AboutCarol Schlitt Expertise I can answer questions on home food safety, sanitation, home food preservation and commercial food safety (HACCP).
Experience I am an Extension educator, nutrition, wellness and food safety. I am a certified HACCP manager and a food safety instructor for the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Organizations International Association for Food Protection, American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (Certified CFCS), National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, Society for Nutrition Education.
Education/Credentials BS - University of Illinois
MS - Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
Question I am interested in starting my own business of snacks and cookies but have been told by the health department that my city does not allow a license for baked goods from the home due to zoning laws. Do you know what would be the next step to start up a small business other than buy a bakery in the right zone? Someone told me that a CoPacker is a company you pay to bake your product and you provide recipe, ingredients, packing, and then you ship yourself. Unfortunately I have not been able to find one in the area of North or South Carolina and when I ask zoning department they act like they don't know what I am talking about. First, do you know if there is such a company around that does this and also can you give me the names of any in North or South Carolina or even near that area.
Thank you for your help,
Peggy
Answer Hi Peggy,
Congratulations on wanting to start your own business. As you are finding out, it's not an easy task but with perserverience you can make your dream come true.
Your options could include renting a certified kitchen and preparing the snacks and cookies yourself or working with a co-packer. The former will probably be cheaper but the key is to find a kitchen in your area.
A couple of good resources for starting your own business is the book "From Kitchen to Market: Selling your Gourmet Food Specialty" by Stephen Hall and "Small-Scale Food Processing: A Directory of Equipment and Methods" by Sue Azam Ali, Emma Judge, Peter Fellows and Mike Battcock. Both of these books should be available from Amazon or your local book store. In the first book -- co-packers by state are listed.
Another idea is to contact your local Extension office and ask if they provide assistance for start-up businesses. Some states have entrepreneur food programs designed for people who want to start a food business. Since I'm in Illinois I don't know if North or South Carolina offer such a program, but I do know that Penn State, Cornell, University of Nebraska and University of Arkansas do offer such a service. I've visited the University of Nebraska program and think it is excellent. For more information on their program, please visit: http://fpc.unl.edu/Entrepreneur/
Good luck Peggy -- If I can be of further assistance, please let me know.
Carol C. Schlitt
Extension Educator, Nutrition and Wellness
University of Illinois Extension
