Do You Need a Nutrition Facts Label to Sell at a Farmers Market?

Farmers market vendors ask this constantly, and the honest answer is "it depends on three things": what you’re selling, how you’re selling it, and what you say about it on the package. Here’s how to actually work it out.

The two exemptions that usually cover a farmers market stand

Almost every home-based or small-batch vendor at a farmers market is relying on one of two overlapping exemptions from the full FDA Nutrition Facts panel:

1. Your state’s cottage food law

Cottage food laws are state-level rules that let you make certain low-risk foods in a home kitchen and sell them directly to consumers — at a farmers market, farm stand, or online pickup — without a commercial kitchen license or a full Nutrition Facts panel. In place of the panel, states require a short disclosure statement (often something like "Made in a home kitchen not subject to state inspection"), and they cap your allowed foods and annual sales. See our state-by-state cottage food label guide for your state’s exact wording and sales cap.

2. The FDA’s small-business nutrition labeling exemption

Separate from state cottage food law, federal rules under 21 CFR 101.9(j)(1) exempt a food from the Nutrition Facts requirement if the person or business selling it has annual gross sales of that specific food to consumers of no more than $50,000, and total food sales (all products combined) of no more than $500,000 — as long as the label and any advertising make no nutrient content or health claims. This exemption applies regardless of whether you’re a registered cottage food operation, which is why it usually stacks neatly on top of state cottage food coverage for a typical market vendor.

What breaks the exemption

Any one of these can push you out of the exemption and into full Nutrition Facts territory:

• Nutrient content or health claims. Words like "low fat," "high protein," "heart-healthy," or "sugar-free" on your packaging or table signage trigger a mandatory Nutrition Facts panel — regardless of how small your sales are.
• Wholesale accounts. Selling to a retailer, café, or restaurant that resells your product moves you out of direct-to-consumer sales. Many state cottage food laws restrict or forbid wholesale entirely, and it can put you under standard retail food labeling rules.
• Shipping or selling online across state lines. Cottage food exemptions are state-law creations built around in-person, in-state sales. Once product crosses a state line, you’re on much firmer FDA interstate-commerce ground, and the safe assumption is that the state exemption no longer applies.
• Exceeding your state’s cottage food sales cap. Growing past the cap (commonly somewhere between $25,000 and $75,000 depending on the state) generally means moving into a licensed or commercial kitchen — and typically full federal labeling along with it.

What you still need, exemption or not

Being exempt from the full Nutrition Facts panel does not mean your label is a blank slate. You still need:

• Allergen disclosure. The Big 9 allergen labeling requirement (milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, sesame) is not waived by the small-business or cottage food exemption. See our allergen labeling guide.
• Your state’s required cottage food disclosure statement, in the exact wording and font size it specifies.
• Business name and address.
• An accurate ingredient list in descending order by weight.
• A truthful net weight or count.

A practical checklist before market day

1. Confirm your product is on your state’s approved cottage food list.
2. Add the exact required disclosure statement for your state — not a paraphrase.
3. List all ingredients and bold or call out any of the Big 9 allergens.
4. Remove any nutrient content or health claims unless you’re prepared to add a full Nutrition Facts panel.
5. Track your running annual sales against your state’s cap.
6. If you plan to sell wholesale or ship out of state, treat that channel as a separate compliance question — don’t assume your farmers market label covers it.