What cottage food laws apply to me?
- tandumaine
- May 29
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 5
A Simple Guide for Selling Homemade Food on Sweeten
Thinking about sharing your homemade bakes with your community? Whether you’re a cookie pro, cake artist, or sourdough wizard, Sweeten is here to help you launch a microbakery and start selling homemade food locally.
Before firing up the oven, it’s essential to understand home food laws. Home food laws, also called Cottage Food Laws, help guide how home-based food businesses operate and vary depending on where you live, but don’t worry, we’re here to help make sense of it all.
In this article:
What Are Cottage Food Laws?
Cottage food laws are state or local rules that let individuals sell certain homemade food products from their homes. These laws were designed to help small food entrepreneurs by making it easier and more affordable to start a micro-bakery or home food business without needing a commercial kitchen.
Why Cottage Food Laws Matter for Micro-Bakeries
Each state has different rules: what you can sell, where you can sell, labeling requirements, and whether you need a permit or inspection. Following these rules keeps your microbakery compliant, safe, and building customer trust.
What You Might Be Allowed to Sell
Typically allowed under cottage food laws:
Breads, muffins, and cookies
Cakes and cupcakes (sometimes with restrictions on frosting types)
Jams and jellies
Granola, candies, and more
Not allowed (in most states):
Foods requiring refrigeration (like cream pies, meat dishes, dairy-based fillings)
Check your local list of approved foods to be sure.
What You Might Need
Depending on where you live, you may need:
A Cottage Food Permit or Registration
Food handler certification
Home kitchen inspection (in some cases)
Selling Through Sweeten
Sweeten is a platform built for home cooks and microbakery owners to sell locally with ease. To sell through the Sweeten platform, we require all chefs and bakers to:
Confirm they’re following local cottage food laws
Label all items clearly and accurately in their menu, including identifying common allergens
Find Your State’s Rules
Check your Cottage Food Laws by State guide (link to a compiled resource) or visit your local health department website. You can also reach out to us at hello@eatsweeten.com we’re happy to help you get started on the right foot.
