The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: JarmFarm on January 05, 2011, 04:22:58 pm
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J.A.R.M Farm is thinking of open a farm shop, we need ideas and what things you expect in a farm shop, meat, veg ect.....????
Hope you can help.
J.A.R.M Farm
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as with any new venture visit the opposition your location ie main road or back of beyond how far from population you are you will need planning permission insurance parking facility's possibly a visitor attraction ie pigs/sheep/goats/horses purpose built facilities or well modified farm buildings hygiene certificates and a shed load of money o and the council will want rates and lots of good luck
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What I find odd when visiting farm shops (I expect to find produce grown on Uk farms - the more local the better), are Mangos, Dates and the like.
Whatever you do try to keep your produce fresh. The local farm shop to me had so much withering rotting veg that after a couple of visits I never went back.
:farmer:
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Good luck with your new venture - where are you gonna be located - are you near major highways - think signposting - marketing!
Who are your potential customers gonna be - want are their need - how can you fulfill them - what make you different etc
Happy to help if i can...
Cheers Tim
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I think a few handmade gift/craft type things would be a welcome addition (plus they don't go off ;)) Seeds and gardening stuff maybe ?
You could advertise my slate signs and I could send some samples to display ;D ;D ;D (I'm kinda half joking ;) but you can let me know if you'd be interested)
Or maybe there's someone close to you that's a part time crafter needing an outlet ? Cards, candles, soaps (thinking Plumseverywhere with her goats milk soap) all sorts of pretty and usefull things - couldn't hurt ?
HTH
Karen
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Good Luck with the venture.
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several really good farm shops by me,ones organic ones not they sell meat eggs cheeses local grown food ect.theres also attractions and a food fair once a year also welly walks and a farm kitchen with a well known chef who cooks the farm fresh produce there.
pm me for links if you want
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agree with all of the above and considering doing the same myself.....whereabouts are you located?
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We dont have farm shops up here as most folk do their own meat and veg but my family visit one regularly cause they sell different meats as specialities such as Ostritch . A farm shop we visited when we lived in England sold many kinds of homemade sausages and pies.Never been to one that sold crafts but times have changed since I last went to one.Whatever you sell it must be fresh with a real butcher cutting meat as requested and good quality veg and sacks of tatties. A small garden centre on the side will attract the ladies , xmas trees at xmas, seasonal planters etc. Good luck.
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what I really hate is if they sell fancy stuff and gifts, all made abroad ...like £ 10 for 300ml olive oil with garlic ::) next to soap bars from China - - sure you get my drift. Pick a style and stick to it, be unique, be local. support your local food producers and artisans like selling local artists photos or paintings on the walls! Have a coffee shop with really good coffee and great value home made cakes! I'm sure you have a treasure chest in your area! These work great here because they made a name through being unique -
http://www.pillars.co.uk/Shop.htm
http://www.dayoutwiththekids.co.uk/family-fun/Muddy_Boots/3089
http://www.cairniefruitfarm.co.uk/
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Look at where you are and also what else is available so you're not in direct competition and offer something specific and unique above the normal range of fruit and veg expected. Agree with NFD that a focus on local produce is better than trying to mimic supermarket range of imported varieties, and for me a coffee shop is a must as a draw. I frequent several local farm shops regularly rather than just one, as they all have strengths and weaknesses and I also don't like to get bored so you aren't competing in prices, but in being a new variation on the very popular theme.
I have had plans to do exactly this kind of project for several years, but not with the current property, so it's been a factor of places I've viewed in the past to come up with what each one could do and every property is different in what you can develop there so know your property, know your area and your market and start with a couple of things you can manage, leaving scope to expand and develop rather than try and do it all in one go and end up with second rate overstretched resources.
Local crafts is always a winner and doesn't involve you in direct work other than the till sales you are already manning so it makes sense. It also gives you an audience of friends/family of all the crafts folk for your coffees and folk to tell their friends to come and look.
The quality of your coffee and home baking is probably what will make or break you so don't skimp there, along with the attitude of any part time staff you employ and the comfort/attractiveness of the cafe area, carparking convenience for wet weather, disabled facilities a must obviously, but go the extra mile and folk will repay with loyalty - so also change some of the menu occasionally but keep a strong base of regular items that are top sellers as some folk like the same thing time and again and others like to try something different.
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When we lived in UK we shopped at a not very local farm shop, where the produce was good and varied. I was always disappointed that the eggs were not genuine free range.
Oddly we found the farm shop because it was attached to the horse feed merchants.
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Toilets - decent toilets. ;D Seriously, nothing puts folk off more than horrid toilets, specially if you have a food outlet.
