The Forrager Podcast for Cottage Food Businesses

The Forrager Podcast for Cottage Food Businesses

Learn how to start a food business from your home kitchen by hearing stories from cottage food entrepreneurs about how they grew their businesses from the ground up. Does everyone ask for your recipes, or say "You should sell that"? Have you dreamed of starting a brick-and-mortar bakery, or simply want a fun hobby that brings in some extra dough? On this podcast, David interviews a wide range of entrepreneurs across America who legally sell their homemade food via their state's cottage food law. Each episode reveals strategies for marketing and selling your food products successfully from home, online, at farmers markets/events, and in stores. Learn what steps you should (or shouldn't) take, and get your cottage food business off to the right start!

Episodes

January 20, 2026 59 mins
Nicole Bendig-Lamb of Arvada, CO shares how she overcame self-doubt and became not just a successful cottage food entrepreneur, but also a recognized influencer, author, speaker, and business coach

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/159

Mark as Played
Melanie Scofield of Jacksonville, OR shares how her battle with cancer led her to create one of the country's best farm stands by focusing on building community, serving others, and being consistent

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/158

Mark as Played
December 23, 2025 58 mins
Jacy Vinson of Eagle River, AK sells both physical and digital products with her bakery business and shares how this hybrid approach has allowed her to provide for her family in a sustainable way

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/157

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Tanya & Mike Clowers of Williamsburg, IA share how their cottage food bakery literally changed their life, saved them from financial trouble, and led them to quickly grow a huge social media following

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/156

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November 25, 2025 52 mins
Alecia Ryan of Ardmore, PA shares how she built her cottage food business into a success by focusing on branding and customer relationships, despite facing many unpredictable changes along the way

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/155

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November 11, 2025 59 mins
Katie Sacoman of Albuquerque, NM shares how she transitioned from custom orders to markets to wholesale by remaining adaptable and embracing the messiness that comes with growing your own business

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/154

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Alina Eisenhauer of Worcester, MA shares the lessons learned from growing her small bakery into a major restaurant, including avoiding burnout, becoming profitable, and leveraging productive systems

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/153

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October 14, 2025 59 mins
Lisa He of Orlando, FL shares how she built on her success as a cottage food baker by creating a popular online course business and a thriving software business for cottage food entrepreneurs

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/152

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October 7, 2025 55 mins
Lisa He of Orlando, FL shares how she built a thriving cottage food bakery, won a Food Network competition, and leveraged that success by creating a popular cookie decorating supply business

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/151

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September 23, 2025 68 mins
In this special 150th episode, many cottage food industry influencers share some of their best business advice for cottage food entrepreneurs on the topics of mindset, marketing, management, and money

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/150

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September 9, 2025 59 mins
Alanna T'ia of Columbia, MO shares how she became a 6-figure baker by creating a professional setup with streamlined systems, exceptional customer service, and consistent high-quality products

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/149

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Lauri Lee & Bob Stafford of Surprise, AZ share the strategies they’ve used to scale their business by becoming a major presence at markets, adding wholesale accounts, switching to a copacker, and more

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/148

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Soralla Gonzalez of Tampa Bay, FL shares how she has overcome struggles to find customers by being resilient, implementing marketing strategies, failing fast, and staying focused on her true passion

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/147

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Stacey Kimball of Caldwell, ID shares how she went from cottage food to commercial kitchen to her own storefront by building relationships with her community and focusing on slow and consistent growth

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/146

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July 15, 2025 58 mins
Amanda Sharp of McCalla, AL shares how she fulfilled her lifelong dream of building a successful bakery, despite overcoming health challenges and facing a curveball that almost wiped out her sales

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/145

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Annie Wang of Oakland, CA shares how she turned multiple passions into a very successful hyper-niched and eco-friendly bakery by starting small, scaling up, and completing a massive rebrand

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/144

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June 17, 2025 59 mins
Ana Delgado of Wingdale, NY shares her incredible cottage food business journey that includes starting over twice, overcoming a midlife crisis, and dealing with burnout on her unlikely path to success

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/143

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Georgi DeCosta of Kaneohe, HI shares how she used baking to help overcome depression, and turned her baking therapy into a legitimate cottage food business that has given her a new purpose in life

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/142

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May 20, 2025 59 mins
Rita Magalde runs Sheer Ambrosia in Salt Lake City, UT and shares her roller coaster baking business journey of 17 years that includes big risks, life changes, surprises, failures and successes

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/141

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Michelle Chesser of Millersville, MO started her home bakery 16 years ago from humble beginnings and built it into a "monster" that changed her family's life and led her to become an online influencer

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/140

Mark as Played

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