Amy Mucha of Kent, OH shares how she massively scaled her home bakery and now sells over 100,000 cake pops per year, and then created a cake pop supplies business that is revolutionizing the industry
Beth Ford of Baton Rouge, LA shares how she found new purpose, passion, and peace in life by opening a cottage food bakery and growing it until she could quit her job and focus on the bakery full-time
Lolly Anderson of Sioux Falls, SD shares how cookies literally changed her life and led her to build a successful cottage food bakery and a digital product business that has done over $1M in sales
Melanie Scofield of Jacksonville, OR shares how her battle with cancer led her to create one of the country’s best farm stands by focusing on building community, serving others, and being consistent
Alecia Ryan of Ardmore, PA shares how she built her cottage food business into a success by focusing on branding and customer relationships, despite facing many unpredictable changes along the way
Katie Sacoman of Albuquerque, NM shares how she transitioned from custom orders to markets to wholesale by remaining adaptable and embracing the messiness that comes with growing your own business
Lisa He of Orlando, FL shares how she built on her success as a cottage food baker by creating a popular online course business and a thriving software business for cottage food entrepreneurs
Lauri Lee & Bob Stafford of Surprise, AZ share the strategies they’ve used to scale their business by becoming a major presence at markets, adding wholesale accounts, switching to a copacker, and more
Stacey Kimball of Caldwell, ID shares how she went from cottage food to commercial kitchen to her own storefront by building relationships with her community and focusing on slow and consistent growth
Annie Wang of Oakland, CA shares how she turned multiple passions into a very successful hyper-niched and eco-friendly bakery by starting small, scaling up, and completing a massive rebrand
Georgi DeCosta of Kaneohe, HI shares how she used baking to help overcome depression, and turned her baking therapy into a legitimate cottage food business that has given her a new purpose in life
Rita Magalde runs Sheer Ambrosia in Salt Lake City, UT and shares her roller coaster baking business journey of 17 years that includes big risks, life changes, surprises, failures and successes
Chris Martin of Charlottesville, VA shares how she used her experience working at 3-star Michelin restaurants to build a successful cottage food bakery, and then reinvented it despite its popularity
Davia Delgado of Trenton, NJ has experienced incredibly fast growth in her cottage food bakery, and shares how she achieved many $2k and $3k sales days within her first year of business
Elena-Maria Hert of Billings, MT shares how she persisted to create a successful cottage food bakery, despite struggling to acquire customers, source ingredients, and achieve work/life balance
Rachel Laukala of Ravensdale, WA shares how she built a very successful cottage food bakery selling only cake pops, amassed over 100k followers on Instagram, and started an online cake pop school
Delaney Peters of Wasilla, AK shares how her cottage food bakery became a massive success within its first year, despite having modest business ambitions and also being a stay-at-home mom of an infant
Maci Reed of Dover, NH shares how she rapidly built a successful cottage food bakery by focusing on helping others and fostering community, and eventually sold over 1,000 baked goods in a single day
Denise Golia of North Providence, RI shares how she started a very successful bakery by niching way down, despite being limited by a personal injury and not being able to start from her home kitchen
Jondell Lafont-Garcia of Pflugerville, TX is one of the foremost experts in the homemade marshmallow trend and shares how she built her cottage food business despite facing a major personal challenge
Wynter Hosier of Greentown, IN shares how she built her cottage food bakery into a successful storefront by persevering and giving back, despite facing many unexpected twists and turns along the way
Joan Eppehimer of Jamestown, NY shares how she raised thousands of dollars for charity with a cottage food business, and (with the help of her nephew Jason) rebranded her business to boost sales
Kristi Otto of Fort Myers, FL shares how she leveraged her extensive food industry experience to succeed with her cottage food bakery, despite her community not resonating with her products initially
Jenn Bowersock of Sidney, OH runs an authentic German bakery from her home, and shares how she went from struggling as an entrepreneur to experiencing rapid success by finding product/market fit
Tyler Worthey of Neoga, IL shares how he built a very successful cottage food business during high school, and how he and his mom Angie now work together as a mother/son team to take it to new heights
Valerie Allensworth of Sitka, AK shares how she built a very successful cottage food business by focusing on consistency, despite living on a remote island in Alaska and facing many unique challenges
Jenifer & Tristan Hoke of Tecumseh, OK share how they used sheer persistence to overcome early sales struggles, and found a business model that works so well that they now can’t keep up with demand
Rob Sanz of Rockville, MD shares how he’s added a cottage food bakery to a busy family life and career, and why he has intentionally kept his microbakery small, even though he could easily grow it
Elisa Marie Lords of Placentia, CA shares how she overcame early struggles with her sales and built a thriving cottage food bakery by focusing on community, consistency, and customer service
Tiffany Hill shares how she built on her success as a cottage food baker by creating a thriving online community/course and a packaging business, both of which have experienced unprecedented growth
Monique Germaine of Nashville, TN shares how she built and rebuilt her cottage food bakery in 3 different states, plus a crazy commercial food business journey that got her products into big retailers
Michelle Dukes of Penfield, NY shares why she shifted her business model after 10 years of running a cottage food bakery, while keeping focus on the most important aspect of her business: having fun
