How To Start A Baking Business From Your Home
Do you enjoy baking? Are you the go-to person for the school or local non-profit organizations’ cookie-sale fundraiser? Do you binge watch baking competitions on TV wishing you could compete to earn the grand prize to open your own bakery? Then you might want to consider profiting from your ability to bake yummy treats.
Baked goods businesses have grown in popularity over the last few years, but actually, they’ve been around for awhile. Mrs. Fields started selling her decadent cookies in the 1970s. More recently, many entrepreneurs have started selling their cakes, cupcakes, and cookies from home and have grown into regular retail bakeries and even franchises.
When it comes to home baking, there are many different treats you can make including:
- Cakes and cupcakes
Starting a home-based bakery might sound fun and easy to do after all, you’re already baking. But there are a few cons to running a home-based baking business that you’ll need to consider before baking your first batch of goodies.
Here are an overview and a few resources on how to turn your love of baking into a home business.
How To Start Selling Baked Goods Online
When your initial research on how to sell products online is complete, there are other tasks necessary in setting up your business to start selling baked goods from home. The more you can set up ahead of time, the less youâll be burdened by unforeseen difficulties.
Hereâs what you need to complete before the sales come rolling in:
Finalize Your Legal Paperwork
All of your business files should be completed before you start baking goods. This includes sales taxes, eCommerce shipping and handling fees, and any other cost you need to include in the sale of goods. It will also prevent legal issues later on.
Establish a Basic Business Plan
While your business will grow over time, you still need a basic framework to guide your operations. At a minimum, your eCommerce business plan should include:
- Purpose of business
- Starting equipment and miscellaneous inventory
- Basic sales and eCommerce marketing plan
- Potential or realized funding sources
- Initial financial projections
This information acts as a reference tool when youâre feeling unmotivated, fleshing out a particular part of your business, or hiring employees. A business plan makes it easier to track goals and spot problem areas that need to be fixed.
Set Up Your Online Storefront
Firm Up Your Product Offering or Menu
Create and Equip Your Kitchen
- Refrigerator, freezer, and/or other food preservation equipment
Buy eCommerce Packaging and Labeling Supplies
Put Together a Marketing and Sales Plan
Tough To Brand And Market
Branding and marketing on Etsy can be a little challenging, especially if this platform is the only place you are offering your baked goods. Be sure to read my blog post on creating our visual identity here.
This is why many bakers start their operation on Etsy, build up a bit of a war chest, and then create their own online platform when they have the funds to do so.
Youll want to brand your shop as your own while recognizing that the Etsy brand will be doing the bulk of the heavy lifting for you.
A great way to overcome this is to pack your own specific branding items inside each baked goods order when you fulfill them. Thats a personal touch you can add that can make a difference.
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Bake It Til You Make It
The work thatâs required to get a home-based baking business off the ground is well worth it. You get to make your own sweets, offer them for sale, and make money in the process. You could combine these efforts with selling coffee online to create a dessert-centric business. Delivering value to buyers through unique and mouth-watering products will foster brand recall, whether you’re selling alcohol online or dry food products.
How To Ship Brownies
Brownies are one of the best baked goods to ship! We explain how to package brownies for shipping so your customers receive fudgy, fresh, and fantastic brownies in the mail.
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Always Have To Worry About Copycats Undercutting
Hopefully, your baked goods shop will make sales, customers will love everything you offer, and youll have a success story on your hands.
Thats great news!
Should that happen, youre probably going to have to worry about copycats that pour in from every direction to offer exactly what you have to offer sometimes even stealing your photos, your copy, and your story while offering them at lower prices to undercut you and steal your customers.
Youll need to develop unique strategies to overcome these inevitable challenges, or youll have a tough time succeeding.
How Did You Earn Your First Sales Which Channels Are Now Generating The Most Traffic And Sales For You
My first sale was to Whole Foods Market in Portland, Maine. I boxed up a dozen gourmet whoopie pies, walked into Whole Foods and asked for the bakery manager. My marketing strategy has always been that these delectable gourmet whoopie pies sell themselves, so all I needed to do was put contact information in the box and drop them off to the right person.
