In the beginning there were only apples. Then gradually more types of fruit and vegetables arrived. Today Valentinhof near Meran is an organic farm growing a rich variety of different stone and berry fruit, vegetables and herbs. Around one regular hundred customers a week come here and look forward to the large selection of fresh seasonal products.

Creative young farmer

Lukas Unterhofer's working day starts at five o'clock in the morning. At least in summer, as it gets too hot to work in the vegetable field later in the day. He does the weeding, watering, mulching, harvesting and lots more along with three co-workers. A few hours later, fresh blueberries, apricots and cherries are on sale in the modern farm shop. Lukas has put a lot of money into marketing his products directly, as he knows the importance of product presentation and good communication strategies.

How it all began

The farm has been in the family for a long time and Lukas' uncle converted to organic farming in 1996. Lukas started working there at a young age and extended the farm after finishing university to include berries and vegetables. His idea was to introduce more variety to the farm and offer this to customers directly. In 2016, the new farm shop was set up and the products could be certified as organic as well as with the 'Roter Hahn' seal of quality.

The farm shop

The farm shop is open all year round. Lukas places great importance  on selling only his own fresh fruit and vegetables. To include more products in the range, Lukas works with organic farmers from around the local area. He sources products like jam, juice and honey from them and sells these in the farm shop.

Even though the farm is near town, customers have to make a short detour to get there. They are happy to do this, as they really appreciate the freshly harvested, organic products and the wide range on offer at Valentinhof.

Lukas really enjoys having direct contact with his customers: "This means that I get feedback first hand, including tips on how to do things better. I can then adapt my range and know, for example, which cucumbers or tomatoes to prioritise next year."

The advantages of direct marketing

Thanks to direct marketing, Lukas can offer his products while they are still at an optimum stage of ripeness, which significantly improves their taste. Fruit and vegetables are freshly picked every day and only kept for a few days in the farm cold store. Thanks to their short transport routes, the young farmer can grow varieties and cultures that are of a higher quality than standard fare. This zero-metre guarantee is much appreciated by customers. They want to know where the fruit grows and are happy to accept the fact that not everything is available all the time, but varies according to the season.