From potatoes, eggs and jams on the doorstep to a fully fledged farm shop, Carmuirs Produce has gone from strength to strength since its humble beginnings in lockdown 2020.
Owner Sharon Taylor said: “Homegrown potatoes have been sold from the door on my husband’s family farm at Wester Carmuirs in Larbert for the past 30 years.
“At the start of 2020, just before the first lockdown, I decided to start selling some jam and free-range eggs alongside this.
“As customer demand grew, I had the had the idea to set up a small farm shop in one of the outbuildings to sell some seasonal fruit and vegetables as well and so, in October 2020, Carmuirs Produce was born.
“While all this was going on I was still working part time for Renfrewshire Libraries, but in April 2021 after 15 happy years in the library I decided to take the plunge and focus on the farm shop full time and I’ve not looked back since.”
Customers have continued to flock to the farm ever since, as Sharon explained:
“We now sell a wide range of seasonal fruit and vegetables and free range eggs from a local farm, as well as local honey, butchery, bakery and artisan products.
“Our vegetable boxes have also proved very popular and any surplus fruit and veg goes to the local foodbank.
“We’re lucky to have such a lovely bunch of loyal customers and it’s always nice to see lots of new faces popping in too as the restrictions have eased. It’s great getting their feedback and suggestions for the shop.”
The future is looking bright for the family business.
In the summer of 2021 the farm shop moved into a larger, more permanent space on the farm and this year, the seeds have been sown in the field for some homegrown vegetables.
