Do you own a bakery business but you lack ideas where to sell your goods? If YES, here are 10 best places and business outlets you can sell your baked goods.
Even a home bakery is regulated by the state’s occupational or health department, so you need to find out your state’s laws regarding the sale of food items baked from home and make sure you comply.
Additionally, most states mandate that the baking equipment (i.e. mixers and spoons) and supplies (i.e. flour) be separate from your personal cooking use.
In some cases, you will need a separate kitchen. Nonetheless, some states allow you to use your personal kitchen, but you will still need separate equipment and supplies.
Meanwhile, you only earn money when you sell a baked item, which means you can spend a great deal of time cooking in order to create enough goods to sell to meet your income goals.
The competition in this business is tough, so you need to know how to stand out in the crowd. If you are successful, it is likely that you will outgrow your home kitchen.
Chances are you are already running your home-based baking business, especially if you are already making sales directly out of your home to friends and family.
This is great because you don’t need to go anywhere to set up shop and the customers all come to you. But if you want to take this one up a notch, below are 10 top places to sell your homemade baked goods.
Where to Sell Your Homemade Baked Goods
- Farmers Market
The local farmers market is a great place to target new customers who might be interested in your home baked products. Selling your products there is a relatively low – cost way to get feedback on what you have created and begin establishing a base of customers who are excited about your business.
Of course, there are limitations to the farmer’s market experience. You typically have an opportunity to sell your products only once a week and maybe only for limited times of the year. And foot traffic can be weather-dependent. But there are several things you can do to increase your sales, get people interested in your brand, and create a memorable experience for your customers.
- A Food Stand Around School Premises
Note that you don’t have to wait for a market to create a stand to sell your goods – you can set up a stand whenever and wherever you like. Depending on what products you have, choose a place that people who are likely to buy your goods are going to be.
However, the best destination for your business will depend on your target customers. It could be a street corner, in front of the shopping centre or nearby the school. Brainstorm places you think would be a good place to set up a stand and see how it goes.
- Grocery Stores
The food industry is enticing to many people, including those who have a recipe that they want to make into a food product and sell to retailers. It is possible to produce and market your own line of homemade baked products through grocery stores and make a profit.
Start by developing an attractive, functional packaging for your products that meet all U.S. Food and Drug Administration labelling guidelines for the type of food product you make – without this, no store will put your food on its shelves.
You can also buy wholesale food containers from online retailers or restaurant supply stores and have labels printed by a local graphics shop or do it yourself if you have the proper equipment. Also price your product fairly, but keep in mind that you also need to make a decent profit.
- Special Events and Venues
Note that it can be a good idea to make the most of local events in your area, as well. There are often a lot of people at these events, who just may be looking for quality home baked products and eventually become regular customers.
This approach can be a great way to give your business a boost, as there will often be many new customers that come to buy your products. It can be a little stressful at times during the busy periods of events, but is worth it for your business.
- Food Restaurants
Restaurants without pastry chefs on staff may be interested in buying desserts from home based bakery businesses like yours. If you are just starting, just make sure your home kitchen meets your state’s and jurisdiction’s requirements for an approved facility.
This will determine whether or not you can sell your desserts for public consumption. Some states may limit the kinds of desserts you can produce in a home – based kitchen due to restrictions on certain ingredients or production methods. Consult your state’s food production guidelines, which you can find posted on department of public health or department of agriculture websites, for restrictions that apply to you.
Facebook’s longstanding role is to keep you up to date on your friends and enemies, but its marketplace has become something of a digital food hall in recent years.
While there is no official food category baked into the 2.3 billion–user platform, selling food and items makes it easier for this social media generation to order junks and baked meals. Just like Uber in its early days, Facebook positions itself simply as a person – to – person network.
How the goods are passed from buyer to seller and the money in the opposite direction is completely up to those involved—who usually connect via Facebook Messenger. Facebook offers no help for the actual movement of goods, and only few food vendors use its money – transfer app.
- Amazon
Indeed, Amazon has changed the face of retail, e – commerce and consumerism. This couldn’t have happened if they had kept their sights on books alone, or any single category. When the folks at Amazon decide to disrupt a category, there were no half measures.
Using similar strategic drive, the grocery market is also now firmly in Amazon’s grip. If Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods isn’t enough proof of its commitment to disrupt the category, initiatives such as Amazon Go, Amazon Fresh, Prime Pantry and Prime Now should be. These services are not only growing the grocery industry but helping to redefine it.
Amazon is also a great platform for paid media and, similar to other major social and search channels, it provides multiple ways to get your product listings seen. Sellers can pay to promote through sponsored product ads, which can be targeted via keywords and topics.
- Supermarkets
While some bakers prefer to do most of their business online, getting your product on Supermarket shelves can still be a valuable strategy. Note that by collaborating with a supermarket, you not only access a brand – new audience, but you also give that audience something tangible to look at when they’re deciding what to buy.
Have it in mind that a physical package on a shelf helps to confirm that your company is trustworthy, reliable and capable of high quality.
However, you will need to work on getting your “look” right. You will need packaging that’s professional enough to look as though it belongs on a supermarket shelf. Additionally, it is important to choose a design that speaks to your customer. Your packaging has to pop if you want to earn some great profits.
- Etsy
Note that selling food or other edible items is generally allowed on Etsy, but there are a number of government regulations that dictate who can make, package, and sell food. Check out the sites Seller Handbook for more specific information about making, selling, and shipping food items.
Additionally, be sure to consult USPS and other shipping carriers for specific restrictions regarding shipment of food. Also note that Laws regarding the sale of edibles vary from place to place, so please consult an attorney or qualified legal expert if you have any further questions.
10. EBay
EBay is one of the world’s biggest marketplace and the rules for selling items are pretty liberal. The rules are so liberal that eBay shows over 800 million listed items for sale at any given time.
Although baked goods, candies, and other foods meant for human consumption are allowed on eBay, but take a few moments to think through the implications of selling food products. Foremost, food items that are sold to another person through a retail or wholesale venue (either online or in person) must have been prepared in a commercial kitchen that has been inspected by local authorities.
Hence, before you start making your delicious products, your kitchen must be licensed by your state and you must have a permit. You will also need to consider liability issues. If someone gets sick from eating something you baked or prepared, you can be sued.
In the united states, there are many places where you can sell your home baked goods and grow your business. It is exciting to find new customers and make more sales as people appreciate food baked in a home kitchen!