Ingredients to turn your home food business into a commercial business

Diane L. Smith, Michigan State University Extension -

Starting a commercial food business or changing your business activities to a commercial business will affect much more than just the licensing of your product. Learn where you can gain more knowledge about the steps needed to accomplish this.

Starting a new commercial food business is a lot of work and takes some serious capital. Businesses often start their business out by making direct sales under the Cottage Food Law to gather consumer feedback. This allows the company to slowly scale up their production and increase their effectiveness to meet consumer demand. Once this avenue of sales is perfected, businesses usually decide to wholesale their product to grocery stores and other outlets. This step drastically changes all business factors and should only be engaged in once the business has seriously considered what is vitally necessary for this step. 

The MSU Product Center offers the seminar Cottage to Commercial: Ingredients for a Successful Food Business in Michigan each year at many locations around the state. This fall the seminar is being held at the following locations with their registration links: 

Oct. 1, 3-5 p.m., Muskegon County, South Campus

Oct. 16, 10-Noon, Mason, Hilliard Bldg

Nov. 11, 10-Noon, Grand Rapids, MSU Extension

This seminar is perfect for a business that is interested in starting a commercial food business based on their favorite recipe or a value-added agriculture product. The seminar is especially useful for business owners that want to go beyond the limits of the Michigan Cottage Food Law by becoming licensed to sell to stores. More importantly, if a business has a food product that is a sauce, salsa, pickled vegetable, beverage, dairy product, meat product, they will learn the special regulations that surround these types of products. 

The MSU Product Center, in partnership with Michigan State University Extension, provides free business counseling for product development and marketing strategies that will help Michigan entrepreneurs commercialize high-value, consumer–responsive food products. For more information, visit the MSU Product Center website or call 517-432-8750.

For more information, contact me at 517-526-7895 and dismith@anr.msu.edu.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

Did you find this article useful?

You Might Also Be Interested In

Tag List
  • agrifood safety,
  • business development,
  • community food systems,
  • entrepreneurship,
  • farm & farmers markets,
  • food business & regulation,
  • fruit & nuts,
  • msu extension,
  • product center,
  • vegetables
Michigan State University
  • Spartans Will.
  • © Michigan State University

MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer, committed to achieving excellence through a diverse workforce and inclusive culture that encourages all people to reach their full potential.

Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or veteran status. Issued in furtherance of MSU Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Quentin Tyler, Director, MSU Extension, East Lansing, MI 48824. This information is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned.

The 4-H Name and Emblem have special protections from Congress, protected by code 18 USC 707.

We comply with the Federal Trade Commission 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).