Caroline Elvin


FARM food shops have noticed an increase in sales of fresh fruit and vegetables within the last year. Brogdale Farm, based in Faversham, has had an increase in visitors all looking for fresh fruit. Supermarkets have found that the growing trend in people buying organic foods means that they are losing money in that area. Sainsbury's supervisor Francesca King is not worried about this shift in consumer patterns, ''Sainsbury's make a lot of money in different areas. I think farm shops are a great idea, but, it is a very niche market, they do not have the range of food that supermarkets have.''

Farm shops believe this could be the end of supermarket fruit and vegetables if this increase continues. Sally Rogers, marketing manager at Brogdale Farm believes this could change the success of her business in the future ''People do not understand just how nice local grown apples are until they taste them. I think as more people become aware of local apples, we are gaining more sales. I think that to pay an extra 50 pence for an apple when they are of a lot better quality is definitely worth it.''