Starting a Cottage Business

Is a farmer's market sales strategy right for you? 

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Enjoy our free list of links to all 50 state's cottage law websites below. Click your state and begin your journey. If you have questions, our Facebook group members can help you and so can we with our cottage license review service. You can start your business. We can help. 

The Story

In 1889 an ambitious 25-year-old young man named Willoughby began selling products door-to-door in Baltimore, MD that he produced in his 1-room cellar. The products included his homemade root beer, fruit juices, flavoring extracts and fruit syrups. 

In some ways, Willoughby's young business was much more simple than small businesses that start today. The regulatory environment in 1889 was not as sophisticated as it is today. A person that wanted to sell food products, simply had to make the product and go to market. Whereas today, if you are entering the food business there are regulations that need to be considered. 

In other ways, Willoughby's business was also much more complicated. Obtaining ingredients to start a business today requires nothing more than a Google search and vetting of suppliers. A world of flavor is available with the click of a mouse, whereas Willoughby's efforts to source ingredients likely included long lead times, hard-to-obtain letters of credit (in the absence of PayPal), and varying qualities of ingredient delivery that likely did not come with money-back-guarantees. 

Willoughby persevered and, 7 years later he acquired a spice company and then incorporated in both Maine and Baltimore. In 1915 the Great Baltimore Fire consumed his business and all was lost, and he found a way to rebuild. 

Today, 136 years later, when you enter the Baltimore corporate headquarters of Willoughby McCormick's little door-to-door cottage business, you will see a large sign written on the wall quoting Willoughby that reads, "Make the best - someone will buy it." 

The Lesson

Many of us know people today that share a story like Willoughby. In my state of Utah, I can think of a number of large companies today that started a generation ago in a basement or a garage, and you can probably name at least 1 or 2 from your own state as well. 

America needs small businesses to start up regularly. They are the #1 creator of new jobs every year. Cottage laws are created not to inhibit business growth, but to provide a blueprint for safety. They are created to help us learn from the past and avoid making similar mistakes as our predecessors. Given the ease at which ingredients can be sourced and new food businesses created in today's market, a state's cottage laws can be a helpful tool to entrepreneurs to ensure food safety. 

Of course, some state cottage laws are more difficult than others, and we offer our cottage law review service to review your cottage laws with you in an effort to help you build your safety plan and minimize errors. 

Every state controls and writes its own cottage laws. While most states share certain best practices to promote food safety, the regulations can vary from state to state. For example, some states allow food to be produced in a home with pets, so long as the pet is never able to enter the room where the food is made. Some states don't allow the production of extracts without a liquor license. 

The primary concern of cottage laws is to ensure that all food is processed in a clean environment. You will be required to keep a log of your production outlining your cleaning steps before and during the production and packaging of your goods. You may be required to register your cooking space (your home) with your local department of agriculture. (You will find that most people within your local department of agriculture will be a great help to answer your cottage law questions.) 

Another important note about cottage laws is that their jurisdiction is state specific. As soon as your goods cross state lines, then they become subject to jurisdiction of the FDA and more sophisticated food safety systems need to be utilized, perhaps with the help of commercial kitchens or food packaging facilities that are registered with the FDA. 

The first question we receive is, "Where do I find my state's cottage laws?". To be helpful we have listed them all here. We will try and keep this list updated, but state website URLs can sometimes break or change, so if your state's link below doesn't work, try googling "STATE NAME Cottage Laws" to be lead to the updated link. 

It may seem a bit overwhelming at first, but don't despair. Once you actually begin producing your product, you will find that the added safety steps introduced by the Cottage Laws in your state are quite manageable and don't add significant cost to your product. It's a small hurdle that you can jump over, and we can help. You can also get help from the amazing business owners in our business owners Facebook group. 

Cottage Law Links by State:

1. Alabama
2. Alaska (no regulations)
3. Arizona
4. Arkansas
5. California
6. Colorado
7. Connecticut 
8. Deleware 
9. Florida
10. Georgia
11. Hawaii
12. Idaho
13. Illinois 
14. Indiana
15. Iowa
16. Kansas
17. Kentucky
18. Lousiana
19. Maine
20. Maryland
21. Massachusetts  
22. Michigan
23. Minnesota
24. Mississippi
25. Missouri 
26. Montana
27. Nebraska
28. Nevada
29. New Hampshire
30. New Jersey
31. New Mexico
32. New York
33. North Carolina
34. North Dakota 
35. Ohio
36. Oklahoma
    
37. Oregon
38. Pennsylvania 
39. Rhode Island
40. South Carolina
41. South Dakota
42. Tennessee
43. Texas
44. Utah
45. Vermont
46. Virginia
47. Washington
48. West Virginia
49. Wisconsin
50. Wyoming