For packaged food and drink brands

Regulated from the first jar

A packaged food or drink brand is regulated the moment it leaves your hands, and where you make it, a home kitchen, a commercial space, or a co-packer, decides which licenses you need and whether you register with the FDA. We form the entity and map the whole stack to how you actually produce.

Set up your brand Where do you make it?
LLC liability protection FDA registration handled Sales tax and resale
The setup behind packaged food and drink brands FDA facility registration Food license and health permit 4.9 from 8,200+ reviews Sales tax and resale set up
Your path
Home kitchen, commercial space, or co-packer, mapped correctly
FDA
Facility registration handled where it is required
Two channels
Sales tax for direct sales, resale for wholesale
Trademark
The brand name protected as you hit more shelves
Where food brands get tripped up

The rules depend on where you make it

A jam sold at a farmers market and the same jam shipped nationwide can face completely different rules. Cottage food laws let you start in a home kitchen for certain products, but scaling into commercial production or shipping across state lines pulls in commercial licensing and FDA facility registration. Get the path wrong and you either overbuild or sell without the licenses you need.

We map your production path, set up the entity, get the licenses and FDA registration that actually apply, and handle sales tax for both your direct and wholesale channels, so the brand grows on a compliant footing.

Sold before the paperwork
  • No entity behind a consumable product
  • Producing outside the cottage food rules
  • FDA registration never filed
  • Wholesale with no resale certificate
  • Brand name never trademarked
Set up on File.Business
  • An LLC behind the product
  • The right licenses for your path
  • FDA facility registration where required
  • Sales tax and resale for both channels
  • The brand name trademarked
Your production path sets the rules

Where do you make it? See what changes

Pick your production path and watch the license stack and your FDA obligation change. This is the map we build your setup from.

Your license stack: commercial kitchen
FDA registration required
You run an FDA-registered facility
A facility that makes or packs food for US sale registers with the FDA and renews every other year. We file it and keep it current. Food licensing.
The whole food brand setup

Everything a food brand needs, in one place

Entity, licensing, FDA, tax, and brand, handled and renewed together.

LLC formation

A shield behind the product

EIN

Federal tax ID for the brand

Food license

Cottage, commercial, or health permit

FDA registration

Facility registration where required

Sales tax and resale

Direct and wholesale channels

Trademark

Protect the brand name

S-corp election

When your profit makes it pay

Compliance calendar

Licenses and renewals, tracked
How your brand gets set up

From recipe to on the shelf, compliant

Five steps, in the right order. Select one to see the detail.

Step 1

Form the LLC that shields you

Selling something people eat or drink is exactly the risk an LLC is for. It separates your personal assets from a product claim. We form it in your state, with fees passed through at cost.

A shield between you and a product claim.
Entity: LLC FORMED
Personal assets separated
Ready to produce
Step 2

Get your EIN and business banking

The EIN is your federal tax ID, and a business account keeps ingredient costs, co-packer invoices, and sales separate from your personal money. Both come before your first order ships.

A dedicated account for costs and sales.
EIN: ISSUED
Business banking opened
Ready to buy and sell
Step 3

Set your production path and licensing

We confirm whether you fit your state's cottage food rules, need a commercial kitchen and health permit, or will use a co-packer, then file the food license that matches. The path decides everything downstream.

The right license for how you produce. Food licensing.
Path: SET
Food license filed
Cleared to make it
Step 4

Register with the FDA, and set up sales tax

If your facility makes or packs food for sale, we file the FDA facility registration and keep it renewed. Then we register sales tax for direct sales and your resale certificate for wholesale, so both channels are handled.

FDA where required, and sales tax for both channels. Sales tax.
FDA: REGISTERED
Sales tax and resale set
Both channels covered
Step 5

Trademark the brand and scale it

As you land in more stores and states, we register the brand trademark, add sales tax where you gain nexus, and flag an S-corp election when profit supports it, so growth onto new shelves stays clean.

Trademark, nexus, and elections in the calendar.
Trademark: FILED
New states registered
Clean as you grow
How this compares for a food brand

Built for a regulated product, not a generic business

Most setups skip the production path, the FDA registration, and the two tax channels. Here is the difference.

CapabilityFile.BusinessDIY formsLocal bookkeeperGeneric filer
Entity and production-path mappingForms onlyNot availableFormation only
Food license and health permitNot availableVariesPer filing
FDA facility registrationNot availableNot availableNot available
Sales tax and resale for both channelsNot availableDirect onlyPer filing
Brand trademark filedNot availableNot availableAdd-on
Transparent, published pricingHourlyPer filing

The honest version. A food-safety consultant is worth it for your process and labeling, and an attorney for a co-packer or retailer contract, and nothing here is legal advice. What File.Business does is form the entity, map the path, handle licensing and FDA registration, set up both tax channels, and file the trademark, so your specialists focus on the product. Compare on the comparison hub.

BosAI for food brands

An operator who knows the food playbook

Ask in plain English. BosAI knows cottage food rules, FDA registration, and food sales tax.

BosAIOwner workspace, Harvest Lane Foods

I make my sauce at home. Can I sell it online across the country?

That is usually the line where home production stops. Cottage food laws often allow certain products from a home kitchen but limit you to selling within your state, and a sauce may not even qualify. Shipping nationwide generally means a commercial kitchen or a co-packer, plus FDA facility registration. I have mapped your state's rules so we build the right path.

If I use a co-packer, do I still register with the FDA?

Generally the co-packer's facility is the registered one, since they do the making. You still need your entity, business license, sales tax, and the brand trademark, and you are typically responsible for correct labeling. I have your brand side set up so you can hand production to the co-packer cleanly.

Do I charge sales tax on my product?

It depends on the state and the item. Many states exempt or reduce tax on grocery food but treat candy and soda differently, and wholesale to a store is a resale you do not tax with a resale certificate. I have your direct sales and wholesale set up correctly for each channel. See sales tax.
From a founder

From the kitchen table to a co-packer

I started making granola in my kitchen under the cottage food rules, but the moment a chain wanted to stock us, everything changed. File.Business moved me onto a co-packer, sorted out that their facility carried the FDA registration, and set up my resale certificate for wholesale. They filed the trademark too. I went from a farmers market to real shelves without a compliance scramble.
Founder
Packaged snack brand
Path
home to co-packer, mapped
FDA
registration sorted
Wholesale
resale set up for stores

Representative composite based on food brand outcomes. Nothing here is legal or tax advice; consult your professionals for your situation.

Food brand guides and tools

The entity, the licensing, and the tax

Practical resources for setting up and running a food or beverage brand. All free to read.

Guide

Form an LLC

The shield your brand needs.

Read the guide Guide

Food licensing and FDA

Cottage, commercial, and co-packer.

Read it Guide

Sales tax and resale

Direct and wholesale, by state.

Read it Live tool

Compliance calendar

Licenses and renewals, tracked.

Open the calendar
For the questions food founders actually ask

Straight answers on kitchens, the FDA, and tax

Can I sell food made in my home kitchen?
Sometimes, under your state's cottage food law. Most states let you sell certain low-risk foods, like baked goods, jams, and granola, made in a home kitchen, subject to sales limits, labeling rules, and usually selling only within the state. Higher-risk foods and interstate sales generally require a commercial kitchen. We check your state's cottage food rules and set you up on the right path.
Do I have to register with the FDA?
If you manufacture, process, pack, or hold packaged food for sale in the US, your facility generally must register with the FDA and renew every other year. Cottage food operations are often exempt, and if you use a co-packer, their facility is the one that is registered. We determine whether registration applies to you and handle it where it does.
What is a co-packer, and what changes if I use one?
A co-packer is a contract manufacturer that makes your product in their own facility, which is already FDA-registered and licensed. Using one means you do not run a kitchen, but you still need your entity, business license, sales tax, brand trademark, and correct labeling. We set up the brand side so you can focus on the product and sales.
Do I charge sales tax on food?
It depends on the state and the product. Many states exempt or reduce tax on grocery food but tax candy, soda, and prepared items differently. Wholesale to retailers is a resale and not taxed with a resale certificate, while direct-to-consumer sales follow the normal nexus rules. We register your sales tax and set collection to your products and channels. See sales tax registration.
Should my food brand be an LLC?
Most food brands form an LLC for its liability protection, which matters because you are selling a consumable product. It separates your personal assets from a claim tied to the business. Once you are consistently profitable, an S-corp election can reduce self-employment tax, and we flag when it is worth it. See S-corp election.
Do I need to trademark my brand?
If the name is central to your brand, yes. Shelf space and online listings are competitive, and a registered trademark gives you the strongest grounds to stop copycats and to protect the name as you expand into new stores and states. We can file the trademark alongside your formation. See trademark registration.
Who handles my nutrition label and allergen statement?
That is a product and food-safety matter, and it must follow FDA labeling rules including the Nutrition Facts panel and allergen disclosures. A food scientist or labeling specialist and your co-packer typically handle the label content. We flag that it is required and keep it on your checklist; we do not write the label.
Does this replace my food-safety consultant or attorney?
No, and this is not legal advice. A food-safety consultant is worth it for your process and labeling, and an attorney for a co-packer or retailer contract. File.Business forms the entity, handles licensing and FDA registration where it applies, sets up sales tax, and files the trademark, so your specialists focus on the product. Talk to us.
Licensed, registered, and protected

Get on the shelf with the paperwork behind you

Form the LLC, map your production path, get the licenses and FDA registration that apply, and let us handle sales tax and the trademark. Start now, or talk with our team about your brand.

Set up your brand See food licensing
SOC 2 Type II · Not a law firm · State fees passed through at cost