It is 2021, and global food production is expected to be worth an enormous $12.24 trillion. Whether joining your local wine club for a regularly batch of free samples or getting all the elements for that whole vegan meal sent right to your door, it seems as though everyone's in on the action. Is not it about time you got a slice of the pie?
Well, now you can!
Thanks to global marketplaces and ecommerce programs, it is now more comfortable than ever to start selling food online. Our guide will walk you through everything from global food management to choosing your perfect platform and marketing your products.
By the end, you won't just have a fair idea about how to sell food online – you will be ready to put what you have read into patients and create your very own online store.
So, now the entrée is out the door, let's dig into the central road and obtain out how to make your vision a reality.
Many states have cottage food laws that allow residents to bake, cook, prepare and package specific foods in their home kitchens, but not fix other foods to sell to the public deemed dangerous. However, the rules vary by state. Discuss your state's Department of Agriculture website for need-to-know news, including the system for selling food you make from home and require health inspections. You may also need to check out Forrager.com, an informative cottage law industry website, for further information.
Depending on your state, you may also want to obtain a business license, take food handler training courses and ask for specific permits, though every state is different. For instance, in Florida, you won't want to undergo an investigation as long as you're going permitted foods. Still, if you receive a customer complaint, you may receive a limited environmental health inspector visit. You also force want to contemplate paying for food liability coverage, which can cost around $400 to $800 a year.
If the state allows residents to sell and package food products from home, there may still be restrictions on how much you can benefit from your sold goods. For example, in South Carolina, once you reach $15,000 in annual total sales, you will need to find a new home to make your food. Meantime, In Texas, you can sell up to $50,000 of cabin food products. In other states, such as Ohio and Georgia, there is no traffic boundary.
Weigh the Pros and Cons of Renting Space
If you grow successful instead of discontinuing your home, leasing space in a practical kitchen is often the next step for making your startup off the ground. The cost needed for renting a room in a commercial kitchen will vary, but you can anticipate paying about $15 to $25 per hour. Usually, if you spend a membership fee, you'll get a lower price. You may also be able to obtain a lower price if you're ready to cook early in the day or late at night. For instance, at Eta's Commercial Kitchen Rental in Highland Park, Illinois, you can pay $25 an hour when the peak hours from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., if you're paying for 15 or fewer hours, and only $22 per hour if you work in the off-peak hours of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Your commercial kitchen may be available to help you with permitting, too, says Rosaria DelPrete, co-owner of Let's Eat Fresh Commissary Kitchen & Catering in Ocala, Florida. A commercial kitchen may be able to help you obtain a license for catering, running a food truck, buying food wholesale and getting a retail franchise that enables you to sell your products. "There are all kinds of permissions that you can ask for," DelPrete says. She adds that "permitting is very diverse from state to state, and the laws and controls are different."
Consider Hiring a Food Scientist
If you're severe about beginning a food-focused small business, Christa Cotton, CEO of New Orleans Beverage Group, LLC, which advances a line of handcrafted cocktails called El Guapo, suggests turning to a food specialist.
"The food specialist will give you shelf-life information, nutritional information and everything else you want for your labels. It's a lot of work and very complex if you're beginning and different with the ins and outs of the industry," Cotton says. The cost of hiring a food specialist can vary. "It depends on the consequence category and the amount of recipes someone is trying to bring to market," Cotton says.
She suggests going to your local university or college and obtaining a professor who works in the food science department and is approved as a food processing power. "That sounds complex, but it's not. They get paid to consult, and their students help do the work, which saves the client money and gives the students real-life experience," Cotton says.
