Food Selling Websites for Home-Based Makers

Are you a baker or a candy maker? Maybe you have a knack for homemade bread or a family recipe that you want to market. If you're wondering how to sell food from home, selling homemade food online could be the answer.

According to IRI's innovation report, dramatic shifts brought on by more people working at home— and at-home consumption—have changed how people shop. In other words, food selling websites are more popular than ever. IRI's report says smaller businesses drove market growth as much as the prominent players did in 2020.

What's more, consumers look for product origins, lifestyle diets, and self-care when they're shopping online. So, when you consider how to sell food online, think about how you want to promote your brand.

Food Website Design

Food website design includes making the site look great, with pictures that show off your products. It's also an opportunity for your audience to determine what they can expect from your brand. With so many consumers looking for product origin stories, your about us page is an excellent opportunity to give them what they want.

Check out Lisa Fay Bakes' about us page content sample for food website specializing in vegan products. In this about us page example, Lisa introduces her business, letting her customers know she operates a licensed home bakery specializing in products without dairy or eggs. She also supplies a link to her products' complete ingredients lists.

This home-based food business operator nailed it when it comes to project origins and catering to lifestyle diets.

Food Branding

Food branding is a way to create an emotional bond with your audience. Website design, product packaging, logo, colors, and fonts can conjure feelings like safety, trust, and pleasure. In short, branding helps you express your personality and stand out among your competitors.

Website Photography

First, do some research on Instagram, Pinterest, and competitor food selling websites. Take note of the photos that stand out to use for inspiration. What is it that draws you to these images—color, design, lighting?

Think about the texture, props, and how you arrange and stage your food products. Try shooting at different angles. The best food websites design sets the scene and creates a certain mood in your photos.

It's also best to use a tripod and edit the images to ensure they remain consistent and send the intended message. For example, Kultured Kombucha uses freshly juiced fruits and ginger in every batch of their artisan kombucha. Their product photography is spot on, too.

The company conveys the idea of health using fresh strawberries, cut lemon, and pieces of ginger to illustrate what's in the bottle of their Strawberry Lemon Ginger Kombucha. Again, lifestyle diets are trending, and kombucha is a product that fits.

User Experience

A user interface is what allows customers to browse and make their purchases. All the functions should be consistent, intuitive, and responsive. Consumers have pretty high expectations when it comes to shopping online.

Castiron empowers home-based food businesses with integrated website creation that streamlines marketing, fulfillment, and more. This online shopping platform is for kitchen-based creators, with extras such as allergen and dietary tools to help you keep your customers safe.

The platform provides a fast and straightforward way to launch and grow your food business. A built-in inventory management system ensures you won't sell more products than you have on hand. Even better? You can accept online payments through Castiron and track sales, taxes, and fees.

Pros and Cons of eCommerce

Digital marketing is one of the most significant advantages of selling food online. Social media, influencer marketing, and content marketing are free to low-cost ways to advertise any business. You can include a link in your content and a call to action to drive business directly to your product if you have a website.

On the other hand, consumers often want to pick food in person. That's why it's important to give them a reason to choose you, whether it's a unique new product, promotional discounts, or free shipping.

Shelf life is another potential disadvantage to selling food online. The thing is, non-perishable food products are strong sellers and are more likely to comply with cottage food laws. The food industry has more regulations than many industries, but food safety is a good reason for that.

At any rate, when you're selling food online, you must stay compliant with your state's cottage food laws. The plus side to that is you can find a niche that makes your product unique.

Food Websites Templates

Castiron's free food websites templates are responsible for helping create some of the best food websites 2020. Make sure to check out more of our food website examples. While there are more choices and platforms for food selling websites, most don't concentrate on this specific industry.

If you're thinking about building a website for your home-based food business, launch it in minutes with our food ecommerce website template. And join our community, The Kitchen, to connect and learn from other kitchen-based creators.