Description

Most people run a business to make a profit, but Joanne is not too worried about that aspect of it. Rather, she cares much more about supporting her community and having fun in retirement!

Joanne Littau lives in Denver, CO and has been selling jams, jellies, preserves, and fruit butters since 2014 with her cottage food business, The Jelly Jar. Some of her creations have won prizes at county fairs in Colorado.

I have known Joanne for many years and visited her market a few years ago. I even had an unopened jar of her marmalade in the fridge, which I tasted in real-time during the interview!

Joanne talks about why it’s difficult to make money from selling preserves, what practical tips to follow when canning goods, and what makes the cottage food community so special.

What You’ll Learn

• Which jam flavors sell well, and which ones surprisingly do not
• How to win prizes when submitting preserves at a county fair
• How to use safe, tested, and proven canning recipes
• Why some jars don’t seal when using the water bath canning method
• How to switch from Ball jars to a much less expensive generic brand
• Why it’s difficult to make money from selling preserves
• Why Joanne still runs her business, even though she doesn’t make much profit
• The challenge of sourcing produce in a big city like Denver
• How to prevent cross contamination with kitchen equipment
• The advantages of taking an in-person food safety course
• How to engage customers by advertising your items as “junk free”
• The results of my real-time taste test with Joanne’s marmalade
• About tax requirements and the “Colorado cottage food bible”
• What makes the cottage food community so special

Resources

The Jelly Jar, LLC Facebook Page

Ball jars, Ball books, and the So Easy To Preserve book

CSU Cottage Food Safety Training

Colorado Cottage Food Peeps Facebook Group

The Colorado Cottage Food Bible (DR 1002)

Colorado Cottage Food Law

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/12