Can-Do Does
Dan Lennon is an agricultural entrepreneur who has founded and is now running an established company. He is at one end of the spectrum. However, new companies are being born every day often by people who are new to the world of business. I spoke with two new entrepreneurs in the “farm to fork” space in 2012, based in the Kalamazoo, Michigan area.
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Best friends since they attended Sturgis High School in Southwest Michigan, Kelli Eaton and Sara Main are launching Fizzy Bread & Dips Co., and doing it while they are holding down full-time jobs.
They were doing it all, at home, under Michigan’s Cottage Food Law which exempts a “cottage food operation” from the licensing and inspection provisions of the Michigan Food Law of 2000, until Sara and Kelli realized that they had to make their dip inside a licensed kitchen because it is a dairy product.
That is when they found Fair Food Matters Can-Do Kitchen in Kalamazoo, an incubator for businesses like Fizzy Bread & Dips, a place where people like Kelli and Sara can build their businesses without putting out tens of thousands of dollars to set up their own commercial kitchens.
Fizzy Bread – a bread mix that is combined with any 12 oz. carbonated beverage like soda pop or beer as the leavening agent—is still being made at home but the dip is being created at Can-Do Kitchens, and Sara said the resources offered by Can-Do are more than just a stove, range and refrigerator.
“It is a teaching tool that is helping our business grow,” she wrote in an email. “Of course, it has also allowed us to make our product and sample it to our customer base without incurring the large costs of owning a licensed kitchen.”
Can-Do Kitchen Program Manager Lucy Bland told me that Kelli and Sara are building their home-based business the right way, doing their research, taking small steps toward their ultimate goal of selling their products in stores, and doing it all around their full-time jobs.
They are not the first to do this, Bland said, and she is sure Kelli and Sara will not be the last.
“Some people do want to keep their business as a Cottage Law or hobby business,” Bland said. “But as more incubators (like Can-Do) pop up, the people who are really committed will go to them. And I think there is a lot of room in the market for these businesses. More of us really want to know who is making our food.”
One of the provisions of the Cottage Food Law makes sure of that, prohibiting a third party from getting between the producer and the customer. In other words, Cottage Food producers, by law, have to talk to the people buying their food.
The growth of the farmers’ market movement in Michigan is fueling interest in Cottage Food Law operations, according to Bland. People who go to the events see others, like themselves, setting up food stands and selling the pies, cakes, breads and jams they have made at home. This law also allows farmers to offer new products at the markets that are made in their home kitchens.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development sees the Cottage Food Law as “a great opportunity for many who have been thinking of starting a food business but have been reluctant to spent the money needed to establish or rent commercial kitchen space,” according to an MDRAD explanation of the law.
The law also relieves the burden of compliance with rules and regulations that were set up to govern large food corporations that are not appropriate for Mom or even Pop working out of their home kitchen.
However, Cottage Law producers must still comply with the labeling, adulteration, and other provisions found in the Michigan Food Law, as well as other state or federal laws, or local ordinances that might apply. And, they can’t sell more than $15,000 worth of products annually.
Can-Do Kitchen opened in 2008, two years before Michigan’s Cottage Food Law went into effect. Under that law, foods that are classified as “non-potentially hazardous” because they don’t require time and/or temperature control for safety, can be produced at home and then sold at farmers’ markets, road side stands or other direct markets. The food can’t be sold over the Internet, in stores or restaurants.
Bland said starting a Cottage Food Law operation at home can be a great way for someone dreaming of launching their own company to figure out “how committed you are to the business. Do you really want this to be your job? Some people find they really don’t.”
She added that starting at home and then expanding to an incubator like Can-Do is a great way to not only test yourself and your commitment, but also to test your recipes. “You need to get advice,” said Bland. “Don’t operate in a bubble. And go beyond your friends. They are going to tell you they love your product. They love you too.”
Managing your expectations is another key piece of advice from Bland. “Don’t think ‘I am going to be in Meijer tomorrow.’”
Kelli and Sara are closer to getting their product on a shelf at Meijer. They have their MDARD license to sell in stores now and see that as the next step in the development of Fizzy Bread & Dips. So far, it is still fun for them.
“We have to see where this goes but so far, yes, it is still fun,” Kelli said. “We were best friends in high school and we still are. It doesn’t feel like work to be doing this together.”
(c) 2012 Lyons Circle Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved
More By Rod Kackley
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For more books, essays, and articles by Rod Kackley please to go www.rodkackley.com, or download the free Rod Kackley app through Google Play or the App Store.
And feel free to contact Rod at rod@rodkackley.com
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