Two ways to sell food online
Every online food business sits on one of two tracks. Pick the right one before you build a shop, because it decides who may buy from you, how the food travels and what goes on the label.
| Home kitchen (cottage food) | Licensed commercial kitchen | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can buy | Usually only customers in your state | Customers anywhere in the US |
| Shipping | Depends on the state: some allow mail, many don't | Yes |
| FDA facility registration | No, a private home is not a facility | Yes, unless an exemption applies |
| Label | Your state's cottage food label | The full FDA label, usually with Nutrition Facts |
| Amazon and national marketplaces | A poor fit | Possible, under each platform's own rules |
Selling food online from a home kitchen
Ask four states whether a home cook may sell through a website and you get four different answers. These come from our state law pages:
| State | Online orders | How the food reaches the buyer |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | Yes, over the Internet or by mail order | Handed over in person, at an event venue, or mailed through USPS or a commercial carrier |
| Texas | Yes, when the customer buys online from you | You, an employee or a household member delivers it in person |
| Michigan | Yes, if the customer can talk to you before the sale | Mail or a delivery platform is fine, but only within Michigan |
| Connecticut | Advertising and orders, yes | You or your designee hands it over inside Connecticut. No mail, UPS or FedEx |
Florida is one of the most open states, and even there the statute talks about delivery and mail, not about buyers in other states. Michigan says it outright: its cottage food products may only be sold or delivered within Michigan. That is the common thread. A website lets anyone place an order, but cottage food laws are written for sales inside the state, and a box that crosses the border lands under federal rules.
Florida Cottage Food Law →Texas Cottage Food Law →Michigan Cottage Food Law →Connecticut Cottage Food Law →Selling food online across state lines
The moment a box crosses a state line, you are in interstate commerce, and that is FDA territory. Cottage food exemptions don't follow the food out of your state. Shipping nationwide means running a regular food business:
- A licensed food manufacturing or processing kitchen, under your state's food law
- FDA food facility registration for that kitchen, unless an exemption applies
- Safe and sanitary production under FDA's good manufacturing practice rules (21 CFR 117)
- The full federal label in English: name, net quantity, ingredients, allergens, the business name and address, plus Nutrition Facts if no exemption applies
Meat jerky, meat sticks and other meat or poultry products follow USDA rules instead, so check with USDA before you ship those.
Do online food sellers register with FDA?
A facility that manufactures, processes, packs or holds food for consumption in the US registers with FDA before it starts, unless 21 CFR 1.226 exempts it. A few points matter most for online sellers:
- Your home kitchen doesn't register. FDA adds that the home has to be a real private home: a commercial building you happen to live in doesn't count
- Retail food establishments are exempt. FDA's test is whether sales of food directly to consumers are worth more than sales to all other buyers, and businesses don't count as consumers
- Selling mostly to shops, distributors or other businesses means the retail exemption doesn't fit
- You need a DUNS number from Dun & Bradstreet before you register
- Registration is renewed every other year
Your label goes online too
In a shop, the customer picks up the package and reads it. Online, they see a photo. That is why several states and platforms ask for the label information before the sale, not only on the package that arrives.
Amazon asks for clear product label images too. And FDA requires English on the labels of food sold in interstate commerce: another language may appear, but then with an English translation.
Our tool gives you both versions from one recipe. Download the PDF at actual size for the printed label, and a 600 dpi PNG of the same panel for your product page. Copy the ingredient statement and the Contains line into the listing text as well, so the website and the package say exactly the same thing.
Start your label free →Do you need Nutrition Facts to sell food online?
For packaged food under federal rules, usually yes. Two exemptions help small sellers:
- The small business exemption for a person who sells directly to consumers, with annual sales to consumers of no more than $500,000, or food sales to consumers of no more than $50,000
- The low-volume exemption for small manufacturers, which needs a notice filed with FDA in most cases
Both stop applying as soon as a nutrition claim, or any other nutrition information, shows up on the label, in labeling or in ads. Online, that reaches further than the package: a product page that says "high protein" or "only 90 calories" is part of how you sell the food. And marketplaces set their own bar. Amazon's food policy lists nutrition facts among the label items it expects.
Where to sell food online
Your own website gives you the most control: your prices, your customer list, and room to post the full label details next to every product. Marketplaces bring buyers, but each one adds its own rules on top of the law. Read the platform's food policy before you list, and check that it fits the track you are on.
| Where | Works for home kitchens? | Read first |
|---|---|---|
| Your own website | Yes, within your state's rules | Your state's cottage food law |
| Etsy | Check Etsy's policy and your state law | Can you sell food on Etsy? |
| Facebook Marketplace | Check Meta's policy and your state law | Can you sell food on Facebook Marketplace? |
| Amazon | Hard: Amazon asks for a license or agency approval, and most cottage food laws stop at the state line | Selling food on Amazon |
How to start selling food online, step by step
Cottage food laws by state
Each state page covers where you may sell, whether online orders and shipping are allowed, the sales cap and the label statement.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin