question...i bake cupcakes in michigan at home and wanted to start selling at markets, malls etc but i was wondering, do my cupcakes have to be pre-individually wrapped or can i just have them in packs by the dozen and package as i go, by letting my customers choose the ones they want and build their own dozen?? i know the ingrdients have to be listed but what if i just leave the ingredients posted somewhere on my booth or table. im still new to this all. please also give me any other helpful info i may need to know. tia!!!

i also sometimes use box mix, do i just list ingredients like they have them listed on the box for example: betty crocker white cake mix (all the ingredietnts listed here), vanilla extract (all ingredients lised here) and so forth... let me know. thanks

I live in Michigan. You have to list all ingredients... So, the cake mix and all it's ingredients and then the milk/water, eggs, oil, flavorings, etc. You have to list them by approximate weight... so ascending from heavy to light... just your best guess.
And, you are not actually supposed to handle food at the markets. It should be all packaged and ready to sell. If you google "Michigan Cottage Law" there is a really nice website that covers most of it. How to package, how to label, etc. Also, the small business and technology association here in Michigan will host a class on it all if you have a local chapter... mine goes out of my local chamber of commerce.
Good luck!
I will say that doing cupcakes and cakes at markets is very difficult. They don't hold up well in the heat, so whatever leftovers you have will end up needing to be thrown away because they taste awful after sitting out... plus the buttercream becomes sort of an issue in the heat... it would spoil. So, just be careful not to give anyone food poisoning or suffer a crazy amount of product loss.

AThanx leslie!!! Ive read the mi cottage law site but i was jus so confused about the packaging part. I think i will chose not to do the market thing because of the outside circumstances. But i was looking into getting a booth at the mall or selling at gilbralter trade indoors. Gilbralter said i must follow all cottage laws. But i just want to make sure i am following all laws. I dont know who to contact with my questions. But i will look into the local chapter like u said. Thanx again.

I'm in Sterling Heights and I looked into selling at the Gibraltar in Mt Clemens.

Have you been there?

We did a quick walk around and I was not impressed. The more I looked at what other people were buying and selling, the more I thought "These are not the type of people I want to sell to." It's expected at a public market for people to want to barter and bargain, but to me it was on an insane level. Everything was dirt cheap already and everyone seemed to want the prices even lower. I didn't expect that I would make very much profit with having to have my prices extremely low to get them to sell.

Doesn't seem worth it to me. Just my opinion!

AThats true the atmosphere isnt what i wanted but im leaving it as an last resort option if the retail mall thing falls thru. I also may host a few bake sales in my neighborhood that way i can just keep things in the house cool and my buttercream wont melt. Have you sold you pastries anywhere yet?

I did a few farmers markets and small events. They were few and far between.

Most of my business comes from word of mouth from friends recommending me to friends. I'm sorry, I'm probably not going to be much help with finding a venue to sell. I just have a strong opinion on selling at Gibraltar. There are quite a few farmers markets around the lake in the summer, so if you do decide to do markets, I'd look there.

ok so now my question is how do i fit all the ingredients on that small label if i have to packeage them indiviudally??? the font must be really small. since i use cake mix, extracts, sometimes pudding mix, lemonade concentrate, strawberries, cookie dough, oreos, chips ahoy, chocolate chips, smuckers jam, candy bars etc...this is very stressful. but i really wann find a way that works for me.