In a nut shell, to run a Cottage Food Operation (CFO) means that certain approved food products are made in the setting of a home kitchen. This, of course, varies from state to state, my post focuses exclusively on Connecticuts' Cottage Food Law.
I personally had a difficult time navigating what steps I needed to take and in what order, hopefully the information below (and my experience) will help.
For starters, the road to approval took many attempts dating back to the year 2013. Luckily, the House Bill No. 5027 was passed in 2015 with the expectation that the Department of Public Health would create regulations in which this type of business would operate. It did, and for some reason these were not approved; the bill was stuck in a back and forth dance between government agencies and/or officials. The process for the bill to become law took years, in all fairness I do not know if this amount of time is common but I assume it also speaks to the lack of priority on the matter (check out the chronological history of the cottage food bill on the Secretary of State website).
Due to some pressure and amazing follow up work from a group on Facebook, the Cottage Food Law moved forward to be signed by the governor and has been in effect since October 2018.
The Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) is responsible for the implementation and oversight of CFO's, this is a link to their Cottage Food Home with information on the application process (options are online or by mail). Also, the DCP created a pretty thorough document on their website: Guide for Cottage Food Operators, it covers which food products are approved, specific conditions and locations allowed to sell food products, maximum income per year, food labeling and more. I urge to read the complete document many times, especially the Types of Foods and Ingredients sections, it is really important to get a grasp on what is explicitly not allowed, it will give you an opportunity to reevaluate your products and make whatever changes or modifications required to legally sell under a CFO.
Before I continue on about the process with DCP, I strongly advise to contact your town before any of these steps, ultimately the Planning and Zoning office will tell you if it is even allowed to run this kind of business from your home kitchen, and this can vary from town to town. If allowed, it is probable you may have to file something called a Home Occupation Application with the town and pay a fee.
Returning to the DCP application process: It is important to mention that one can only apply as an individual and not a business, make sure to select correctly when setting up the online account to apply for the CFO. Unless the step by step has changed, you must upload the food safety training certification and a water test (if on a private well). After I applied, I was contacted via email and asked to provide a complete product list and food labels (even though I specified my menu and ingredients would change seasonally), so have these done and ready for uploading with your application.
As expected, I have read a lot of posts online about how people encountered varied experiences with the DCP regarding additional information that is not explicitly required in the application process. I can only assume this happens depending on questions that might arise from a specific food item, so in these cases the recipe and baking/cooking process are requested to determine if it is safe to sell.
Also, there are some strange contradictions I have noticed and changes to wording, perfect example of this is the buttercream controversy. I find it hard to believe that I could call buttercream buttercream if it does not have butter, anyone who has tried an all shortening based frosting KNOWS it has an unpleasant taste and texture, the use of store bought icing/frosting is laughable to say the least (totally defeats the purpose of buying something home made and from scratch), don't get me started on fondant, and then there is the option of buying a recipe book of so called tested frostings and fillings from the Texas Cottage Food Law website yet STILL having to send samples to a lab for water and ph activity tests (which, YES!, costs money).
Equally frustrating (and somewhat intimidating), the labeling is required for all food items sold even if they are not packaged, if selling a specialty cake or a single muffin you must include the labeling with the invoice or to go box/bag. The Guide for Cottage Food Operators specifies the information that must be on the label and in what order (this statement on the guide is missing the word inspection: "Made in a Cottage Food Operation that is not Subject to Routine Government Food Safety Inspection”).
For additional questions, contact the DCP's Food and Standards division.
Overall, the Cottage Food Law is a great proposal for people who need a side income and those who do not have the capital, experience or desire to operate a full scale food business. Naturally, there is always room for improvement, I can only hope the interest and resources around the cottage food industry grow, people want to work and our communities can belong to those who live and contribute to it. With much optimism, this opportunity will be the first step of many towards what will be my livelihood (thankfully, for others too).
***UPDATE***
While applying for farmers markets and pop up booths, some informed me that the baked goodies must be pre-packaged, but most of the things I sell suffer greatly from being wrapped in plastic; so I contacted the DCP, Food and Standards Division to be specific, and was advised to contact the local Health Department of whatever town the event is in to verify if I needed an additional permit, since slicing a cake or bagging a muffin at the table is considered food handling. I am assuming the answer to whether an additional permit is needed would depend on the circumstances and type of product being sold, in my case I do not need one unless I plan to give samples (I am not). Either way, I was informed that next year all food vendors at farmers markets will need additional permits due to some federal regulations that will be in effect. Once I know the details I will post a second update with that information.
A "quick" side note:
Don't be like me, I was extremely naive; my mindset was exclusively on getting my hands on bread dough and sharing my culinary creations with the world. Welp, the government had an extra bubble to burst...
Not obvious to me at the time, there is a long road to walk and lots to learn before getting to that farmers market table or heading off to that first delivery.
Things to think about and plan ahead for:
Start up costs
-Applying for a CFO license with DCP costs $50 and needs to be renewed yearly -Home Occupation application from the town in Planning and Zoning cost me $25, I am not aware if it requires renewal -Doing Business As (DBA) or Trade Name Registration at Town Clerk, in Tolland is like $10 plus $2 for a certified copy, this will vary from town to town -Food Safety Training (I got mine through ServSafe; the course was $75, the test $36 and hiring a proctor to administer the exam is another $60)
-Water test cost me $175, required if on a private well -Marketing (business email costs about $10 monthly, registering a domain is about $12 annually, website costs, business cards, stickers or stamps, etc.)
-Food related costs (equipment/ingredients/food grade packaging/labels)
-Merchant services, costs and methods of charging vary from company to company
Registering the business
Do things the right (and legal) way, meaning to pay taxes... and protect your behind :)
-Forming a business entity with the Secretary of State, if applicable ($100 to register and $20 for annual filing)
-State Tax ID with the Department of Revenue Services (one time $100 fee)
Knowledge is power
-Business structure that works for you
-Business advice (there are many more than listed) *U.S. Small Business Administration *SCORE Business Mentors *Entrepreneurial Center and Women's Business Center
-Business finances *look up banks and credit unions that are small business friendly in your area and ask what is required to open a business account; inquire on the offered options that best suit your business setup, minimum balance required (if any), transaction limits and ammount charged to receive checks, and YES you need them! (make an effort to keep personal and business finances/accounts separate)
-File taxes!!! *once registered with the Department of Revenue Services you must file monthly for Sales and Use tax, and if you registered an LLC with the Secretary of State there is a biennial fee of $250 processed by the DRS called Business Entity Tax
*find a licensed Tax Return Preparer for some help (FYI, start up losses can be claimed with the IRS tax form Schedule C)
-Consider insurance options, just to be extra safe ;)