Lauren Duncan

Food trucks are kind of in a class of their own. In the case of a retail store, the shop owner has the proper licenses and insurance and they are allowed to sell your products themselves. Likewise, a permitted food truck owner would be able to sell your products from their truck. You also could hop on their truck and sell them yourself. But for…[Read more]

I would only recommend crowdfunding or fundraising once you have a sizable customer base and a successful business. Typically, raising money is used to take a business to the next level (commercial kitchen, food truck, brick and mortar, etc). But when starting out, a few hundred dollars (or less) is all you need. Try going back and watching my mini…[Read more]

Hi Johnathan, it’s typical to feel overwhelmed when starting out. I don’t think you need a business partner at this stage.

Try not to get stuck on branding or being worried about something going wrong. Yes, starting a business comes with its challenges, but it’s hard to predict them. Usually the most successful entrepreneurs are those who put…[Read more]

It depends on your county/city. If they require business licenses, usually they require them for any type of food business. The only way to know for sure is to contact the dept that administers business licenses.

As far as I know, fermented foods are not allowed under VA’s basic cottage food law. However, you can sell up to $3k of acidified foods, including pickles (non-traditional) and hot sauce.

You MIGHT be able to use VA’s home food processing law to sell more than that, but I’m not sure how many ag dept allow home food processing operations.

And you…[Read more]

I can’t remember… do they ask for a NAICS code?

If so, then it depends on your business, but most cottage foods businesses would use either code 445291 (Baked Goods Stores) or 445292 (Confectionary and Nut Stores).

Here’s the link: https://www.naics.com/naics-code-description/?code=4452

There’s still no information on the ag dept’s webpage that says you can or can’t sell homemade extracts. I’d recommend reaching out to them and they will likely have an answer: https://agr.georgia.gov/cottage-foods.aspx

Hi Jonathan, I don’t typically recommend getting an LLC unless you are hiring employees that you don’t know well. You will likely need to get FLIP insurance to sell at events and fairs, and that is the lowest cost insurance option I’m aware of.

Yes they should be allowed. You just want to make sure they are thoroughly baked and don’t have too much moisture that could cause spoilage. If your product is fine to leave at room temperature for 24 hours, then it’s a nonperishable food. Perishable foods should be refrigerated within 2 hours.

Yes it can. However, it’s usually very complex and expensive to do this. Only recommended if you already have a very successful business.

From my reading of their guide, I’d say that it’s unlikely that extracts are allowed. There are definitely restrictions on selling most anything that is flavored with alcohol (except candy which can contain 5% or less). However, they don’t clearly state that an extract is prohibited. My guess is that to sell an extract, you’d need a separate…[Read more]

I haven’t seen anything that clearly states that you can’t sell these things from home (although it is pretty clear that you couldn’t sell cut fruit that is covered in chocolate or caramel). Ultimately, it might be up to your local health dept official to decide, based on their interpretation of the law. Marcia, could you let us know where you’re…[Read more]

That’s awesome! An amazing opportunity for sure. Unfortunately you won’t be able to use your home kitchen to produce the cupcakes. But you’re in the fortunate position of having a commercial kitchen at your disposal! Come to an agreement with the restaurant owner, perhaps using the kitchen in off hours. You will need to get a permit from the…[Read more]

Assuming your pudding has dairy and/or eggs in it, no, it would not be allowed under IL’s cottage food law. You’d need to produce it in a commercial kitchen. See the notes below the allowed foods list: https://forrager.com/law/illinois/#food

I’m not familiar enough with the standard of definition for jams and jellies to verify whether your product would be allowed, but if you’d like to dig through the legalese to determine whether your product would be allowed, here it is: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?CFRPart=150

Pam, there was a time a few years back when I wasn’t very active on here. But these days, I’ll make sure that any post receives a reply. I don’t see any forum posts from you where you’ve asked a cottage food question. You did reply to someone about a year ago, and I did respond to that back then. If you have any questions, please let me know!

I will start by saying that I don’t fully know. But based on this page, which states that you can sell non-PHF candy “in individual-sized portions for immediate consumption only”, my guess is that the exemption is only for sales at an event, where the individually-wrapped candy is intended to be consumed immediately after a sale. Naturally that…[Read more]

The only way to legally sell meat empanadas is to use a commercial kitchen and get licensed with the health dept. Most likely you would rent someone else’s at an hourly rate. Here’s some more info about finding a commercial kitchen: https://forrager.com/faq/#commercial-kitchen

Although she can’t sell meat empanadas from home, she should be able to sell homemade fruit empanadas.