How to label homemade tea for sale
Custom tea blends are a lovely small-batch product, but the label has to name what is in the tin and steer clear of health claims. Here is what belongs on it.
What your tea label needs
- ✓Product name. The common name of the food, so a buyer knows what it is.
- ✓Net quantity. Tea blends are sold by net weight, and because tea is light the weights are small, for example 2 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 tea
Most tea blends carry no major allergens, but check for added nuts, coconut, or flavor carriers. Still check every ingredient against the nine majors (milk, egg, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, sesame), because add-ins can introduce one. Your “Contains” line should reflect what is actually in your recipe.
Nutripane reads the allergens from your ingredients automatically, so the Contains line matches your recipe.
Do you need a Nutrition Facts panel for tea?
A plain loose-leaf tea blend is usually exempt from the Nutrition Facts panel as a cottage food, unless you add ingredients that change that.
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 tea
Name each botanical in the blend. Avoid health claims like detox or cures, because a health claim can turn a food into a drug in the eyes of regulators.
Questions
How do I label a tea blend to sell?
Package it with the product name, net weight, an ingredient list naming each botanical, any allergen line, your business name and address, and your state's home-kitchen disclaimer. Confirm your state treats your blend as a cottage food.
Can I say my tea helps with sleep or digestion?
Be careful. Health or function claims can reclassify a food as a drug and pull it out of cottage food rules entirely. Describe the flavor and the botanicals, and leave medical claims off the label.
Where to sell your tea
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.