Quick answer
To start a coffee business, choose whether you will roast green coffee yourself or have a contract roaster pack coffee under your brand, then check your state's food rules, register the business and label every bag. FDA rules say each bag shows the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer or distributor, and if your roastery must register with FDA, registration has no fee. On an $18 bag sold online, the fee is $2.16 on Etsy and $0.82 in card fees on Shopify or Big Cartel, where Shopify's Basic plan also costs $39 a month.
Nation, an AI store builder, publishes this page. It is pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai, so it is not in the fee comparison. See where Nation fits.
How to start a coffee brand or a coffee roasting business
To start a coffee business, first pick one of two models. In a coffee roasting business you buy green coffee, roast it, pack it and sell it, so the food rules fall on your roasting space. In a coffee brand business a contract roaster roasts and packs the coffee under your label, and you handle the brand and the sales.
After that, both models follow the same steps below. The table shows where they differ.
Steps to start a coffee business
These steps apply to a small US business that sells packaged whole bean or ground coffee online, at markets or to cafes.
Pick your model
Roast yourself or use a contract roaster, as compared above.
Check state and local food rules
Besides FDA's rules, a food business faces other federal, state and local requirements, such as licenses or permits. Ask your local health department whether you can roast at home or need a licensed space.
Register the business
Choose a business structure, get an EIN if your structure needs one, which is free from the IRS, and ask your state tax agency whether you need a seller's permit.
Register with FDA if your roastery needs it
Under FDA rules, facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold food for consumption in the United States must register with FDA unless an exemption applies; the federal rules below explain the exemptions. Registration has no fee and no third-party business or registrar is needed to register.
Design a compliant label
FDA says the name of the food and the net quantity go on the principal display panel, with net contents in both metric units and US customary units, such as grams and ounces. The label also shows the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer or distributor.
Cost one bag
Add the coffee, bag, label, your time and the platform fee before you set a price.
Choose where to sell
Compare marketplaces, your own store, markets and wholesale; each has its own fees or margins.
The federal rules for selling roasted coffee
Coffee is a food, so the federal food rules come from FDA, and USDA's organic rules apply if you call the coffee organic. The table summarises the rules a small coffee business meets first, from FDA guidance and the Code of Federal Regulations.
The registration rule depends on where you roast and who you sell to. For FDA, a private residence is not a food facility under the registration rule. An establishment is a retail food establishment when its yearly food sales directly to consumers are larger than its food sales to all other buyers, and businesses do not count as consumers, and retail food establishments do not have to register.
Rules vary by state and city, and this summary leaves out some exemptions and details. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Check with FDA and your local health department before you sell.
Can you roast coffee at home? State cottage food rules
Whether you can roast at home and sell the coffee is a state question. Cottage food laws let people sell some foods made in a home kitchen, and each state sets its own foods, sales limits and selling methods.
California and Texas show how far the rules differ, including whether you can ship online orders.
If your state's cottage food law does not cover coffee or limits how you sell, the usual routes are a licensed commercial space or a contract roaster.
What it costs to start a coffee business
Equipment and supply lines are labelled example figures; replace them with your own supplier quotes. A coffee brand skips the roaster and pays a contract roaster for its first order instead.
Example: what one bag of coffee costs you
The example uses assumed inputs for a home roaster; swap in your own prices and roast loss.
Take the platform fee in the next section and any shipping you absorb off the price. What is left pays for equipment, marketing and profit.
Where coffee makers sell online and what each platform keeps
Example: one $18 bag of coffee sold online by card, using each platform's own published rates. Etsy is a marketplace; on your own Shopify, Square Online or Big Cartel store you bring the buyers yourself.
- Shopify $0.82 plus $39 a month Card 2.9% + 30¢ $0.82
- Big Cartel $0.82 free plan up to 5 products Card 2.9% + $0.30 $0.82
- Square Online $0.89 free plan Card 3.3% + 30¢ $0.89
- Etsy baseline $2.16 no monthly plan Listing $0.20, Transaction 6.5% $1.17, Processing 3% + $0.25 $0.79
Assumes an $18 bag, free shipping, no sales tax, a standard US card, no ads and no currency conversion. Big Cartel assumes the free plan and Stripe card processing.
Selling coffee at markets and to cafes
You can sell through more than one channel, and each one changes the rules or the fees.
- Farmers markets: you meet buyers and learn which roast sells. In-person card payments on Square cost 2.6% + 15¢ on Square Free, and markets set their own vendor fees.
- Wholesale to cafes and shops: larger orders at a lower price per pound. If you roast under a cottage food law, check that it allows sales to businesses; in California, Class B operations may also sell through restaurants and food markets. Once sales to businesses are larger than sales to consumers, check the FDA registration rule above.
- Marketplaces: check each marketplace's policies on food before you list coffee.
Where Nation fits
Nation
Category: an AI store builder
Nation says one description of what you make builds the store, then agents handle orders, customers and delivery and run ads, content and social posts, with you approving the work. Because pricing is not announced yet, it is not in the fee comparison.
Limits today
- Status: pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai.
- Pricing and fees: not announced yet.
- Shopper marketplace: no shopper marketplace has been announced.
- Track record: no independent reviews or public stores yet.
Nation publishes this page. Nation is not in the fee comparison until signup is public and pricing is published.
Describe what you makeQuestions about starting a coffee business
How much does it cost to start a coffee business?
The cost to start a coffee business depends on whether you roast. A coffee brand that uses a contract roaster pays for the roaster's first order, bags, labels and a store. A roasting business also buys a roaster and green coffee. FDA registration has no fee, an EIN is free from the IRS, and Square Online has no monthly fee on Square Free.
Do I need FDA approval to sell coffee?
Selling coffee does not need FDA approval: FDA does not approve food products, though some ingredients, such as food additives, need FDA approval. A coffee roastery may still need FDA food facility registration, which has no fee, unless it is exempt; retail food establishments do not have to register. FDA does not approve individual food labels before the food is sold, but every bag must still meet its label rules.
Can I roast coffee at home and sell it?
Roasting coffee at home to sell is allowed in some states under cottage food laws. California's approved list includes coffee, roasted or freeze-dried, listed under dried foods. Texas allows most foods; there, online sales are allowed when the operator, an employee or a household member personally delivers the food. Rules vary by state and city, so ask your local health department before you sell.
How do I start a coffee brand without roasting?
You can start a coffee brand without roasting by having a contract roaster roast and pack coffee under your label. Because someone else makes the coffee, the label shows your business name with a phrase such as “Manufactured for” or “Distributed by” that shows the connection to the food. You still register the business, choose where to sell and set prices that cover the roaster's price and the fees.
Does a bag of coffee need a Nutrition Facts label?
A bag of plain coffee usually does not need a Nutrition Facts label: under FDA rules, coffee beans, whole or ground, are exempt from nutrition labeling. The exemption applies only while the food carries no nutrition claims or other nutrition information on the label, in labeling or in advertising. FDA's other label rules for the bag still apply.