The best platform to sell baked goods in Texas is Homegrown, which gives you an online storefront for $10 per month with local pickup scheduling, inventory management, and built-in card processing — no website, no marketplace fees, and no percentage taken from your sales. Texas cottage food vendors can sell baked goods directly to consumers under the Texas Cottage Food Law (Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 437), and Homegrown is built for exactly this type of local, pickup-based food business.
The short version: Texas allows cottage food producers to sell baked goods, candy, coated nuts, dried herbs, and other non-potentially-hazardous foods directly to consumers without a commercial kitchen license. Annual sales are capped at $75,000. You can sell at farmers markets, from your home, or through online orders with local pickup. The best platform for managing these orders is Homegrown ($10 per month annual, $12.50 monthly), which handles ordering, payments (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction), pickup scheduling, and inventory — all through one shareable link. Other options include Square Online (free with Square branding), Shopify ($39+ per month), and Etsy (6.5% per transaction plus listing fees).
Texas has one of the most permissive cottage food laws in the country. Under the Texas Cottage Food Law, you can sell baked goods and other non-potentially-hazardous foods without a food handler's license or commercial kitchen inspection. The law covers:
The annual sales cap is $75,000, which is among the highest in the nation. You must label products with your name and address, the statement "Made in a cottage food production operation that is not inspected by the Texas Department of State Health Services," and a list of ingredients including common allergens. Sales must be directly to consumers — no wholesale to stores or restaurants.
Most Texas cottage food vendors start by selling at farmers markets and through word of mouth. Orders come in through text messages, Instagram DMs, and Facebook comments. This works until it does not — and the breaking point comes faster than most vendors expect.
Common problems Texas bakers face without a platform:
A selling platform solves all of these by giving your customers one link to browse products, choose quantities, pay, and schedule pickup.
Homegrown is built for local food vendors who sell through pickup and farmers markets — exactly how Texas cottage food law requires you to operate. There is no website to build, no marketplace to compete in, and no design decisions to make. You list your products, set your pickup locations and times, and share one link.
Here is what Homegrown includes:
For Texas bakers selling $500 to $2,000 per month through farmers markets and home pickup, Homegrown keeps costs predictable at $10 per month while giving customers a professional ordering experience.
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Best for: Texas cottage food vendors who sell baked goods through farmers markets, home pickup, and social media.
Start your free 7-day trial with Homegrown.
Etsy gives you access to a large marketplace audience, but the fees add up quickly. Etsy charges a $0.20 listing fee per item, 6.5% transaction fee, and 3% + $0.25 payment processing fee. On a $25 box of cookies, that is approximately $2.83 in total fees — roughly 11.3% of the sale price.
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Best for: Texas bakers who want to reach new customers beyond their local area (though Texas cottage food law limits you to in-state direct sales).
Square Online offers a free tier with Square branding. If you already use Square at farmers markets, it syncs your in-person and online payments. The free plan is limited — no custom domain, Square branding on your page, and basic features only.
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Best for: Texas bakers who already use Square at farmers markets and want a free online ordering option.
Shopify is a full e-commerce platform designed for online retail businesses. At $39 per month (Basic plan), it provides robust store management, app integrations, and shipping tools. For a cottage food vendor selling locally under Texas law, Shopify provides far more infrastructure than needed.
Best for: Texas food businesses that have outgrown cottage food and operate with a commercial kitchen license, selling statewide or nationally.
| Feature | Homegrown | Etsy | Square Online (Free) | Shopify |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $10 (annual) | $0 (listing fees apply) | $0 | $39+ |
| Transaction fee | 0% | 6.5% | 0% | 0% |
| Card processing | 2.9% + $0.30 | 3% + $0.25 | 2.9% + $0.30 | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Total fees on $25 order | ~$1.03 | ~$2.83 | ~$1.03 | ~$1.03 |
| Local pickup | Yes (built-in) | Workaround | Basic | With apps |
| Multiple pickup locations | Yes | No | Limited | With apps |
| Inventory management | Yes (batch) | Basic | Basic | Yes |
| Food-specific features | Yes | No | No | No |
| Website required | No | No (marketplace) | No | Yes |
| Setup time | ~15 min | 30-60 min | 30-60 min | 4-8 hours |
On $1,000 per month in sales, Etsy fees total approximately $110 (6.5% + processing + listings) while Homegrown costs $10 plus approximately $38 in card processing — a $62 per month difference that compounds over a year to $744 in savings.