I handed the bakery manager the box, told him he didnt need to speak with me, all he needed to do was enjoy the treat! He called me the next day to say that both my marketing strategy and my product were amazing! Its the same story for all my customers!
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Promotion Terms And Conditions
50% OFF FOR NATIONAL BANANA PUDDING WEEK
All customers who add an eligible Banana Pudding Week sale SKU for nationwide U.S. shipping orders only to their cart and checkout on MagnoliaBakery.com will receive 50% off the item’s actual retail price from August 22nd at 9:00 AM EST through August 28, 2022 at 11:59pm EST. Discount code is automatically applied. Sale is only applicable to items shown as marked down at MagnoliaBakery.com/banana-pudding-week and not valid for any in-store or for advance order at any US or international bakery, same-day deliveries or pickup via third party app, or other nationwide U.S. shipping SKUs including, but not limited to, Pudding of the Month Subscription, Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Pudding, or “Best of Magnolia Bakery” Sampler packs. While supplies last.
Use the code HONEY10 for 10% off your purchase on magnoliabakery.com All completed orders on a nationwideshipping or advance order online for local pick-up on MagnoliaBakery.com areeligible with code HONEY10. The promotion and offer are only valid and redeemable online atMagnoliaBakery.com and is not valid in any U.S. or International storelocation. Purchase requirement, discount and offer are not valid and will notapply to any part of order or on any purchase of any gift card ormerchandise from MagnoliaBakery.com.
Best Baked Goods To Sell From Home
Another good idea before you begin selling cakes from home, or any other baked goods, is to learn what is popular with consumers in your area. Consider starting a poll on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram that asks your followers what they would like to see you make to sell. You may be surprised by the answers. Plus, this is your most likely base of initial customers, so itâs a good idea to know what these people who are likely to buy from you want.
When it comes to selling cakes on Facebook, photos make sales. People canât smell the cake and they canât taste it through the computer screen. But you can make their mouths water with a few tantalizing images of your fresh-baked concoctions. Photos are outstanding tools to use for selling cakes from home as well as other top selling baked goods.
Also, keep in mind that youâre looking for easy sweets to make and sell. You donât want to loathe the idea of baking things to sell and you absolutely do not want to be left with a house full of sweets that you werenât able to sell. Consider taking pre-orders for your baked goods and only making the items youâve already sold rather than baking items and hoping to sell them on the other side of the equation.
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Launch Your Food Business And Promote It
Here are some actionable tips to promote your online food business:
- Word of mouth. Tell your friends and family to spread the word about your brand and the products you sell.
- Social media. Create social media accounts with the same name across all channels, and post regularly. Promote your food, answer inquiries, and dont be afraid to interact with customers.
- Special events. Hold photo and review contests, organize a cooking demonstration, or join a food festival.
- SEO. Optimize your web pages to make them rank high on search engine result pages . Blog regularly, perform keyword research, build backlinks, and improve the sites performance. We prepared an article regarding this topic for you to learn more about how exactly SEO works.
- Pay-per-click advertising. With this advertising model, you only pay when someone clicks on your ads. The most popular advertising network is GoogleAds, which will display your ads on and its partners websites.
Closing Thoughts On Selling Baked Goods On Etsy
When you get down to it, there are a lot of benefits to selling baked goods on Etsy.
Getting started is easy and inexpensive, and you have customers looking for handmade, delicious baked goods .
Yes, there are big drawbacks too, including fees and competition.
Before you decide if Etsy is a good option for your home bakery business, research your local cottage food laws and clearly understand your expenses. Most options have pros and cons, do your research and make the best decision for you and your home bakery business.
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Shipping Baked Goods Faqs
You know how to start a shipping service for your bakery. You even know how to package each of your bakery items for shipping. But you still have some questions, and were way ahead of you. From a list of baked goods that ship well to a bakery shipping supplies list, we outline the nitty-gritty details of shipping baked goods in this FAQs section.
How To Create The Perfect Unboxing Experience
The primary goal of unboxing is to increase your customers value perception. The moment they receive your package, patrons evaluate its quality and whether it was worth purchasing. From the box you send it in to how you organize it, we explain how to create the perfect unboxing experience below:
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Where To Sell Baked Goods Online
Before the sales start flowing in, here is what you need to make sure you’ve finished:Put the finishing touches on your legal paperwork.Before you begin baking things, you need to be sure that all of your business files are in order. This covers any and all fees that need to be included in the sale of the items, such as sales taxes, eCommerce shipping and handling fees, and any other fees. Additionally, it will prevent legal complications in the future.
