Cookies, Jams and Hot Sauce: How Small-Batch Food Makers Win at Vendor Markets
Food is the quiet engine of almost every good market. People come for the pottery and the jewelry, but they stay longer because they found a cinnamon roll or a jar of pepper jelly worth talking about. At Hometown Vendor Market we've watched small-batch bakers, jam makers, coffee roasters and hot sauce brands grow from a single folding table into real businesses. If you're thinking about joining the ranks of Food vendors for events this season, here's what the successful ones tend to get right. Rules first, recipes second Every food maker's journey starts with the boring part: rules. Requirements vary a lot by state, city and venue. Some venues only allow sealed, prepackaged products. Others allow sampling, and a few permit on-site cooking or serving. Most states also have cottage food laws that cover what home bakers can sell and how it has to be labeled. Read the event page closely before you register, because venue-specific rules override general policy. Then...