Location is not only important when buying a house, it’s really important if you have a farm shop.

When you have a killer location, you can attract first time visitors, but it’s having the quality food and enough unique products to keep them coming back that’s important. Auchentullich Farm Shop has used its background of being a dairy farm to make its own products that their customers love.

Open your doors near the A82 and you have a constant stream of traffic going by your road end.

The gateway to the Highlands, traffic is heading up and down the side of Loch Lomond in their thousands every day. A visit to see Auchentullich Farm Shop in a moment of calm in between the steady rush of customers coming in for their ice cream fix, means I get to have a look around.

The farm shop is part of the family business of W and J Colquhoun, of Rossbank, which is now run by fourth generation farmers, cousins Iain and Jim, with Iain’s sister, Ishbel and her daughter, Janey, running the shop.

They stick true to their roots of milking 80 Friesians and have a small herd of Highland cattle which provides the shop with a steady stream of quality cuts of beef – the customers love that they can see the provenance of the beef they are buying standing right outside the window.

The farm shop opened five years ago when the renovation of a crumbling building was put in motion. Ishbel admitted that it was less of a well-planned operation and more of a make on the spot decisions to get the shop opened in 2012.

The one rule they had when deciding what to stock the shop with, was they didn’t want anything you can get in a supermarket, as they have multiple supermarkets around the area.

As you would imagine, the shop is stocked with a bumper selection of fresh and dry products from small producers from all over Scotland.

They aim for quality at all times, their locally sourced fruit and vegetables comes from Gartocharn, to their bread and bakery products that come from Callander and Helensburgh.

It was three years ago that Ishbel realised that they needed help with the shop and that is when the family joined in.

Janey, who will now be the fifth generation at Auchentullich, came back from working ski seasons abroad and took on the job of making something of all the milk they had at their fingertips.

She went on an ice cream making course and her mum tells me she is a wizard at mixing flavours.

They stock more than 60 flavours of ice cream which is made using fresh eggs and their own un-homogenised milk.

The flavours are local and seasonal and having had a tub of lemon ice cream (purely for research, you understand) I can say it was possibly the creamiest ice cream I’ve ever had.

There’s no need to take my word for it, check out their facebook page and trip advisor reviews, people rave about the ice cream. There were several cars in the car park with people scoffing ice cream on a perishing January day.

The other big seller is their fresh milk. Pasteurised yes, but not homogenised, which means that the cream will float to the top, like the good old days when milk tasted like milk.

Janey said that they have customers from other countries come in and buy the milk as they only have access to UHT milk. She added: “They buy a bottle, go out to their car, drink it, then come straight back in and buy more.”

The mother and daughter partnership work well together, but stress that it is a family operation, with Iain and Jim doing all the farm work while they look after the shop.

The milk has given the shop quite a unique product that people come back again and again for.

The ladies mention that so many people ask what it means when it says that the milk is un-homogenised. They feel that they are constantly educating people on the process of milk production and the entire farming process.

The milk is pasteurised, then hand bottled, labelled and sold direct to the public. It’s a great deal of work, but it is most definitely worth it for the repeat custom.

The shop is only one of two in Scotland they think that doesn’t have a café.

They have outside seating which is well used in the drier weather, as they offer hot drinks and filled stokie rolls along with their own home baking that refreshes the weary travellers.

The family have decided that they cope well with the summer crowds at the moment, but the addition of a café would just be too much. They are happy to concentrate on stocking the shop with the best products they can find and continue to offer an excellent service.

Iain popped into the shop while I was there. He agreed that the farm shop had been a great addition to the farm.

He said: “For every 100 litres of milk that goes through the shop, we would need to put 600 litres away to First Milk to get the same return. It’s all about adding value to our milk in any way we can.”

Janey continued: “It’s nice to be part of the family business. The shop was built when the milk price was healthy and now that the price has dropped, we are grateful that we did it at the right time. We wouldn’t be able to afford to do it in these leaner times.”

Looking around the well-stocked shop, the fridges and shelves stock lots of everyday items, but they also have lots of treats.

Many of the customers are coming from holiday accommodation in the area and want something nice to take away.

Ishbel says: “We have everything you need to make a nice meal, fresh meat, fish, cheese (we are on the cheese trail), vegetables, and, of course, we have a nice selection of wine, beers and spirits. Starters to desserts are all catered for here,” she says pointing to the huge selection of ice cream.

“As long as the commuters, holiday makers and locals keep coming to our shop we will continue to be here with a warm welcome.”

For more info go to: www.facebook.com/auchentullichfarmshop