THE number of Scottish farm shops has reached an all-time record due to many shoppers deserting supermarkets in favour of a “personalised shopping experience”.
Latest figures have revealed that farm shops were the retail industry’s biggest success story, growing at 15 to 20 per cent over the past year – the fastest rise of all sectors – according to research by the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society
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The roaring trade in locally produced farm foods has led to the number of Scottish farm shops rising to 120, with at least ten new shops opened over the past year.
Consumer experts and traders said shoppers were flocking towards rural farm shops in a reaction against impersonal supermarkets and because they wanted to know the origins of what they ate. This, they said, was combined with a need for farmers to diversify to survive the onslaught of rising fuel and fertiliser costs.
NFU Scotland communications officer Sarah Anderson said: “Farm shops really have just grown and grown. A lot of farm food shops offer a very pleasant shopping experience – it’s somewhere small, it’s less mobbed and there are smaller queues.”
She added: “But for a lot of farmers, the need to diversify has been paramount to their survival. The farming sector has been and continues to be under pressure, so if they’re selling produce from their own farm, they can sell it at a price that lets them have a bit of profit.”
Consumerism analyst Dr Alain Samson, formerly of the London School of Economics, said: “People are moving away from the big players in favour of organic foods and ethical consumption. It may be that there is a greater trend to shop in smaller stores like we did 100 years ago.
“People want more personal service and they are willing to pay that bit extra to get a personalised shopping experience and buy products they can’t get at the supermarket.
“Studies have also shown that if people are given too much choice, it can work against buying, so I think there is a move back to basics.”
Traders added that as well as a desire for authenticity, celebrity chefs such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall had helped businesses with their emphasis on locally sourced produce.
Fiona Pollock, owner of Ardross Farm Shop in Fife, said: “I think consumers are fed-up with supermarkets and not knowing where their food comes from. They enjoy coming in and seeing the cattle outside or us bringing in dirty carrots.
“Television programmes have made a huge impact. I don’t even need to watch them, but I know what they’ve been cooking the next day because everyone comes in and asks for it.”
