Discussions

Hello fellow Brandonites & Westman-ians!!  
 
Just wondering what the demand is for homemade baked goods? What types of baked goods are people interested in?  
 
I ask because right now I am working on a personal project to sell baked goods for a local children's charity. I've done better than I thought I would but not as well as I think I could do. I know there are farmer's markets I could look into, and as much as I want to join a farmer's market, the start up costs are more than I expected and due to my current full time job, I am not available on all weekends to commit to a market season, as is required by market guidelines/participation requirements.  
 
Please message me or comment in the discussion as to what your thoughts are.  
 
Thanks!

I think you can look up what the guidelines are, however, if you want to start selling homemade goods from home you need to have a separate (from your home kitchen) inspected commercial kitchen and a approved business license...this is a lot of start up.  
 
To sell at a farmers market is a little less restricting, if I remember correctly you can't sell certain things (ie: items containing cream cheese).

You also have to have this and keep it up dated every 5 years should you get into food production and selling. May want to check with the local Health Inspector regarding standards for small food production businesses. Call the Manitoba Department of Agriculture. They can out you in contact with the right person.

I found a MB govt. pdf that states which baked goods have to be made in an inspected kitchen. Not all baked goods have this restriction.  
 
I do not remember the address where I found the pdf that clarified this. It was bookmarked on our desktop that crashed, so it is not readily available to me right now. It was on the MB govt. website, perhaps under ag & food? It was very hard to find if I remember, but it should be there. It is worth finding and printing out.  
 
Depending on whether it is a cottage industry hobby thing or a full business, that will change what licenses and such you will need and if you will require a tax number.