Strawberry Fields Farm Shop picked up, literally, the biggest trophy of the night at the Farm Retail Awards after the Devon retailer was crowned Large Farm Shop of the Year.
Organised by the Farm Retail Association and announced at the trade organisation’s annual conference in March, the award ceremony also saw a number of other businesses take home gongs – with Warwickshire’s Lower Clopton Farm Shop (Small Farm Shop of the Year) and Scottish stalwart Craigies Farm (Pick Your Own of the Year) among the winners.
Newton Farm Foods, near Bath in Somerset, won the trophy for Café/Restaurant of the Year, while Hutchinson Hobbs in Stockton-on-Tees was hailed as Butchery of the Year, and Norfolk’s Goat Shed claimed the prize for Rising Star.
Completing the winners’ line-up was wholesaler Cotswold Fayre (Associate Member of the Year) and West London’s Queens Park Farmers Market (in the Farmers Market category), with the Lifetime Achievement Award going to Chris and Wendy Barton of Canalside Farm in Staffordshire.
Founded by Jo and Roger Mounce in the 1990s, Strawberry Fields has expanded from a fruit-growing operation on the Devon-Cornwall border into a chain of several outlets across county. The current farm shop at Lifton was built in 2002 and the Mounces have since added sites in Buckfastleigh (in 2023), Exeter (in 2025) and Dartmoor (last month).
Broadcaster Nigel Barden hosted this year’s awards at the Cedar Court Hotel in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, on 11th March as part of the annual FRA Conference.
He said: “Farm retail is an exciting and fast-moving sector of the economy, which makes presenting these awards so rewarding.
“Each year, the advances made by farm retail businesses astound me, and 2026 exemplifies this. The finalists demonstrate why farm retail businesses are adored by customers, offering excellent service, produce, knowledge and flair, ensuring people return time and time again.”
Newly appointed FRA Chair Ben Loughrey added: “Our winners are prime examples of how farm retailers can successfully build strong community connections and memorable customer experiences. We are immensely proud of all of our finalists and winners – they represent the very best of farm retail and reflect the strength, resilience and vibrancy of our industry.”
This article first appeared in the April 2026 issue of Fine Food Digest.
