Grub Market

Yes, you just report it on your quarterly estimated and yearly taxes.

How do they know if you go over? They probably won’t. But, once you go over, you’re no longer operating legally, so if you got sued, you wouldn’t have any legal ground to stand on. The laws are there to protect you — once you leave their umbrella, you’re no longer…[Read more]

Thanks so much for the info about that phone number now being invalid! I’ll remove it.

The list of requirements you’d need to go through sounds about right. For a tiny business, it’s not really worth it. The statement that most home food businesses don’t operate under the law also sounds right. And considering that you’re not willing to operate…[Read more]

Although direct sales only require a Class A registration, that assumes that the direct sales will not occur in a retail facility, from what I’ve gathered. I guess the first question you need to address is whether your store is allowed to sell food items? There are specific requirements of what and how a retail facility may sell food, and you’ll…[Read more]

For a business this unique, you really need to speak with the health dept directly. Although there’s no substitute for that, I will clarify that the cottage food law in CA only allows dry coffee beans, not prepared coffee as you’re suggesting. The cottage food law also only allows your products to be made in your home kitchen, and nowhere else.…[Read more]

I’m pretty sure the statement has to be on the primary label. Only certain items, like ingredients, can go on the secondary label based on federal regulations. You should call your health dept and see what they’ll allow you to do.

By definition, a business intends to make a profit. That’s why the IRS will classify you as a hobby if you take a loss for too many years in a row. It is for that reason that I don’t think your gifts or donations could be deducted as a “loss” for your business. If you take the sales you’ve made and deduct the variable expenses for…[Read more]

Setting aside the sales tax question temporarily, I just want to make sure that you’ve gone through the steps to make sure you’re running your business legally. Are you sure that your county doesn’t require you to get a business license for your chocolate business? More general info: http://forrager.com/faq/#starting

From what I understand, a…[Read more]

All of the prep needs to happen in the commercial kitchen… you can’t use your home for production. Once you go through the process of becoming a commercial food processor, you can sell anywhere (assuming you have the appropriate permits to sell there).

You can do dry spices under the cottage food law and you can’t ship them. If you want to ship, you need to use a commercial kitchen. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

Either the tea sellers are producing their tea in a commercial kitchen, or they are operating illegally. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

You can’t sell it under the cottage food law… you need to use a commercial kitchen. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

You can’t sell it under the cottage food law… you need to use a commercial kitchen. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

All of your products need to be packaged and labeled in your home, regardless of how they’re sold. The section of the law that you mentioned is intended for a restaurant that buys your product and then integrates it into their menu. Since your mom is appears to be a convenience store and not a food facility (which would have a commercial kitchen),…[Read more]

That’s great to hear, Krystle. Sometimes the health dept just doesn’t like the laws the way they are written. But it could also be that they thought they knew what they were talking about and didn’t want to admit that they were wrong. I’m glad they finally chose to allow it.

Although kombucha isn’t allowed under VA’s cottage food law, you should still talk to your health dept to see if there’s a way you can bottle it at home and sell it. Otherwise, you’ll need to use a commercial kitchen.