Meet the member:
Ardross Farm Shop

Ardross Farm Shop was started 20 years ago by my parents, Fiona and Rob. Fed up dealing with the supermarkets they were looking for some way of diversifying what they did. After running through many different options, they decided to try and retail our beef direct to consumers. There was no prior planning or in-depth feasibility studies, by pure chance, they just hit the market when people were becoming interested in local food. The original vision was to be a shop where we could sell as much produce as possible direct, so we didn’t have to deal with big multinationals anymore and it’s blossomed over the years to what you see now.

From two freezers filled with frozen beef the shop has transformed into somewhere you can come and buy everything you need for a fantastic local meal. It’s changed how we farm and given us breathing space to farm the way we want, away from outside pressures – to farm sustainably for our business, our farm and our family. There have been many milestones, one of the biggest was winning Best Farm Shop and Best Overall Retailer in the Farm Shop & Deli Awards 2014. A national award we didn’t think we had a chance of winning, and one that really put us on the map. In 2018 we were also on a Gordon Ramsay show Gordon, Gino & Fred: The Road Trip. We had all three chefs on our farm trying and cooking our meat, which was the most amazing experience. It went on to be a Netflix number 1 show.

We are very much a family business. My mum is still integral to everything we do here. She’s up before we’re even out of our beds, putting meat on in our commercial kitchen, baking off pies, tidying up the shop and keeps everything running behind the scenes. Sadly, we lost my father in 2019 however my sister Claire had returned to work on the farm from accountancy in 2015 and so she has taken on the farm and accountancy side of the business. I (Nikki) came back to the farm in 2006 and have been managing the shop ever since. In a small business this means HR, PR, working in the shop, processing invoices and everything in between. Our third sister is the only sensible one and works for The Royal Highland Education Trust, bringing young people onto farms to teach them about food and farming and also teaches. On top of that she gets to help out at events and is always in the background helping out.

We are very focused on local and sustainability. Wherever possible we try to support other local businesses, this runs from the EPOS system to the paper bags to the suppliers in the shop. Over and above that it needs to be a sustainable decision for our farm, the land, the animals, and our family.

We now produce and sell all of our own grass-fed beef, lamb, and mutton along with a huge array of vegetables and honey. All of which are sold exclusively in our shop. We learnt quite quickly that it’s really hard to sell every cut of meat or every cauliflower that’s ready, so we also have a commercial kitchen that adds value to our produce and reduces food waste. We make soups, pies, broth with bones, ready meals, dripping with the beef fat. We even dry the bread that didn’t sell and make croutons and breadcrumbs. Our kitchen works seven days a week ensuring we keep waste to a minimum. They are absolutely brilliant- our shop wouldn’t be the same without the hardworking team.

At the moment we can hardly keep Pittenweem Preserves on the shelf. Fiona’s preserves are excellent, use local produce and are made just up the road. Everything our customer wants to see in a product. East Neuk Orchard is also a big seller and with apple season just started we’ve got the first press of their apple juice in store right now and people can’t get enough. Its beautifully pink and once again made just up the road.

Growing and sourcing local produce is what we’re all about. We have a great relationship with hundreds of local suppliers. We’re lucky that after 20 years in business most people come to us but we still go to food fairs and see what’s happening. We do tastings with local producers, shout about new products and awards they get over social media, use the Food from Fife new display cabinets to highlight them and they always sell well. Our customers are actively looking for local so anything made in Fife sells well.

We’ve changed everything we do on the farm to make ourselves more sustainable. We changed our breed of cattle and sheep to animals suited to our climate that thrive on a grass diet. This has allowed us to become 100% grass-fed and Pasture for Life certified. We don’t plough our farm, leave living roots in fields at all times, work closely with the RSPB on things like the Corn Bunting Project.

Great question. We take traditions which are farming practices valued and passed down through generations, rooted in respect for the land and animals, use dad’s soil-first approach with a five year crop rotation, minimal tillage and mixed farming to keep the land health as we’ve always done. We also rear livestock on natural, grass-based diets that reflect generations of farming practices. We also preserve that link between farm, community and table. However we’re not afraid to use new machines to improve efficiency and minimise environmental impact. It’s about taking the best of old and new and creating a better future.

Without the local community we wouldn’t be here. We are here to serve the people in our community and the shop if very much driven by them. Every time someone asks for something we don’t have it’s noted down and we try to be somewhere that they can come and get everything they need. Without the local community the winter months would be incredibly quiet and hard to survive.

The food from fife retail display has been fantastic, Whatever product is on that display flies out the door. Products that have sat on shelves without gaining much attraction can have their very own box highlighting where they are from and customers really love the branding and presentation. It’s one of the reasons that Pittenweem Preserves and East Neuk Orchards are so popular just now, they are both on the display.

I think we’re one of the only farm shops that is just a shop, which is unique in itself. However, we ask ourselves that question a lot and have never really found the answer. Hopefully we have created a wonderful experience with fantastic products which inspires people to cook with fresh, local, food.

To celebrate 20 years of our shop we’ve run a series of seasonal suppers based at Pratis Barns. We wanted to showcase what fantastic food is available right on our doorstep. As I write this, I’m just in from our Autumn Farm to Barn supper and a staggering 90% of the food we served was from our farm with the rest being local producers. We also run two food fairs a year upstairs in our loft to showcase the producers and give our customers a chance to speak to the people behind the business direct. In both of these events the feeling we get when people join the dots and realise just how wonderful our area is for food and innovative businesses makes working in retail and all the hours that come with that worthwhile.

I’m proud of the community we’ve created of producers and customers who value fresh, local produce.

To always keep learning. Join groups like Food from Fife, Scottish Agritourism Farm Retail Association and learn from others in the same industry. We’re always learning, changing and improving and having a community around you to help that process is always easier.

I’m really excited about our range of tallow products we launched at the beginning of the year in our quest to really use everything from nose to tail. We currently make tallow soap and body butter which are selling incredibly well. Next are candles for winter!