More in-home bakers getting commercial kitchen licenses

The cottage laws that allowed her to make certain types of food at home without needing a license or inspection from the Department of Agriculture limited her from advertising her business online or selling through a website or social media.

Bill 759, passed July 1, expands the exemption for private homes where the resident processes and prepares certain food products to allow for its sale.

As bakers try to navigate the confusing food cottage laws as they work in their homes and try to sell their baked goods, more business owners are opting to get home inspections by the Department of Agriculture, so they can get a license and permits to sell their items online.

Nikita Ford, owner of Sweets by Keet in Glen Allen, said, “I talk to a lot of bakeries and some people are OK with the cottage laws, but I always say that if you can go the extra mile and get your home inspected from the Virginia Department of Agriculture, then the world is your oyster. I can do events that require a permit. I tell people not to limit themselves. I say go for the licensing, the inspection, get your permitting. Because it really just helps you in the long run.”

Ford, who has been baking professionally out of her home since 2019, said, “I decided to go ahead and bring the bakery here because it’s easier to work from home. I basically followed the same procedure for the Virginia Department of Agriculture and the inspector came out to the house and did their due diligence. I had to provide the layout of my kitchen and the layout of the space. I had to provide recipes for labeling purposes, and we were able to get inspected and everything off the first shot. [Laws for an in-home baker are] the same as if you were a brick and mortar. I know this because I did have a brick and mortar for two years.”

Nancy Crockett, of Pudgy Cakes and Treats in Powhatan, started her in-home bakery 12 years ago. “It was really hard to start. There’s not really a lot of information out there. You kind of have to dig,” she said. “The Virginia cottage laws can be confusing at times, so you have to really do your research.”

Melissa Denmon, of Melissa’s Simply Sweet, said, “When I first started baking, I just worked out of my kitchen. Then, when I divorced and moved [to her present house in Richmond], I decided to rebrand, and I renovated a bedroom and turned it into a kitchen. It took me about six months to get everything going, and I got licensed, got everything inspected and went from there.”

These in-home bakers make similar products: special occasion cakes, iced cookies, brownies, and bars. Ford said, “one of my specialties is lactation cookies for breastfeeding moms to increase their milk supply. I’m really proud of those.”

None of these bakers have to log long hours at farmers markets to get their brand out there. Building brand awareness for these three bakers has been comparatively easy since they got licensed by the Department of Agriculture.

“I had a bride 10 years ago and she had her first child, and I did her baby cake,” says Crockett. “Her son just turned 10 and she has been a great customer every year for cakes. A lot of people come back for custom cookies and cakes.”

For Ford, it’s the level of customer service that sets her apart. “I believe customer service is everything. No matter how much someone buys from you, you want them to have a really good impression of who you are and what your brand stands for,” she said.

Denmon says, “I completely ruined my family: my children think every house should smell like a bakery. Second, customers think you’re available 24-seven because you’re always home. When I first started, I worried that people might not take me seriously because I didn’t have a brick-and-mortar shop and I was just home-based, but I came to find that everyone loved it. Once I learned how to set parameters and say that I wasn’t available during certain times, it all worked out.”

Denmon also buys local as much as she can and focuses on allergy-safe baked goods to differentiate herself. “Everything I make is from scratch. Nothing is store bought,” she said. “I do work with a handful of local customers whose products I love. I recently started working with Crescent Simples, with their simple syrups. I also work with Seek Lavender in Culpeper with all their lavender extracts. In the past year I changed my bakery to a 100% nut-free bakery. I can also deal with celiac and gluten free. Basically, my kids have allergies so I said, let’s just go for it. As a mom with a kid who has an allergy, I understand the nut allergy game.”

For all of these bakers, getting licensed to prepare their goods in-home has allowed them to operate without having to pay rent or negotiate lease agreements for a commercial kitchen. It has also been a major value-add when it comes to family time. All three bakers are mothers who get to raise their kids as well as work full-time on their business.