For the last three years, Kay and Martyn Pring have been on a mission – to reflect the best of Dorset’s food products.

Their little shop, situated in the very heart of the county’s countryside in Bere Regis, is crammed full of local produce, from sweets, biscuits and ice cream, to tea, cereal and olives.

Rural Farm Shop Company started life three years ago providing welcome packs to local holiday cottages, filled with local products. It still provides that service, but now also has a base which both visitors and local residents can visit.

“We have access to the cottages,” explained Kay.

“Customers can go online and order and pay for everything online and get it delivered to their cottage. Everything is waiting for them on the kitchen table. But they can now also pick it up from the shop.

“Lots of people go online and order their food, then come to the shop and collect it. But we have locals too – we are doing a lot of deliveries around Burton Bradstock.”

Kay and Martyn are finding more and more people want to visit the shop to find out what goes into the welcome packs, and purchase more of the same – everything sold in the shop is made in Dorset.

“We do Fudges’ sweets and biscuits, sausages, Chococo’s chocolate from Swanage, Dorset Tea, Dorset Cereals, Olives et al, Hall & Woodhouse, Purbeck Ice Cream,” said Kay.

“It’s only a small shop, but we have a great variety of things that we sell. We also do all the local apple juices, local meats, air-dried meats and bacon, and ciders.”

Rural Farm Shop Company also has its own tea room, where visitors can sample the products, offering morning coffee, light lunch and afternoon tea.

It has also joined forces with a number of local producers to create the Delicious Dorset hamper – a range of carefully selected produce, aimed at showcasing the very best in locally produced food.

The initiative is a joint project with a number of Dorset companies, including Pinks, Dorset Tea, Honeybuns, Reads, Fudges, Chococo and Corfe Castle Brewery.

Many of the company’s hampers are used for corporate gifts.

“We made up some hampers for Nuffield Hospital at Christmas,” said Kay.

“They normally go to John Lewis, but they came to us and the hampers all went to the consultants. We’ve also started working with Rockley Park this year – they wanted us to do a ‘handover gift’ when they sell a caravan, full of Dorset products.”

The couple certainly have their hands full, but are delighted at the way the business has taken off.

“It is endless,” agreed Kay.

“We are working very hard at what we are doing at the moment. But I feel very strongly about local produce, that’s why I’m here every day.”

  • Rural Farm Shop Company, 01929 472926, theruralfarmshopcompany.com.