Farm shop of the year 2024: triumph with truffles, fir and team spirit

Heimathungrig from Großlangheim in Bavaria, Blümels Hofladen und Hofcafé from Moisburg in Lower Saxony and Hoffreunde from Butzbach in Hesse - these are the Farm Shops of the Year 2024. The trade magazines ‘HOFdirekt’ and ‘top agrar’ have presented the prestigious award for the fourth time, recognising the creativity, power and dedication of direct marketers. 127 businesses from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, more than ever before, applied for the award.

First place goes to the Heimathungrig farm shop from Großlangheim near Kitzingen in Bavaria. Behind the Heimathungrig idea are son Christoph and mother Marita Sterk. He is reorganising the business by growing and processing chokeberries, sea buckthorn, truffles and kiwi berries. She is enthusiastically realising her dream of a farm shop and café. The jury was impressed by the unique flair of the farm shop and the complementary cooperation between two generations. www.heimathungrig.de

For the Blümel family in Moisburg in Lower Saxony, everything revolves around Christmas trees, all year round. Under the name ‘Lieblingstanne’, Saskia Blümel regularly develops new, processed fir products such as liqueurs, pestos, spreads and even a cosmetics line. They have a special place in the atmospheric farm shop. The jury honoured the fir tree as a year-round product with second place in the Farm Shop of the Year award. www.weihnachtsbaeume-bluemel.de

Third place goes to the Hoffreunde from Hesse. Behind them are three farmers with different production specialisations. Maximilian Reuhl grows asparagus, strawberries and other fruit, while Stefan Zimmer specialises in potatoes and processes them in his glass factory. Jan Winter keeps pigs on straw and processes 20 pigs, one cow and two pieces of game every week. Together they built a farm shop and market their farm produce there. The farm friends scored points with the jury because it shows that utilising synergies can be worthwhile. The product quality, transparency and the special atmosphere of the farm shop also caught the eye of the judges. www.hoffreunde.com

HOFdirekt Insta-Award 2024: Social media is an important marketing tool for many direct marketers. They show scenes from everyday business life, introduce themselves and their team and present their products. A lot of ideas and time go into the regular posts and reels. We are honouring this with the new HOFdirekt Insta-Award. It goes to the organic farm Mertens Wiesbrock from Rietberg in NRW (@biohof_mertens_wiesbrock). We like the great pictures, the detailed information on production and marketing, the insights into the farm and the introduction of customers, employees and partners. www.mertens-wiesbrock.de

The Bogner family from Brotzeit & Leben in Bad Wiessee am Tegernsee aim to utilise 100% of their own produce. They grow everything they sell through their farm shop or farm catering on just 10 hectares of land. They are committed to permaculture and think in cycles. In the farm shop, the ambience of the ancient Boarhof farm comes alive and the farm catering tempts you to try new dishes and preparations. We honoured this sustainable concept with a special award. www.brotzeit-leben.de

Background:

‘HOFdirekt’ is the specialist medium for the growth market of direct marketing. Six times a year, the magazine provides specialised information and practical tips for agricultural direct marketers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. ‘top agrar’ is the magazine for agriculture in German-speaking countries and provides concentrated knowledge on all agricultural topics every month. Both magazines are published by Landwirtschaftsverlag Münster. Together, they presented the ‘Farm Shop of the Year’ award for the fourth time this year. The Farm Shop of the Year - first place is endowed with €1500 and the winner receives a professional photo shoot, second place receives €750 and third place €500. For the HOFdirekt Insta-Award and the special prize, the prize money is €300 each.

127 direct marketers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland applied for this award. Test purchases and on-site visits were carried out at a total of twelve of these businesses, on the basis of which an expert jury selected the award winners.