Is it legal to use box mixes if you have a cake business? I was just curious on this and if you have to pay the company anything for using their mixes (or if you get a discount!)

No, it is not illegal to use cake mixes. In fact, large food distributors such as US Foods and Sysco sell cake mixes in 50 pound sacks for restaurants and commercial food establishments. However, you can not advertise that you make things from scratch if you don't. That would violate truth in advertising laws. Once you buy the mix, you owe the company who made it nothing else.

As far as the discount part you usually get a price break if you buy in bilk. Like at sam's or walmart or one of the club type shopping stores.

The shop that I currently work in as well as one I worked in previously, both use(d) boxed mixes. We are open to our customers that we use a mix, but that we bake fresh and use homemade buttercream.

You would be surprised at how many people use box mixes then add differnt ingredients to them to make it how we want it.

I use box mixes and my customer don't care as long as they taste good!

Marci is right.Most of the restaraunts and larger bakeries use bulk size cake mixes also as scratch is just too expensive.As long as you don't say it is scratch etc...you are fine.I make all my icings from scratch though...

Does anyone know of any distributors that sell the bulk cake mixes like 50lb bags. US or Can.?
Thanks

The bakery I used to work at used "DAWN" cake mix. In my opinion, it's okay as a mix. I'd use a lot of creamy filling and creamy buttercream to offset the dryness. The chocolate cake mix looks a little red instead of brown to me. My local cake supply shop sells it in 50lb bags or packaged as 1 mix. The mix has dried eggs in it so you only have to add water to mix it up.

Sorry, double post.

I'm a home-based cakery that *only* uses boxed mixes. My preference for them is this:

~ ease of use
~ consistant baking results
~ keep fresher longer

I use doctored mix recipes. Not a single customer has ever asked if I bake from scratch. They know my quality and my decorating style.

I'm confused on why you would think it was "illegal" to use a box mix? Surely you don't think every single food item in every single restaurant and bakery is made from scratch, do you? You see name brand ketchup on restaurant tables .... but you don't think it's "illegal" to use a name brand pre-packaged ketchup instead of making your own, right? Food business use a lot of prepackaged name brand items .... gosh, I don't see how they can be in business without using them (I mean, I don't grow my own corn or kill my own chicken in my catering.)

Walk thru a GFS .... they don't sell those large qty mixes and frozen items to housewives.

I'm not picking on you ..... a lot of people seem to be under the illusion that these businesses make everything from scratch. I've no idea how that idea got started.

I had a lady "intern" with me on a 3-day catering. She was shocked that we didn't stand there and actually peel potatoes to feed 100 college guys. "But I can see why that's not possible now!" she said.

Some places do make a lot of things from scratch ..... as evidenced by the vast number of successful scratch bakers here on CC. But it's not illegal not to make everything from scratch.

Wow, thanks for the fast replies... I know that a lot of the places around here make everything by scratch and I thought that's a LOT of work (and money!) I use DH and everyone loves it so I was hoping that I would be able to continue using them if I began a business... thanks!

Yup.

I consider a mix ONE of the ELEVEN ingredients I use in making cake batter. So to me it's just that....an ingredient.