Nicole DiMarco with All About The Freeze
Nicole DiMarco of West Deptford, NJ shares how she took the leap with a new product, and leveraged her sales, retail, and social media experience to quickly start a successful cottage food business
Healthy Grains, Wealthy Gains with Tamara Ketchian
Tamara Ketchian of Orange, CT sells gluten-free vegan granola and shares how she’s gone from stay-at-home mom to starting a cottage food bakery to now scaling her business with a commercial kitchen
It’s A Marathon, Not A Sprint with Robert & Paula Grosz
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
The Feel Good Factor with Juno Rosales
Juno Rosales shares the incredible story of how she built an international brand by selling her frozen desserts from home in the Philippines before adding a second location in Los Angeles, CA
Find Work That Fulfills You with Jenny Berg
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.
Makin’ Friends, Sellin’ Food, Havin’ Fun with Connie & Rick Martin
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.
Can A Product Be Too Good? with Janna Paterno
Janna Paterno of Charleston, WV shares why she wasn’t making money in her custom-decorated cookie business, despite having phenomenal decorating skills and more customers than she could ask for.
How To Build A Food Business (And Life) That You Love with Sari Kimbell – Part 2
Sari Kimbell of Fort Collins, CO shares tons of advice about growing a food business, including pricing, choosing products, branding, selling wholesale, scaling up, find a commissary kitchen, and more.
Facing Adversity, Embracing Success with Jennie Gibson
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.
Creating A Smash Hit with Jill Baethge – Part 2
Jill Baethge from Plano, TX shares how she grew her unique chocolate candy piñata business into a national brand by creating products for Michaels stores across the nation.
The Dynamic Donut Duo with Amie Anderson & Jamie Krake
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.
Starting A Cottage Food Operation – Allowed Foods
In most states, you can only sell certain types of homemade food. Most cottage food laws only allow nonperishable food items, but some states allow almost all types of food, while other states are very restrictive. Learn about what types of homemade food products you can sell under your cottage food law.
Everyone Starts Somewhere
Have you thought of starting your own food business? Learn about what it takes to get started… you might need less than you think!
The Price Is Wrong
Let’s say you’re thinking of selling your homemade goodies at a local market this summer. How will you set the price?
How Many Products Should You Sell?
One mistake startups often make is offering customers too many choices. Initially this may seem backwards and unintuitive… wouldn’t you sell more if you had more to offer customers? Not necessarily.
Why Online Marketplaces Fail
It’s that time of year again: cottage food laws being introduced, home bakers starting CFOs, and some entrepreneurs launching their cottage food marketplaces. As I’ve written before, Forrager was initially intended to be a cottage food marketplace, but now we have abandoned that idea. However, on the face of it, the idea seems to be… [read more]
Build For Sale, Not For Scale
I’m a dreamer. I can see my fudge business taking off… I can see it on store shelves, I can see huge batches being made, and I can see that I often get a little ahead of myself! With a new year comes renewed energy for our homemade food businesses. Maybe you’re looking forward to… [read more]
Cottage Food Operator Self-assessment
Do you have what it takes to be a CFO, a cottage food operator? More than an idea, recipe or home kitchen filled with appliances, becoming a small food business owner will require a level of knowledge, skill and talent, each addressed below.