What comes to mind when you think of a farm shop? A rustic, converted outbuilding selling farm-fresh produce, where the chance of a drink or light lunch is a bonus? That image is increasingly removed from the reality of this retail sector. More and more farm businesses now offer a visitor destination, perfect for family outings with tempting hot food options and activities suited to multi-generations.

Our recent Rural Tourism and Leisure Spotlight included the results of a desktop study of 50 farm shops of varying sizes across the UK. The study reviewed and categorised the activities and attractions on offer using websites and open-source data.

It is clear from analysing the range of features that farm shops are embracing strategic diversification to amplify business growth and move towards being visitor destinations. The study highlighted that the successful enterprises offered what customers expected to find as well as filling any gaps within the market. By taking this approach, it attracts a wider range of customers and adds value to the business.

Find the gap

In the vast landscape of farm shops, where the allure of fresh produce meets the charm of a rustic atmosphere, our research showed some opportunities were often underutilised, such as the convenience of evening opening hours. Just 14 per cent extended their operating hours past 6pm – a stark contrast with the 98 per cent open at weekends.

Routes to market

Interestingly, 42 per cent of the farm shops included in the study extended their services to online shopping with collection, while only 26 per cent offered delivery. With convenience high on the list of priorities for many of today’s consumers, this is a potentially missed opportunity as well as a potential avenue for attracting new customers and widening the reach. While click-and-collect options have been embraced by most of the farm shops offering an online shopping service, venturing into home delivery offers a distinctive edge over the competition. Location is important here: a very rural farm shop on back lanes might be less attractive for customer collection so offering a robust delivery option could increase sales.

Bigger isn’t always better?

Exploiting a gap in the market by adding a large-scale adventure park or events venue may not be viable for all farm shops, but there are often lower cost alternatives which could be developed over time. The addition of a small play or picnic area would make a farm shop more of a destination to visit with a relatively low upfront cost.

Of the 50 farm shops we reviewed only two were offering a dog walking field, outlining a clear opportunity to set your farm shop apart from the competition. Evidence shows there is a market for more safe spaces for dog walking with the PDSA Paw Report 2023 reporting that 29 per cent of UK adults own a dog (an estimated population of 11 million pets).

Seasonal visitors

Adding to what you already have also applies to seasonal attractions such as pumpkin patches. Halloween events have grown in popularity in recent years and on-farm pumpkin picking is on the rise. Capture the imagination of these visitors with seasonal edible offerings and take the opportunity to provide some educational storytelling around the lifecycle of the pumpkin. With 42 per cent of the farm shops in the study offering a form of pick-your-own, success is in part down to differentiation.

The growing demand for visitor destinations offering a wide range of experiences presents a huge opportunity for farm shop enterprises and it does not have to cost the earth. 

Further information

Contact Jordan Rimmer or Nicola Buckingham