Legal Question in Business Law in Georgia

Nutritional labeling is required by federal law.

You will also have to meet state and county food preparation and licensing laws and regulations. You also have to meet local zoning laws. This is likely not something you can do at home, so your business will need a location.

You will need a lawyer to draft warnings on products (like soy, nuts, etc).

You will also need to buy a large amount of liability insurance. I'd say $10 to $50 million in coverage is a must, as one mistake could be a multimillion dollar suit. My numbers may honestly be too low.

Most food cannot be patented. However, a patent may be obtained for any new, useful, unobvious invention. You also have to be wary that you have no infringed on anyone else's patent. So you need an IP lawyer. You also may be needing to trademark product designs and packaging and names, and he can help with that.

Depending on what you sell, in addition to state regulations, you may be subject to federal inspections.

You will need a great deal of capital to cover the legal and regulatory costs (certainly tens of thousands of dollars if not more) and a large amount to cover your IP lawyer costs. So this is not a business on a shoestring.

Useful resources:

Getting Started in the Food Specialty Business,

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service Bulletin 1051:

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/business/food_business.pdf

Is Your Agribusiness Project Feasible?,

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service Bulletin 1066: (pdf only)

http://pubsadmin.caes.uga.edu/files/pdf/B 1066_2.PDF

Starting a New Food Business Website, with helpful links to regulations and University of Georgia Food Science and Technology resources available to help:

http://www.caes.uga.edu/departments/fst/extension/EFS_SNFB.html

As you can see, starting a food production business is very expensive. Most people who want to get in on small scale start very small building a name. Farmers Markets and maybe even a food truck might be a good start (and you will still need licenses, etc. for that). Then talk a couple stores to carry it (after you convince them that it is better than Hershey's for the valuable shelf space). The next step might be to contract with a manufacturer to make and package the product. They will want big money upfront. Many regional products are made this way and there are big generic facilities that do this. As far as patents, there are many candy companies that spend tens of millions a year on product development. Think yours is new? It can be the best candy out there, but unless you get someone to buy it, it makes no difference. Trying to get a patent is likely the least important thing. Many famous products have no IP protection beyond the secret recipe - the paperwork means it is not a secret.

As you can see, starting a food production business is very expensive. Most people who want to get in on small scale start very small building a name. Farmers Markets and maybe even a food truck might be a good start (and you will still need licenses, etc. for that). Then talk a couple stores to carry it (after you convince them that it is better than Hershey's for the valuable shelf space). The next step might be to contract with a manufacturer to make and package the product. They will want big money upfront. Many regional products are made this way and there are big generic facilities that do this. As far as patents, there are many candy companies that spend tens of millions a year on product development. Think yours is new? It can be the best candy out there, but unless you get someone to buy it, it makes no difference. Trying to get a patent is likely the least important thing. Many famous products have no IP protection beyond the secret recipe - the paperwork means it is not a secret.