What is a Cottage Food Business?

Let Me Guess... You're here because something inside you is waking up. Maybe you just made your first batch of strawberry jam. Or maybe you’re watching sourdough rise on your kitchen counter while your kids play in the background, and suddenly it hits you... "Could I actually turn this into something more?"

You’re not alone. I’ve walked that exact path. Since 2004, I’ve been building a life that reflects what I value most — food sovereignty, time with my family, ancestral traditions, and the freedom to live outside the confines of the system. If you’ve found your way here, maybe you’re just starting out. Maybe you’re knee-deep in motherhood and wondering what else is possible for your life. I’m here to tell you: there’s a new way — and it starts in your kitchen. Let’s talk about California’s Cottage Food Law and why it’s quickly becoming the most empowering, profitable, and soul-aligned path for women like us.

What Is a Cottage Food Business?

A cottage food business is a legally recognized way to make and sell food from your home kitchen. It was designed to make entrepreneurship accessible and low risk — especially for stay-at-home moms, makers, and homesteaders. In California, you can legally produce and sell non-perishable foods like: Jams, jellies, and fruit butters, sourdough and other baked goods, dried fruits, granola, or spice blends, fermented vegetables (like kraut and pickles).

If you’re already in the rhythm of making these things for your family, you’re halfway there.

Why This Matters (Especially for Moms)

You want to be home with your babies AND contribute financially. You crave work that feels aligned — not just another job that drains you. You want to do something that supports your values — real food, local living, and building a life that actually feels good. The beauty of a cottage food business is this: you get to start where you are, with what you have, doing what you love. And if you do it right, you can build a real income — we’re talking $5,000–$12,000 per month in profit — all from your kitchen table.

What’s Legally Allowed in California?

There are two license options: Class A Permit: Sell directly to customers (farmers markets, pickup, online orders) Class B Permit: Sell directly + indirectly (retailers, restaurants, coffee shops)

You can earn:

Up to $75,000/year on a Class A license

Up to $150,000/year with a Class B

All you need to do is:

Take a short food handler’s course (online)

Have a clean kitchen inspection.

Use approved labels with ingredients and allergens.

How to Get Started Right Now (The 5-Step Blueprint)

Step 1: Find Your WHY Ask yourself: Why am I being called to this? Do I want to stay home with my kids and still contribute? Do I want to build something that’s mine?

Step 2: Pick Your Signature Product Start with just one. What are you good at? What do people ask for? Is it: Your elderberry syrup? Your kraut? Your wild blackberry jam?

Step 3: Get Legal Apply for your Class A license (it’s not scary, I promise). You’ll need: Your food handler’s cert (2–3 hrs online) Kitchen self-inspection form. Product label info.

Step 4: Start Selling Begin with friends, neighbors, and your local farmers market. Sell to your IG followers. Pop up a little table out front. Set up a Venmo sign.

Step 5: Build a Business, Not a Hobby. This is where most moms get stuck. You need strategy. That’s where we come in.

We’ll show you how to:

Price for profit.

Scale from a few jars a week to hundreds

Use AEO + SEO so people find you

But there’s ONE key tool we use to automate all of this — and we only teach that inside our Sovereign Kitchen Society and canning workshops.

This Isn’t About Jars of Jam - It's about Sovereignty

This is about a movement. It’s about reclaiming our place in the home— as sovereign women, powerful creators of nourishment, community, and income.

That’s why I created The Essential Canning & Food Preservation Cookbook—not just to teach canning methods, but to offer a roadmap to something deeper. Something ancestral. Something empowering. And when you come to our Sovereign Kitchen Society, you’ll find a circle of women who get it—who are doing this work alongside you, cheering you on, sharing their skills, and building something lasting.

How to Get Started with Your Cottage Food Business (Today)

Download the Approved Cottage Foods List — This tells you what foods you can legally make and sell from your home in California. You’ll find jams, pickles, granola, sourdough, and more.
Take a Food Handler's Course — It’s quick, affordable, and required. You can complete it online in an afternoon.
Apply for a Class A Cottage Food Permit — This lets you sell directly to customers (like at farmers markets or porch pickups). In most counties, you can apply online with your local Environmental Health Department.
Label Your Products Properly — Include ingredients, allergens, and your business name. We teach this step in our canning circles so you don’t miss anything.
Start Selling! — Begin with your neighbors. Bring samples to homeschool meetups. Join your local farmers market. Use social media (we’ll show you how) to build a waitlist of customers who love what you make.

How Much Money Can You Make?

The average stay-at-home mom selling 25 jars of jam per week at $12/jar can make $1,200/month. Add sourdough or fermented kraut? That number grows. With the right systems (which we teach inside our classes and Sovereign Kitchen Society), you can scale to $5,000–$10,000/month without ever stepping into a 9–5.

Product	Units/Week	Sale Price	Monthly Income
Jam	25	$12	$1,200
Sourdough	20	$10	$800
Kraut	15	$12	$720

You’re Not Alone—We’ve Built This For You

When I started building Wylder Space back in 2004, I did it without a roadmap. No mentors. No blueprints. Just grit, trial and error, and a vision of how I wanted to raise my family, run a business, and live closer to the land. But now? You don’t have to walk that same rugged path. We’ve carved it for you.

🌿 Join our $10 weekly Canning Circle (online or in-person) and learn the skill that starts it all.
📗 Grab our cookbook to get step-by-step recipes and preservation wisdom.
🤝 Apply to The Sovereign Kitchen Society — our exclusive membership community for moms building businesses with their hands, hearts, and home kitchens.

Final Word: You Were Made For This

This is a return to what matters. It’s a way of living that nourishes your family and puts money in your pocket. If you’ve ever felt the tension between staying home and still contributing financially… this is your sign. The cottage food movement is built for women like you—homemakers, homesteaders, slow-living seekers, and sovereign mamas.

Let’s bring back the rhythms of our grandmothers. Let’s reclaim food as medicine. Let’s build businesses rooted in values that actually matter. Together.

In gratitude,
— Molly Bravo