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i would love to do that - looked into it, 3 good local ones nearby and its seems like alot of work that takes me away from the animals so decided against it for this decade!
doesnt have to be posh, a local one to us has a shed next the main road (his property is alongside) and u help yourself to fruit veg and pay at honesty box, however he now has cctv so not everyone was honest. i found the road too busy to stop safely so dont really use it incase kids run into road. most veg is homegrown but some was supermarket-like so i thought that was odd. if im buying apples from farmshop, i really want wonky tasty ones, not tesco lookalikes! did have good honey tho!!
our other farm shop is really nice and posh, sell homegrown meat etc award winning etc but its actually quite expensive.
u need to find your slot in the market that suits you and your customers.
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I think the crucial thing about selling now is to try to sell items that are both made in the UK and are quality. I mention this as I have heard more than once recently that in times of depression and general economic woes people send less but are prepared to buy a quality item every now and again. ¨Perhaps as it will last longer or as a kind of cheer me up treat. This is true here in the Ardennes and has been for a long time.
Also if I had a shop I would not stock anything Chinese and I would advertise the fact. There is a growing backlash to all this crap that is being sold.
I would also have a ' secondhand corner ' stuff completely unrelated to farm food but related to food preparation and cooking.. Decent secondhand items such as cookbooks , manual kitchen implements, again quality used stuff.
Hope that helps
Kevin
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We have a very successful farm shop near us, they started off with a yearly second hand book sale about 10 years ago that grew and grew, now they have just built a lovely big shop with a cafe etc, they have a map of all the local produce they sell, honey, jams, cakes, soaps etc all bought in from the surrounding villiages, they hold various events through the year, open days, demo days, nativity evening etc, they have freezers full of home cooked food made on the premises, as well as thier own meat, eggs and veg, i guess you are only limited by your imagination. But I would say that local produce is the most important for me, there are lots of people out there making/growing things that would love an outlet opportunity. Good luck in your venture
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JarmFarm you can add dairy products to your list, there will be a huge demand of milk, cheese, curd, butter etc so it will be really good for you to offer them.
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The one near us does a weekly veg box at a very reasonable price, you can actually see much of their produce is growing outside the shop which I like. They support local small businesses so all the meat comes from local cattle/pig/chicken owners. THe lady who owns it makes her own cakes, chutney's jams... and they buy in fudge made from a local fudge maker. Oh...and they sell my soap ;)
The couple who own it are well known in the surrounding villages as they are at fetes/village shows etc and they always support school raffles with lovely prizes.
I think if they started importing fancy stuff from abroad I'd be less inclined to shop there, except they are friends now so I know I still would but I know what I mean, lol.
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Wow, lots of good ideas here, as a 'consumer' particularly like the ideas of local produce (inc LOCAL honey), fresh fruit and veg, free range eggs (inc duck eggs), tea shop (home baked cakes), decent none factory produced chutneys and second hand books (farming / craft / cookery / gardening etc) for sale (away from the food though and closer to the till so books are looked at on way out after any food produce handled, not the other way around).
I wouldn't be much of a customer as I have/make 'all of the above' myself but so many people don't have the time or knowhow.
:farmer:
Cor, I've got an empty farm building right by the road..... ;D
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Just think about how much time you have spare to run a shop (alongside a smalholding with/without livestock, veg/fruit garden/polytunnel), and how much it would cost to employ someone/do the paperwork/man the till?
But if you have the space and are local to one/several small towns - having meeting room space for local groups, like for example garden/horticultural/crafty groups like spinners/knitters etc would also possibly create some customers. A cafe is a must though!
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I love farm shops! WHen you go for a day out you want ! something to buy thats reasonable and a bit different, maybe local, a gift thats a bit crafty and I go for local, again... a cuppa and a cake thats nice, a clean bog with nice smelly soap and parking.I love farm shops!!
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You lot are all spoilt farm shops over here are nothing like any you have described. Generally they are much more basic no coffee shop or toilets just simple produce sold direct from the producer with maybe a few other local products thrown in for a little variety.
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Have not seen any farm shops here, dont think its a concept known to the Bretons. Lots of buy at the gate though, eggs, pork, beef not cheap and very popular.
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have a look at
www.churchfarm.org.uk (http://www.churchfarm.org.uk)
www.claremontfarm.co.uk (http://www.claremontfarm.co.uk)
another idea but it has grown more like a feed store
www.lartonlivery.com (http://www.lartonlivery.com)
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have a look at
www.churchfarm.org.uk (http://www.churchfarm.org.uk)
www.claremontfarm.co.uk (http://www.claremontfarm.co.uk)
another idea but it has grown more like a feed store
www.lartonlivery.com (http://www.lartonlivery.com)
Great links there scattybiker.