By Evan Knox, Founder of Homegrown · Last updated May 5, 2026
Methodology: We tracked Castiron's wind-down through cottage food communities and Homegrown's own customer migration data over the past year. Cost-comparison math uses each platform's publicly stated transaction-fee structure.
Castiron shut down in late 2025 after being acquired by T.D. Jakes Enterprises in November 2024 and rebranded as Nourysh. The original platform wound down through 2025 — websites went offline, support channels closed, and existing vendors had to migrate or lose their stores. If you were using Castiron or were considering it, this guide walks through what happened, what your alternatives are, and how to migrate quickly.
Castiron was a website builder and marketplace for "food artisans" — home bakers, meal prep vendors, and cottage food producers. The platform raised $6 million in seed funding in 2022 and operated for about four years before being acquired by T.D. Jakes Enterprises in November 2024 and rebranded as Nourysh.
The original Castiron platform wound down through 2025. Websites returned server errors, SSL certificates expired, support and help docs went offline, and vendors in cottage food communities reported service disruptions. The platform is no longer operational.
If you are a former Castiron vendor, you need a new home for your storefront and customer list. This guide covers the best alternatives in 2026 for small local food vendors who need a reliable ordering page that is unlikely to disappear.
Castiron was a website-plus-ordering platform designed specifically for cottage food and home-baking vendors. While operational, the platform offered:
Castiron's pricing model (while operational):
| Component | Cost | Who Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly subscription | $0 (free) | — |
| Convenience fee | 10% per order | Customer |
| Payment processing | 2.9% + $0.30 per order | Customer |
| Total customer surcharge | ~13% on every order | Customer |
The platform was free for vendors but charged customers a 10% convenience fee on top of payment processing. On a $50 order, the customer paid about $57 after Castiron's fees. This pricing structure — together with the venture-backed business model that ultimately did not scale — is part of why the platform did not survive.
If you are a former Castiron user, here is the migration path:
Three real alternatives, ordered by fit for the typical cottage food vendor.
Homegrown is built for small local vendors who sell at farmers markets and want to take online orders. Setup takes about 15 minutes — add products, share the link, customers order and pay during the week, you produce what was ordered, customers pick up.
What you get:
The math vs Castiron's old model: at $500/month in sales, Castiron's 10% convenience fee was costing customers about $50/month in surcharges. Homegrown costs $10 total in subscription, with no platform fee. At $1,000/month in sales, the gap widens. Flat-fee pricing scales well; percentage-fee pricing punishes growth.
Homegrown also keeps your prices clean at checkout. When a customer sees your lemon bars listed at $18, they pay $18. No surprise fees.
Try Homegrown free for 7 days — about 15 minutes from signup to your first product live.
If you already use a Square card reader at your booth, Square Plus is the easiest way to add online ordering. Your in-person and online sales live in one Square dashboard. The basic plan is free with 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fees; paid plans start at $39 per month with custom domain support and Square branding removal.
Square Plus is a general-purpose online store builder, not designed for cottage food vendors specifically. There is no compliance content, no recipe costing, no food-specific templates. But if you are already in the Square ecosystem and want a basic ordering page, it works.
If you are not ready to commit to any tool, you can list products in a Google Form and collect payment through Venmo, Zelle, or Cash App. Costs nothing. Works at very small scale (under 10 orders per week). Breaks under volume — no payment integration, no quantity limits, no automated confirmations, no storefront presentation. Reasonable for testing demand for a few weeks before paying for a platform.
| Feature | Castiron (closed) | Homegrown | Square Plus | Google Forms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status as of May 2026 | Closed late 2025 | Active | Active | Active |
| Monthly subscription | (was) $0 | $10/mo (annual) | Free or $39+ | Free |
| Transaction / platform fee | (was) 10% + 2.9% + $0.30 | 2.9% + $0.30 only | 2.9% + $0.30 | None (manual payments) |
| Cost on $500/mo orders | (was) ~$65 | ~$25 | ~$15 | $0 + manual labor |
| Customer storefront | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Customer sees your exact price | No (fees added) | Yes | Yes (fees built in) | Yes |
| Customer discovery | Castiron marketplace | Homegrown marketplace | None | None |
| Food-specific design | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Setup time | (was) 1-2 hours | 15 minutes | 1-2 hours | 15 minutes |
The pricing comparison shows why percentage-based fees punish small vendors. While Castiron was operational, $500/month in sales meant ~$65 in fees every month. Homegrown charges $10 flat for the same volume. That $55/month difference compounded over a year was real money.
If you have been selling to friends and family and are ready to expand to real customers with an online ordering page, the platform you choose has direct impact on your margins. The right tool should make ordering easier for your customers, not more expensive. If you are already taking pre-orders through texts or DMs, a proper ordering page formalizes that process without adding surprise fees.
Castiron's wind-down is a reminder that the platform you build on matters. Two practical takeaways for any vendor picking a tool:
Checking your state's cottage food regulations is also worthwhile before committing to any platform — some states have specific rules about how you sell online.
No. Castiron was acquired by T.D. Jakes Enterprises in November 2024, rebranded as Nourysh, and the original platform wound down through 2025. As of May 2026, the platform is no longer operational. Vendors who were using Castiron need to migrate to a different tool.
Homegrown. $10 per month billed annually, 15-minute setup without building a website, no platform fee on top of standard payment processing.
You can set up a new storefront on Homegrown or another platform in 15-30 minutes. The Castiron platform itself is offline, so any data left there is unrecoverable — but your existing customer relationships (in your phone, Instagram DMs, email) are not lost. Reach out to your regulars with the new ordering link.
Yes. While operational, Castiron was free for vendors but added a 10% convenience fee plus payment processing (2.9% + $0.30) at checkout. Vendors could not absorb or hide the fee — customers saw it directly in the order total.
The Castiron marketplace was the customer-discovery layer of the platform. When the original platform wound down through 2025, the marketplace went with it. Vendors who relied on Castiron marketplace traffic for new customer discovery need a platform that includes its own marketplace — Homegrown's includes one as part of the $10/month subscription.
Castiron is the most prominent recent closure in the cottage food platform space. Other platforms still operating in 2026 include Homegrown, Cottage CMS, Hotplate, Bakesy, and Bake.Shop. Square Plus is a general-purpose option that includes online ordering. The cottage food platform space is small, and platform durability matters when picking where to set up your storefront.
Castiron's shutdown is a reminder that the tools you depend on need to be reliable, transparent, and built for the long term. Your customers should not have to deal with broken links, surprise fees, or disappearing storefronts.
Homegrown charges a flat $10/month, keeps your prices clean for customers, and is built specifically for small local food vendors. Set up your storefront in 15 minutes and give your customers a simple, reliable way to order from you.
Start your free trial at Homegrown
