Denise Golia lives in North Providence, RI and sells gluten-free and vegan cupcakes with her cottage food business, Dee’s Little Sweets.

When Denise started her business back in 2020, Rhode Island still didn’t have a cottage food law that she could use, so she baked from a shared commercial kitchen instead.

However, when Rhode Island passed a decent cottage food law in 2022, she immediately switched over to it, and that’s allowed her business to be far more successful.

In this episode, she shares how a physical injury led her to start her own food business, what it’s been like to transition from commercial to cottage food, and the unique challenges and opportunities she’s faced from niching way down.

What You’ll Learn

• The difference between using a shared commercial kitchen versus a home kitchen
• How Denise’s physical challenge shaped her cottage food bakery
• The importance of sharing your business story with customers at markets
• How the gluten-free landscape has shifted over the past few years
• Why you must find the right markets that fit well with your business
• The pros and cons of large events versus smaller, community markets
• How Denise converted her leftovers into something she can sell
• Why you should find ways to repurpose your products
• How to keep prices reasonable despite fluctuations in the economy
• Time saving hacks that will make your life easier
• Why you should continuously find ways to differentiate your business from others

Resources

Dee’s Little Sweets website (Instagram | Facebook)

Rhode Island Cottage Food Law

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