Selling Food From Home in NZ — Yes, You Can

Can you legally sell food from home in NZ?

Yes. The Food Act 2014 regulates food businesses by risk, not by venue — a home kitchen can be the base of a fully registered food business, and plenty are. Broadly, home-based selling follows one of three paths, and MPI’s Who is exempt from Food Act requirements? page is the official map:

Which path is yours depends on exactly what you make and who buys it. The authoritative answer for your food is MPI’s My Food Rules tool — a free questionnaire that takes up to 15 minutes and tells you which rules apply.

The home-baking exemption, explained

In October 2025 the Government announced simpler rules for home-based cake makers, and from November 2025 they took effect: New Zealand Food Safety issued the Food Notice: Class exemption from operating under a registered food control plan or national programme 2025 (published 3 November 2025). Qualifying home bakers no longer face ongoing verification, and ministers said the ongoing verification and registration costs being removed could in some cases top $1,000 a year (RNZ, 16 October 2025).

All three conditions must be true

Per MPI’s guidance on the Notice, the exemption only applies when you are:

What counts as a “cake”?

MPI’s guidance lists both sides explicitly — and some of the “not a cake” entries surprise people:

What puts you outside the exemption

• Selling for resale or to other businesses. Your cakes cannot be sold on by anyone else — including a registered food business you also run. MPI’s example: you cannot sell your exempt home-baked cakes from a registered coffee cart, even your own.
• Making other foods that need registration. If you also make cookies, biscuits or bread to sell, the exemption does not apply — you still need to register under the appropriate measure for those foods.
• Baking in commercial premises. The exemption is for home kitchens only.
• Anything that needs the fridge to stay safe. Chilled cakes and cheesecakes sit outside the definition. If your filling or icing needs refrigeration — fresh cream is the classic question — treat it as an edge case: MPI’s guidance says you have to decide whether your cake meets the shelf-stable definition, so check before you rely on it.

One thing that is not a condition: volume. MPI’s guidance confirms there is no limit to the number of cakes you can sell under the exemption.

What exempt bakers still must do

Exempt does not mean unregulated. The Food Act 2014 still requires your food to be safe (it will not make people sick) and suitable (it meets composition requirements, you can provide consumer information such as allergens, and it is in the condition a customer expects). MPI’s exemptions page adds conditions including informing MPI if something goes wrong and being able to recall unsafe or unsuitable food. Coverage of the announcement also noted home bakers will be expected to take part in a free training programme once it becomes available (RNZ).

How to start using the exemption

Not exempt? What being registered from home actually involves

If you make chilled desserts, meals, sauces, preserves, cookies or anything else outside the exemption, you register — and that is far less scary than it sounds. Thousands of NZ food businesses operate under these rules, home kitchens among them. Three parts:

Records that fit a home kitchen

A home-based food business rarely has a back office or a shelf of folders — but it always has a phone on the bench. KitchenSorted’s free plan keeps your daily records there: fridge temperatures, deliveries and cleaning logged in a few taps, each entry dated and marked with who did it, the way the regulations expect of any record. It is free forever for the daily diary — here is exactly what free includes, and an honest look at when paper is fine.

When verification approaches, 4 years of history, verification packs and reminders live in the paid plan — your free-plan records are never deleted, and they unlock when you upgrade. And if your home baking heads to the Saturday market, read the companion guide: market stall food rules in NZ.

Selling food from home FAQs

Can I sell my exempt home-baked cakes at a market stall?

Potentially, yes. MPI’s guidance says the exemption allows shelf-stable cakes made in a home kitchen to be sold directly to the customer from a market stall — what it does not allow is your cakes being sold by a registered food business, even one you run yourself. Markets have their own practicalities too: see our market stall food rules guide.

Is there a limit to how many cakes I can sell?

No — MPI’s guidance states there is no limit to the number of cakes sold under the exemption. The boundaries are about what you sell and to whom, not how much: add cookies or cheesecake to your range, or supply a café for resale, and you are outside the exemption for those activities.

I sell cookies, preserves or sauces from home — am I exempt?

Generally no. Cookies and biscuits are explicitly not “cakes” under MPI’s guidance, and the exemption covers shelf-stable cakes only — other foods still require registration under the appropriate measure (you can also apply to MPI for a case-by-case exemption for other foods). Which measure applies to your product is a question for My Food Rules.

I already registered my home baking business — what now?

Check your business against all the conditions of the Notice. If it qualifies, MPI’s guidance says to speak with your registration authority to arrange cancelling your registration — after which you stop paying the food business levy from the next financial year and no longer undergo verification. If any part of your range falls outside the exemption, stay registered for that part and keep your records current.