How to start a meal prep business in Georgia

The Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) licenses and inspects retail packaged meal preparation businesses: those that prepare and package meals for sale to the end consumer. Its retail meal processor guidelines say these operators must be licensed as food sales establishments and inspected before they operate. Wholesale to retailers or institutions, restaurants and catering are outside those guidelines, and the GDA notes that which agency has jurisdiction can depend on the business model.

The application goes to the GDA Retail Food Program with a business plan and a product line menu, no more than 90 days and no fewer than 30 days before you plan to open. A GDA inspector carries out a pre-inspection, and the application cannot move forward until you pass it. You then submit Secure and Verifiable documents proving citizenship or lawful residence, pay the fee online, and receive the license certificate within 1 to 7 business days of payment.

License fees run in five tiers: $100, $150, $200, $250 and $300. Licenses run from July 1 to June 30 and are renewed every year by July 1. There is no proration for a new license, and a 50% late penalty applies to renewals not completed by September 1.

Not for meals. Georgia's cottage food law, updated by House Bill 398, which took effect on July 1, 2025, removed the state cottage food license and its fee, but it still allows only foods that are not potentially hazardous: breads, cakes, cookies, candies, fruit pies, jams and jellies, dried fruit, granola and similar items. Cottage food operators must complete an ANSI-accredited food safety program, and food handler training is acceptable.

The GDA's basic requirements for retail food also say that food prepared in a private home may not be used or offered in a food sales establishment. A meal prep menu built on cooked chicken, beef, fish and rice needs a licensed commercial kitchen: rented time in a shared kitchen, or a space of your own. The license application asks whether you operate in a shared kitchen.

If your model is closer to a restaurant or a caterer, the county is involved instead. Food service establishments operate under the Georgia Department of Public Health's Food Service Rules (511-6-1), revised on February 12, 2025 to adopt the 2022 FDA Food Code, and are handled by the county environmental health office. In Fulton County, the fee schedule effective April 1, 2022 charges $450, $600 or $750 for new facility plan review and the same amounts for the annual food service inspection, by risk type I, II or III.

Under Retail Food Sales Regulation 40-7-1-.03(3), firms that handle time and temperature control for safety foods and carry out activities such as hot holding or cooling must have at least one employee with supervisory and management responsibility who is a Certified Food Protection Manager. The certificate comes from passing a test accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The certified manager does not need to be present at all times, but a person in charge must be present during all hours of operation.

The GDA's meal processor guidelines set the cooling rule: cooked food must drop from 135°F to 70°F within the first 2 hours, and from 70°F to 41°F or below within a further 4 hours, checked with probe thermometers. Cold food is held at no more than 41°F and hot food at no less than 135°F. Food employees must be informed of their duty to report symptoms, exposures and illnesses to management.

The GDA lists the elements of a food label: a statement of identity, the net quantity in both standard and metric units, Nutrition Facts, an ingredients statement in descending order by weight, the allergen declaration, a handling statement, a production code and a declaration of responsibility with the business's physical address. The statement of identity and net quantity go on the principal display panel. The GDA notes that the FDA exempts small businesses from Nutrition Facts, but meal prep customers usually expect them, and a label that makes a health claim has to carry them.

Two elements catch people out. Foods that need temperature control carry a handling statement such as "Keep Refrigerated" or "Keep Frozen", and every package carries a production code showing when it was made, so a recall can find it.

The nine major allergens are milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, sesame and soybeans. They must appear in the ingredients statement or in a "Contains" statement immediately after it. Sesame became the ninth major allergen on January 1, 2023.

None of the official sources reviewed for this guide makes business insurance a legal requirement for a meal prep company in Georgia. Shared kitchens, landlords and wholesale customers usually ask for general and product liability cover, and a vehicle used for deliveries needs cover that includes business use. Ask an insurance broker which policies fit your kitchen and your delivery model.

A limited liability company is registered with the Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia's official guide gives the filing fee as $100 online, or $110 by mail or in person, with extra fees for expedited processing. Every LLC must then file an annual registration between January 1 and April 1, and failing to file leads to administrative dissolution.

Anyone who meets the definition of a dealer must register for a sales and use tax number through the Georgia Tax Center, even if every sale is online. The Department of Revenue says the account number usually arrives by email within 15 minutes of registering online.

Georgia exempts food and food ingredients from state, but not local, sales tax when sold to individuals for off-premises consumption. Prepared food is outside that exemption and is taxed at both state and local rates. The Department of Revenue defines prepared food as food sold heated or heated by the seller, food with two or more ingredients mixed or combined by the seller and sold as a single item, or food sold with eating utensils provided by the seller. A cooked meal made from several ingredients can fit the second test, so ask the Department of Revenue how your menu is treated before you set prices. The local rate generally follows the county where the buyer receives the goods.

The GDA's meal processor guidelines hold the license holder responsible for the product's integrity, security and temperature until the end consumer takes possession. Meals are held at 41°F or below during storage, transport and pickup, frozen meals stay frozen, and cooked and cooled meals stored at 41°F must be consumed within 7 days, counting the day of preparation as day 1.

Each item travels in a food-grade secured container with a lid, or in a sealed package. You may sell on site, deliver after payment, or deliver to a drop-off point where customers collect after paying. Through a Georgia summer that means insulated carriers, short routes and windows customers can be home for.

Price each meal from its real cost: ingredients, packaging and labels, then kitchen rent, labor, delivery and card fees spread across the meals you sell. Weekly plans with a cut-off tell you exactly what to buy and cook before you spend anything.

Once orders arrive every week, the work is keeping the menu, the cut-offs, the kitchen's quantities, the labels and the delivery routes in step. Mealforma runs orders, subscriptions, kitchen production, labels and delivery routes on one system, for a flat monthly price and never a cut of your sales.