Selling cold brew coffee in Minnesota
What Minnesota's own pages say about making cold brew coffee at home, each line linked, and the path to a store when you want one to stock it.
Run the free rules check for it: no account, no AI.
Can I make cold brew coffee at home in Minnesota?
Minnesota's own pages, as ShelfStep read them on October 24, 2026, do not name cold brew coffee or foods like it, so this page cannot tell you whether a home kitchen in Minnesota may make it. Ask the Minnesota Department of Agriculture before you make it at home to sell. What the state allows and leaves out in general is on the Minnesota page.
What rules does cold brew coffee come under beyond Minnesota's?
Outside a home kitchen, ShelfStep's plan reads cold brew coffee as a beverage. The plan's own line for it, a default and not a law:
What the rules behind it say, in their own words, with the page and the day ShelfStep read each. ShelfStep does not decide which of them apply to your product.
- Juice and the juice HACCP rule21 CFR 120.1(a) says:“(a) Any juice sold as such or used as an ingredient in beverages shall be processed in accordance with the requirements of this part.”21 CFR 120.1(a) · Read Oct 8, 2026
- Juice HACCP and retail establishments21 CFR 120.3(j) and (l) says:“(2) For purposes of this part, processing does not include: (i) Harvesting, picking, or transporting raw agricultural ingredients of juice products, without otherwise engaging in processing; and (ii) The operation of a retail establishment. ... (l) Retail establishment is an operation that provides juice directly to the consumers and does not include an establishment that sells or distributes juice to other business entities as well as directly to consumers.”21 CFR 120.3(j) and (l) · Read Oct 8, 2026
- FDA's definition of a food facility21 CFR 1.227 says:“Facility means any establishment, structure, or structures under one ownership at one general physical location, or, in the case of a mobile facility, traveling to multiple locations, that manufactures/processes, packs, or holds food for consumption in the United States. ... The private residence of an individual is not a facility.”21 CFR 1.227 · Read Oct 8, 2026
Where may food made at home be sold in Minnesota?
- Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: where it may be sold2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption says:“(1) directly to the ultimate consumer at a community event or farmers' market; (2) directly from the individual's home to the ultimate consumer, to the extent allowed by local ordinance; or”2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption · Read Oct 24, 2026
- Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: where it may be sold2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption says:“Food products exempt under subdivision 1 may be sold over the Internet but must be delivered directly to the ultimate consumer by the individual who prepared the food product. The statement "These products are homemade and not subject to state inspection." must be displayed on the website that offers the exempt foods for purchase.”2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption · Read Oct 24, 2026
- Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: a yearly sales ceiling2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption says:“An individual selling exempt foods under this section is limited to total sales with gross receipts of $78,000 or less in a calendar year.”2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption · Read Oct 24, 2026
- Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: where it may be soldMDA, Cottage Food Law Guidance says:“The statement is to clarify it is a registration, not a food license, so therefore cottage foods cannot be wholesaled to businesses for resale.”MDA, Cottage Food Law Guidance · Read Oct 24, 2026
- Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: where it may be soldMDA, Cottage Food Law Guidance says:“NOTE: Cottage foods can cross state lines, with the exception of acidified jarred or canned foods (e.g., pickles, tomato sauce). Those foods must be both made and sold in Minnesota.”MDA, Cottage Food Law Guidance · Read Oct 24, 2026
What does Minnesota say a home-made label must carry?
- Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: the home-made label2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption says:“the prepared food offered for sale under this clause is labeled to accurately reflect the name and the registration number or address of the individual preparing and selling the food, the date on which the food was prepared, the ingredients and any possible allergens, and the statement "These products are homemade and not subject to state inspection."; and”2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption · Read Oct 24, 2026
- Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: the home-made label2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption says:“the individual displays at the point of sale a clearly legible sign or placard stating: "These products are homemade and not subject to state inspection."; and”2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption · Read Oct 24, 2026
How do I get cold brew coffee into a store in Minnesota?
- Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: what applies beyond the home-kitchen rulesMDA, Cottage Food Law Guidance says:“If you sell more than $78,000, you need a food license and meet applicable laws for making and selling food under that license.”MDA, Cottage Food Law Guidance · Read Oct 24, 2026
- Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: what applies beyond the home-kitchen rulesMDA, Cottage Food Law Guidance says:“Food licenses do not have restrictions on the amount of annual sales, allow for a wide variety of foods to be sold, and allow for several types of sales including shipping food in the mail. A food license requires the use of an approved kitchen space and equipment that meets applicable regulatory requirements.”MDA, Cottage Food Law Guidance · Read Oct 24, 2026
From there, ShelfStep's standard plan for a beverage has 19 steps. The first 6 help you find out where and how cold brew coffee can be made at all, so they come first:
- 1.
Write the recipe down with exact amounts
Cost, price, nutrition and the label are all worked out from this. Write it in the units you actually use; ShelfStep converts for the label. What matters is that someone else could make the same batch from what is written.
- 2.
Decide how it is kept: on a shelf, in the fridge or frozen
The planned storage helps the reviewer assess the process, shelf life and packaging.
In the plan: It decides which rules you follow.
- 3.
Find out where you are allowed to make it for sale
This finds out whether the state’s rules allow making this in a home kitchen or point to a commercial one — and that changes the cost and the timeline of everything after it. It is much cheaper to find out now than after buying packaging.
In the plan: Your state's home-kitchen rules, in its own words. Whether they cover your product is for your state's agency to say.
- 4.
Have the pH and water activity of a finished batch measured
These measurements give your reviewer information about the batch; they do not establish safety or storage conditions on their own.
In the plan: The two numbers the acidified-food rules name. Measured on the finished product, once it has settled.
- 6.
Look into FDA registration
Registration is how FDA knows your facility exists; the plan is what an inspector or a buyer’s audit asks to see. Both are far easier to do now than during either.
In the plan: Look into registration with FDA. Any filing your Process Authority letter names belongs here too.
Every step, with its reason and what it typically costs, is on the cold brew coffee page:
Where do I go from here?
Check the rules for yours, then keep it
The rules check runs the same deterministic engine ShelfStep uses inside the app, on your answers, and quotes the sentences each rule rests on, with their links and the day ShelfStep read them. It does not decide which apply. It is free, needs no account and uses no AI. A ShelfStep workspace then keeps your plan, your records and the dates, free for one product.