Stephanie Borns

You’ll need to get licenses for all three (maybe not #2), but I’m not sure which ones. You must prepare the water kefir in a commercial kitchen. For #1 and #2, contact the health dept. For #3, contact the ag dept.

1. You can advertise any way you want, but I don’t think you can sell from home or offer delivery. If you are posting photos on Instagram and selling at a farmers market, that would be fine.
2. The other option would be to use a commercial kitchen, get a license from the health dept, and run your business with any method you’d like.
3. Cinnamon…[Read more]

I do not believe you can sell homemade items in NY if you aren’t a NY resident. You probably need to use a commercial kitchen with the appropriate license to start your business. You should talk to the farmers market in NYC to see what they require.

You should contact the ag dept about selling the teas and syrups… I don’t think you can sell them from your office. I believe you can only sell them at certain public markets and stores, so you might need to produce them in a commercial kitchen to sell them at your office.

I’m not familiar with the laws for selling deodorant, and you can try…[Read more]

In general, yes, you need to follow the same rules. But in this case, I haven’t confirmed that dry mixes are allowed under the cottage food law in Massachusetts, so it might be harder to start that type of business. You can contact the ag dept to determine what they will allow.

Over the past few years, I’ve seen many entrepreneurs try to establish an online marketplace for local foods — virtually all of them with limited or no success, myself included. So just by that fact alone, it’s clear that there are some serious barriers to entry in this space. I’m still trying to figure out exactly what those barriers are.

I…[Read more]

It would probably be allowed under the cottage food law, but really, if your health inspector is okay with it with fewer requirements, then I’d say you’re good to go. They are the ones that regulate the laws, and their word about what’s allowed is final.

No, NY isn’t really setup for a custom food business, since they only allow sales at events and stores. The law is intended for a home cook who makes items and then brings them to an event and sells them there, or sells them to a store for resale. You should contact your health dept: http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

Yes, as long as you’re using a commercial kitchen and have the appropriate licenses from the health dept and county, you can sell your hot sauce. You need to call your health dept learn about the steps to become a commercial food processor.