (if you use staples, don’t puncture the bag below where it is sealed) and then slap a label onto that. Of course, the ultimate would be to have the cardboard tops preprinted, but that would probably raise the cost too much.

    Remember: whatever method you choose, the cost of packaging, labeling and any associated equipment must be factored into the price you charge for the item. Otherwise, you could be spending more on preparing the product for sale than you make when you sell it. On the other hand, also remember that the costs of the packaging and labels that are an integral part of displaying your product for sale are deductible inventory (cost of goods sold) expenses.

    #72779

    Cottage Oven
    Moderator

    Don’t know about California – I’m in Florida, but the following may be helpful as some general guidelines to help you find the answers that would be specific to California.

    Here, in Florida, most items sold under cottage-food law would NOT be taxable, but CANDY is ALWAYS taxable. Thus, bread, cookies, cakes, muffins, etc. would not be taxed but caramels, fudge, chocolates, etc. would be taxed.

    There is also one more thing to consider: does the venue where you are selling charge admissions for customers to enter? If so, then items that are big enough or packaged for taking away from the venue are not taxable. Things that are sold to be eaten on the premises, however, are taxable. Thus, if you sell a blueberry muffin at a regular farmers market, it wouldn’t be taxed, but if you sold it at a fair where the customer had to buy a ticket to get in, then it would be taxed.

    I hope that helps you at least somewhat, but do check with whoever oversees California’s cottage-food laws (perhaps Department of Agriculture) AND California’s sales-tax laws (perhaps department of revenue), since California’s laws are often vastly different from those of any other state.

    #68204

    Cottage Oven
    Moderator

    Sandy, in which state are you starting your cottage-food business. Some require inspections and some don’t. It’s also possible that some municipalities may require inspections, even if the state does not.

    #49682

    Cottage Oven
    Moderator

    Since I’m in Florida, I don’t know about Oregon, in particular, but the main thing would be that all of the cooking would have to be done in your home kitchen. That means that, unless there is something specific against frying, you may fry the doughnuts AT HOME, then package them and sell them at, for example, a farmers market. You would NOT be allowed to fry them at the farmers market.

    Also keep in mind that any samples would have to be cut and packaged (e.g. in small cups with lids) at home and you would not be allowed to break doughnuts apart as samples at the market – only the home-packaged samples would be allowed.

    Again, remember, I’m in Florida and the rules may be different in Oregon, but these are relatively common constraints.

    #42319

    Cottage Oven
    Moderator

    Wish I could remember what made it work, but I finally was able to add my CFO.

    Unfortunately, now, when I try to add products, the form won’t submit.

    As with Angel, I have tried multiple browsers and platforms (Firefox and Chrome on Linux, Android and Windows).

    #42020

    Cottage Oven
    Moderator

    Welcome back, David, and thank you for making the Add-CFO page available again.

    Unfortunately, it is not fully functional, since the location search never finishes, thus making it impossible to submit the form.

    #41643

    Cottage Oven
    Moderator

    Where are you located?

    Most cottage-food laws do not allow selling across state lines.

    Even within state lines, they often don’t allow shipping. You may deliver personally or customers may come to you (at your home or at an accepted venue such as a farmers market), but you may not ship (e. g. UPS, USPS, FedEx, etc.).

    Even considering all of the above, many states do not allow sauces, salsas or condiments as cottage-food items. Instead, a commercial kitchen and food license are necessary.

    Again, it all depends upon the state in which you live, but very few – if any – would permit out-of-state sales and shipping of a BBQ sauce under cottage-food law.

    #41621

    Cottage Oven
    Moderator

    It depends upon the laws for your state. For example, in Florida, you CAN sell the cupcakes online, but the customers cannot be outside of Florida and you may not ship the orders (UPS, USPS, FedEx, etc.). You may deliver the orders personally or customers may pick up the orders at your home (if your HOA, etc. allows it) or at a farmers market where you may already be selling.

    #41585

    Cottage Oven
    Moderator

    Desiree,

    Being an LLC doesn’t change anything with regard to actual cottage-food law – just the way some aspects of the business may operate. For example, because of the way the name of the LLC is registered, you won’t have to go through the separate process of registering a fictitious name. None of that has anything to do with the products you make and how you sell them under cottage-food law.

    Also, be sure to read the cottage-food guidance PDF file from freshfromflorida.com to learn what you you can and cannot do. There are no licenses or permits other than the county (and, in some cases, municipal) “occupational license” (nowadays called “business tax receipt”) which just allows you to run the business but has nothing to do with cottage-food law, in particular.

    Any other requirements for permits, food-handling or food-management certification, etc. may be imposed by specific markets (if at all) but are not part of Florida’s cottage-food law.

    #41552

    Cottage Oven
    Moderator

    Pepper jellies and tomato jellies are not allowed under Florida’s cottage-food law.

Viewing 10 posts - 11 through 20 (of 20 total)