Even if your company will expand with time, you still need a fundamental structure to direct the way your activities are carried out. Your plan for your eCommerce business should at a bare minimum include the following:Object of the enterprise An idea that is only partially fictitious of who you sell to and why, coupled with the journey that the buyer takes.
Procedures for managing the warehouse, including inventory counts of items and pipeline goods, costs associated with maintaining inventoryStarting equipment and miscellaneous inventory are any assets that extend beyond the inventory of raw materials and finished goods.Plan of action for basic sales and marketing via eCommerce, including where, when, and how clients will be reached.Possible or existing avenues of financial supportInitial estimates of the company’s finances
Register The Food Facility
According to the FDA, home-based businesses dont need to register their home kitchen. However, they still need to follow the FDA and local health departments about food safety.
Contact your county or citys health agencies to understand the regulations in your area.
Meanwhile, if you plan to have a commercial kitchen to produce and pack your products, you need to register it with the FDA before you start selling. You can find more information on the registration process on the FDAs website.
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How Do I Sell Baked Goods Online
First, find out if it’s legal to sell baked goods online in your state. If it is, you will need a license to do so. Next, open a customizable Shopify store and sell your baked goods. You can upload pictures of your baked goods to your store and organize them into categories that will appeal to your customers. Shopify also lets you link your store to third-party platforms and provides you with a blog feature to create content and generate sales for your business.
How To Ship Cupcakes
Once you’ve baked and decorated your cupcakes as desired, chill them in the fridge or freeze them for a few hours before packaging them for shipping. This will help preserve their taste during transport. Because cupcakes are delicate and perishable treats, you need to follow a strict packing process to ensure they arrive intact, safe to consume, and delicious.
Purchase a cupcake container. Choose between a plastic cupcake box with individual compartments or cupcake bakery box inserts. Either option will shield your cupcakes frosting and prevent them from knocking into each other.
Protect the cupcakes by placing candy sticks in the center of each cupcake and trimming the sticks so they hit the lid of the cupcake box. This anchors the cupcakes in place and prevents their frosting from smashing into the lid.
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Know The General Laws Around Selling Food
In the US, retailers who sell food from home are required to adhere to Cottage Food Regulations. These laws apply to baked goods, jams and jellies, dry mixes, popcorn, and nuts, and allow you to sell at farmers markets and other local events alongside your online operation.
While the details of these laws vary slightly from state to state , there are a few basic requirements for compliance across the board, including:
- An annual kitchen inspection from the health department
- Zoning clearance and appropriate permits from local government
- A state business license
- kitchen environment
- Proper storage of cold and dry ingredients
If you have questions, its a good idea to get in touch with your state branch of the Department of Agriculture as well as your local health department for more in-depth details about what laws youll need to be in compliance with before you start selling food online. For European Union-based sellers, you will have a unique set of laws to get familiar with. If youre in doubt, check out your local health department.
Find A Reputable Supplier
Yes, you might be making your meals or food products from scratch, but at some point, you may have to reach out to a supplier for the ingredients.
Since the food industry has so many shady companies it’s essential to track the supply chain before you commit to a supplier.
The most reputable suppliers are listed on reputable directories We recommend starting with the Ingredient Supplier Directory for the US. You can also find several other directories online for other countries.
Once you select a few suppliers that match up with your ingredients needs, begin looking into their certifications and supply chain. Making connections is a big part of this, but you can typically ask for references and browse the internet to see if, say, an organic provider has the right certifications.
In addition, you can always start out producing small batches with food from Costco or a similar warehouse store.
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Choose Your Baking Niche
While you may be tempted to offer as many items as possible, its better to limit your offerings in the beginning. Focus on one or two items that are your specialty, and make them better than any of your competitors similar offerings.
Finding a niche like gluten-free bagels or vegan cookies, for example allows you to stand out as a specialist and makes it easier to make a name for yourself among a small, dedicated customer group.