For most Texas cottage food bakers, the question is not which platform has the most features — it is which platform matches how you actually sell. Texas cottage food law requires direct-to-consumer sales, which means local pickup and in-person delivery. A platform built for local food ordering removes the overhead of text-message orders while keeping costs low. Culinary business education resources are available from the Culinary Institute of America, and food safety guidance for home food producers is available from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration.
Start your free 7-day trial with Homegrown.
Texas allows cottage food producers to sell up to $75,000 per year in direct-to-consumer sales. This cap applies to gross revenue from all cottage food sales combined. At $75,000 per year, you are averaging over $6,000 per month — a level that most cottage food vendors never reach. The cap is high enough that most Texas bakers will not need to upgrade to a commercial kitchen license based on volume alone.
No. Texas cottage food producers are exempt from food handler certification requirements. You do not need a license from the Texas Department of State Health Services, and your home kitchen does not need to be inspected. However, you must follow labeling requirements: your name and address, an ingredient list including common allergens, and the statement that your kitchen is not inspected by DSHS. Some Texas cities and counties have additional local regulations, so check your local health department as well.
Yes, with limitations. Texas cottage food law allows you to take orders online and accept payment electronically, but the actual delivery must be directly to the consumer — either through local pickup or personal delivery. You cannot ship cottage food products through common carriers like UPS or USPS. This means an online ordering platform with local pickup scheduling (like Homegrown) is the ideal setup for Texas cottage food compliance.
Based on what Texas cottage food vendors commonly report, the highest-demand baked goods include cookies (especially decorated sugar cookies for events), banana bread, cinnamon rolls, brownies, pies (fruit pies without cream filling), custom cakes for celebrations, and conchas and pan dulce. Seasonal items like king cake before Mardi Gras and pecan pie before Thanksgiving also sell well. The best-selling items are typically those that travel well for pickup and have visual appeal for social media marketing.
Texas cottage food law does not require liability insurance, but many vendors carry it anyway. A general liability policy for a cottage food business typically costs $200 to $500 per year and covers incidents related to your food products. Some farmers markets require proof of insurance to participate. While not legally required, insurance protects your personal assets if a customer has an allergic reaction or other food-related issue.
A common pricing formula for cottage food is to calculate your ingredient cost per item, then multiply by 3 to 4 for retail pricing. This accounts for ingredients, packaging, labor, overhead (utilities, equipment wear), and profit margin. For example, if a batch of 24 cookies costs $8 in ingredients, your per-cookie ingredient cost is $0.33 — so retail price would be $1.00 to $1.33 per cookie, or $12 to $16 per dozen. Factor in your platform costs: Homegrown adds $10 per month flat, while Etsy adds 6.5% per sale. At lower volumes, the flat fee is more cost-effective than percentage-based pricing.
Yes. Texas cottage food producers do not need a separate permit to sell at farmers markets. You operate under the cottage food exemption, not under a food establishment permit. However, individual farmers markets may have their own vendor requirements — application fees, proof of insurance, tent and display standards, and product sampling rules. Check with each market directly. Many Texas markets have vendor applications that specifically mention the cottage food production operation exemption.
In Texas, a cottage food production operation and a home bakery are not the same thing. A cottage food operation sells directly to consumers under the cottage food exemption — no license, no kitchen inspection, $75,000 annual cap, and limited to non-potentially-hazardous foods. A home bakery (sometimes called a home-based food business) may operate under a different set of permits that allow wholesale sales to stores and restaurants, potentially hazardous foods like cream-filled pastries, and higher revenue. The home bakery path requires a kitchen inspection, food handler certification, and a food establishment permit from your local health department. Most Texas bakers start under the cottage food exemption and consider the home bakery upgrade only when they hit the $75,000 cap or want to sell wholesale.
Your products deserve a storefront where the listed price is what your customer pays — no marketplace fees, no checkout surcharges, no percentage taken from every sale. Homegrown gives food vendors a shareable ordering link, built-in payments, and local pickup scheduling for $10 per month flat. Start your free 7-day trial.
