A breed apart: Farm shop success for Sam Steggles

From humble beginnings, the Goat Shed has been transformed into an award-winning farm diversification.

A Norfolk farm shop which opened during the pandemic has become a huge success – and continues to go from strength to strength.

Sam Steggles opened the Goat Shed Farm Shop and Kitchen less than five years ago, just south of Honingham village, about nine miles west of Norwich. But its roots go much further back, he explains.

Now in his early 40s, Sam told his story at last month’s Autumn Farming Conference, hosted by accountants Larking Gowen in partnership with the Country Land and Business Association at the All Saints Hotel, near Bury St Edmunds.

After leaving school at 15, he studied for a national diploma at Writtle College before undertaking an HND in agri-food marketing and business studies at Harper Adams University in Shropshire.

Passion

“Livestock have always been my passion,” says Sam.

“My grandfather was one of the first people to import pedigree Simmental cattle in 1973 but they all went when he sold the farm. I was young and without a farm, it meant I had to go and do it in my own right.”

After graduating from Harper, Sam took a job selling poultry equipment. He looked at various ventures – including fish farming and anaerobic digestion – but both required huge investment he didn’t have.

Then he saw a clip on BBC Countryfile about goat farming. The entry cost was much lower, there were no big infrastructure requirements and the Goat Shed was born with 10 goats purchased from Cumbria.

“We milked them and made cheese by hand,” says Sam. “Fast forward 10 years and we were still making goats cheese at the kitchen sink – supplying farm shops, restaurants, pub chains and airlines.”

Then the Covid pandemic struck. “The phone rang and it was one of our supermarket contracts. They didn’t want our cheese. And then it was Emirates Airlines. They didn’t want our cheese either.”

On a mission

Within the space of 24 hours, 90% of the cheese-making business was gone. With lock-down, 100% of Sam’s holiday cottage business went too.

Determined not to lose their entire business – which included a partially finished cheese-making facility designed to make 400 tonnes of hard cheese a year, Sam and his wife Caroline put their heads together.

“We were on a mission,” he says. “Caroline said to me: you can’t get toilet rolls, you can’t get pasta – you can’t get any of these things in the supermarkets.”

Deciding they would succeed where the supermarkets couldn’t, Sam and Caroline made some videos and posted them on social media – offering bread, milk and cheese for sale from a self-service farm shop in a garden shed – and the Goat Shed was born.

It was an immediate success. “People kept coming,” says Sam. “And then they kept asking us for more and more. And we promised it would be here the next morning. And when it was, they saw we could deliver and they kept coming back.”

Spurred on by the support of a growing and loyal customer base, The Goat Shed moved into a purpose-build farm shop in February 2021. The kitchen opened shortly afterwards in May the same year.

“We’ve listened to our customers – and we’ve effectively done what they’ve asked us to do,” Sam explains.

“They said they wanted tea, coffee and cake. So we listened  to that too and the building is about 6000 square feet with the kitchen at the side.”

Expansion

Fast-forward to 2024 and the Goat Shed has expanded again to include a butchery and a bakery. The delicatessen area has been expanded too – all in response to customers.

“We have tripled in size from where it was. There’s an upstairs mezzanine area packed with Christmas goodies. We also made and opened a maize maze this year to make the Goat Shed more of a destination and encourage our customers to spend more time with us.”

Pedigree Simmental cows have returned to the farm too. “Two years, ago Caroline and the children bought me one as a birthday present,” says Sam. “Today, we have about 50 of them. Granddad would be proud.”

The number of our team has grown too – from four to around 50. They have been vital to the success of the business – which has been recently rebranded to reflect its expanding vision and ambition.

“People are what it’s all about,” says Sam. “They are hugely important to us. We are hugely positive and passionate about what we do and the Goat Shed is all about championing people. We couldn’t do it without them – that goes for our team as well as our customers and the local community.”

This passion has seen Sam host “Hoof it around Honingham” walks around the local countryside. Held on the first Monday every month, they give regular walkers and new members of the local community the chance to get to know one another.

Accolades are coming thick and fast. Last year, the Goat Shed was named East Anglia’s Best Large Retailer in the Farm Shop & Deli Retailer Awards, followed by scooping the Rising Star Award by the Farm Retail Association.

New products

This year, the business won the Farm Diversification Award, courtesy of the Aylsham Show Agricultural Association. It was also named as a finalist in the Retailer of the Year award by Broadland and South Norfolk District Councils.

“We don’t just sell food – we celebrate quality and champion its origins,” says Sam. “Our passion for farming translates into everything we do, from sourcing the freshest ingredients to crafting delicious dishes on our menus.”

But it hasn’t all been plain sailing. Sam says he has learned a lot along the way – including the need to be flexible, the importance of being honest, listening to customers and learning from mistakes.

“We believe in building trust with our community. From partnering with producers who share our values and commitment to quality to the open dialogue that facilitates feedback, transparency is key to everything we do.

“Our roots may be in traditional farming, but we always look towards the future. We’re continually innovating to expand our offerings with exciting new products, facilities and events to grow alongside our community.”

The Goat Shed

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