Do I need an FSSAI licence to start?

Yes, to sell. You can build your store and get everything ready while your registration or licence is being processed. What you cannot do is accept or fulfil orders until it is valid and verified on your store.

This is not a Cakesify rule

Selling food in India without the appropriate FSSAI registration or licence is against the law, for you and for the platform listing you. Your FSSAI number is also displayed on your listings, which is part of what makes a customer trust an unfamiliar home kitchen.

If you do not have one yet

Apply. For most home kitchens it is a basic registration rather than a full licence, and it is not expensive or complicated. Apply through the FSSAI portal, then add the details to your store once you have them.

Use the waiting time to build your catalogue. Ten good products with proper photos and honest descriptions takes longer than people expect.

What you can do while you wait

• Create your account and store
• Write your store description
• Add all your products
• Set your prices, variants and prep times
• Configure delivery and payouts

What you cannot do is go live and take real orders.

Once you have it

Add the details to your store to activate it. See also What happens when my FSSAI expires?, because the renewal date matters more than people think.