How to label homemade cookies for sale
You baked a few dozen and someone wants to buy them. Before cookies can go on a table or a shelf, the package needs a proper label. Here is exactly what goes on it.
What your cookies label needs
- ✓Product name. The common name of the food, so a buyer knows what it is.
- ✓Net quantity. Cookies are sold by net weight, for example 8 oz, sometimes by count plus weight like 6 cookies, 9 oz.
- ✓Ingredient list. Every ingredient, listed heaviest-first by weight.
- ✓Allergen statement. A “Contains” line for any of the nine major allergens in your recipe.
- ✓Business name and address. Who made the food and where they can be reached.
- ✓Home-kitchen disclaimer. The cottage food sentence your state requires you to print.
Allergens to watch in cookies
In cookies, the allergens to watch are usually wheat, milk, egg, and often soy, tree nuts, or peanuts, depending on your recipe. Your “Contains” line should reflect what is actually in your recipe, not a generic list.
Nutripane reads the allergens from your ingredients automatically, so the Contains line matches your recipe.
Do you need a Nutrition Facts panel for cookies?
Most home bakers are exempt from the full Nutrition Facts panel under their state cottage food law, as long as the ingredient list, allergen line, net weight, and disclaimer are all present. You usually need the panel if you sell wholesale, list on Amazon, or make a nutrition claim like low sugar.
Nutripane builds the Nutrition Facts panel and the ingredient, allergen, and disclaimer label from your recipe, so you are ready whether you need the panel or not.
One thing sellers miss on cookies
List every ingredient down to the vanilla and the baking soda, heaviest first. If the package pictures chocolate chips, name their sub-ingredients too.
Questions
Do homemade cookies need a nutrition label to sell?
Most states let cottage food bakers sell cookies without a full Nutrition Facts panel, but you still need the ingredient list, an allergen Contains line, net weight, your business name and address, and your state's home-kitchen disclaimer. Confirm the current rules with your state's cottage food program.
What allergens do I have to list on cookies?
List any of the nine major allergens that are actually in your recipe: milk, egg, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, and sesame. Most cookies contain wheat, milk, and egg. Nutripane reads the allergens from your ingredients for you.
Where to sell your cookies
Where you sell decides whether you need a full Nutrition Facts panel. Here is what each channel expects.
Guides to get you started
Labeling another food?
This page is general information, not legal advice. Food labeling and cottage food rules vary by state and county and change over time. Confirm current requirements with your state's cottage food program before you sell. See your state's rules or another product.