Jessi Deily of Helena, MT sells macarons and custom-decorated meringue cookies with her cottage food business and shares her journey from struggling artist to successful baker and TikTok influencer
Eric & Denise Steilberger of Ocala, FL sell their homemade fudge all year long and share how the lessons they learned from running a cafe in Alaska helped them build a successful cottage food business
Kristyn Suemnick of Murrieta, CA shares how her discovery of sourdough bread led to building a thriving home bakery that allows her to stay at home with her kids and better connect with her community
Megan Shonka of Papillion, NE shares the highs and lows of her home-based bakery journey, the importance of being involved in her community, and her plans to expand into a brick-and-mortar storefront
Angela Awunor of Glenn Dale, MD shares how she moved her thriving custom cake business from a commercial kitchen into her home, and how she maintains work-life balance with two full-time careers
Denae Spiering of Bridgeville, DE shares how she realized her long-time dream of building a brick-and-mortar bakery despite life getting in the way and pausing her cottage food business for many years
Nancy Chang of Oakland, CA sells healthy soups with her home-based micro-restaurant and shares how her mother’s battle with cancer inspired her to provide nourishing food to those facing health issues
Jana LaViolette of Clovis, NM shares her incredible journey from cottage food to food truck to storefront, and how she overcame many obstacles by constantly trying new things and never giving up
Robert & Paula Grosz of Murray, KY share how they built a thriving jam & jelly business that allowed them to quit their jobs by focusing on quality, listening to customers, and scaling their business
Janna Newcomb Walworth of Choctaw, OK has rapidly grown her cottage food business selling freeze dried candy, fruits, veggies, etc, and shares why she doesn’t think this trend will end anytime soon
Alisa Woods of Des Moines, IA shares how she promotes her home bakery by networking with others, getting TV spots, building Instagram followers, competing in state fairs, and living in the moment
Lora Friemel of Scranton, AR shares how she sells homemade jams, jellies, and other canned goods as a way to support her lifelong dream of running a sustainable homestead for her family
Leah Livingston of Kenosha, WI shares how two personal tragedies led her to build a successful custom decorated cookie business that allowed her to quit her job and eventually expand into a storefront
Barbara Williford of DeBerry, TX shares how she built a cottage food bakery with her daughter and grew it into a full-time business by networking with others and giving back to her community
Chelsa Smith of Des Moines, IA sells sourdough bread from her wildly successful home microbakery and shares many of the ups and downs of building her business while finding work-life balance
Emily Vanlandingham of New Orleans, LA runs a home bakery that focuses on school celebrations, and shares the triumphs, lessons, and challenges that have come from creating her very unique business
Jen Morris shares so many lessons from her crazy journey building a popular cupcake business in Collingdale, PA, including promoting yourself, scaling up, getting published, and validating products
Lee Thomas runs a legal home BBQ business in San Leandro, CA and shares how he leveraged his political connections to help legalize MEHKOs (micro-enterprise home kitchen operations) in his county
Amanda Schonberg of Baton Rouge, LA shares tons of business tips for generating more sales, building a following, managing mindset, improving time, growing an email list, and scaling up a bakery
Heather & Corrie Miracle of Fairfax, VA share their top advice for cottage food entrepreneurs based on what they’ve learned from creating their very successful paid membership filled with raving fans
Jenny Berg of Bend, OR started baking sourdough bread during the pandemic and shares how she turned her new hobby into a home business that has finally given her a sense of fulfillment in her work.
Connie & Rick Martin of Charleston, WV share how they built a successful business by discovering a very unique product, accruing 15 wholesale accounts, and constantly networking and asking for help.
Amanda Luecke of Maple Grove, MN shares how she built a thriving custom decorated cookie business with over 26k Instagram followers by focusing on her customers, community, & family.
Beatrice Lattimore from Deland, FL shares how her family moved from the city into the country to start a farm and live off the land, and how she used the cottage food law to sell value-added products.
Scot & Christine Steenson share how they used a unique marketing strategy to build a successful home-based coffee roasting company after their Paradise, CA home burnt down in 2018’s Camp Fire.
Jen & Danny from Austin, TX sell sourdough crackers and share how they grew their business to 50+ wholesale accounts by leveraging farmers markets, a unique product, and a strong brand.
Jennie Gibson of Jacksonville, FL shares how she built one of the most successful home-based custom-decorated cake pop businesses in the United States despite facing many challenges along the way.
Amie Anderson & Jamie Krake live in Ypsilanti, MI and share how their cafe failure spawned a successful home-based donut delivery business that’s spread joy to their community and uplifted their lives.
In this special 50th episode of The Forrager Podcast, hear from 16 Facebook group owners who share some of their best tips about starting and growing a cottage food business.
Whitney Singletary of Berkeley, CA shares many of the obstacles she faced to build a successful nut-flavored cookie business from her driveway and eventually grow into a brick-and-mortar storefront.
Shelley Erickson of Big Lake, MN shares how she became the leader of the cottage food movement in her state, by improving her state’s cottage food law and starting a cottage food association.
Jim & Crystal Whitmarsh of Kasson, MN share how they grew their small-batch roasted coffee business from home to a commercial storefront by leveraging creative collaborations with other businesses.
Joanne Littau from Denver, CO talks about why it’s difficult to make money from selling preserves, what practical tips to follow when canning goods, and why the cottage food community is so special.