The Homegrown Vendor Blog

A step-by-step guide to starting a cottage food business: what to check before you start, how to pick a product, labeling requirements, pricing, and how to make your first sale.

Block parties, church fairs, and festivals need temporary food permits. How to apply, what to sell, and turning events into regulars.

Use Instagram to drive foot traffic to your booth. What to post, bio setup, hashtag strategy, and how to connect posts to pre-orders.

Shopify costs $39/mo and is built for shipping. Compare 5 alternatives for local pickup starting at $10/mo — simpler and cheaper.

Do you need to charge sales tax at a farmers market? Learn which food products are taxable, how to get a sales tax permit, and how to collect and file sales tax as a vendor.

Repeat customers cost nothing to re-acquire and drive word of mouth. This guide covers product consistency, relationship-building, email lists, pre-orders, and small gestures that create loyalty.

Most cottage food sellers don't need a business license but your city might. The 3 license types that could apply and how to check.

A dead-simple bookkeeping system for cottage food vendors and farmers market sellers. Track income, expenses, deductions, and revenue caps in 15 minutes a week.

The food safety rules that apply to cottage food vendors — kitchen sanitation, safe handling, temperature, and market-day setup.