Where Can You Sell Cottage Food?
A cottage-food rule is not only a product rule. Most state pathways also define who may buy the food and how it may be delivered. The channel can be the difference between a covered direct sale and an unlicensed wholesale operation.
Direct-to-consumer sales
This is the core of most cottage-food programs: the producer sells to the person who will use the food. It can happen at the kitchen door, a market, an event, or sometimes through a consumer-facing online order.
Farmers markets and events
A market may fit the state's direct-sale model but add its own vendor application, insurance, booth, or labeling rules. Check both the state pathway and the venue before paying for a stall.
Online and mail order
Online sales range from a covered consumer transaction to a reseller or wholesale arrangement. Delivery across state lines is a separate question. Do not assume that a website checkout preserves the direct-sale classification.
Retail resale
A grocery store, cafe, or gift shop usually resells the product to someone else. Many cottage-food pathways exclude this. Some states create a limited vendor or indirect-sale route; others require a different food-facility license.
Wholesale
Wholesale usually means selling to a business for resale or distribution. The volume, buyer, delivery, and labeling requirements can move the operation outside the home-food exemption. Confirm the exact definition in the state rule.
Interstate sales
State cottage-food exemptions often end at the state line. Shipping food to another state can bring federal and destination-state requirements. The Cottage Food Path screening tool returns no allowed result for interstate sales.