In the middle of beautiful Eigerøy, just a hundred meters from the sea, you will find Seglem Gårdsutsalg & Bakeri. A small but lively outlet where it smells of sourdough bread, rolls and delicious yeast baked goods. On weekends when the sale is open, people queue up on the stairs before opening hours to ensure fresh baked goods. What started with a dream to use the farm for something new has become a local success with small-scale production and great enthusiasm. Photo: Emma Bjerregaard Opheim.
The sale offers everything from sourdough bread and “Sickle pieces” to crispbread, breakfast bread, pizza dough, croissants, buns, muffins and cookies. Everything is baked from scratch with clean raw materials. There is also pesto and herbal salt, and in the future vegetables produced on the farm will also be sold.
“What drives me is that people thought it was good. And it gives me positive energy. And no matter how much I bake, it will never be enough” says Anett Opheim, founder of Seglem Gårdsutsalg & Bakeri.
Anett has lived on the farm with her husband for five years, where there has previously been mink and tomato production. The old greenhouse was eventually dismantled, and the steel rafters are to be painted and the glazing reused. They plan to expand and build a larger outlet with accompanying greenhouses. The drawings are ready and they were recently informed that the application for Innovation Norway was granted this year anyway.
“We were lucky to be supported by Innovation Norway after all,” says Anett.
Now an application process to the municipality is pending, before construction can begin.
Many thoughts and ideas
Anett has many thoughts and ideas for the farm, and would have preferred to have had the sale and the greenhouse built yesterday. Through the Local Food Competence Network, Anett received a visit from Heidi Netland Berge from TEAL. In a visiting arrangement, they surveyed the assortment together, discussed road choices and assessed what Seglem should focus on next.
“If you have good and attractive products and good marketing, people drive a detour to get hold of the goods,” Heidi says.
TEAL's role has been to contribute as a sparring partner and supporter, with advice and reflection on the development of the company, sorting out ideas and priorities.
“There's a lot I don't know, so it's been good to have Heidi from TEAL there,” says Anett.
The future scents of baking and possibilities
This summer, Anett extends her opening hours and some weeks she stays open several days a week. The aim is to test demand also on weekdays, and at the same time give more people the opportunity to secure fresh baked goods. In parallel, plans to build a new outlet and greenhouse continue. In the long term, Anett also wants to offer courses, including in sourdough baking — a technique she herself has become well known for through the popular microbakery.
“It's just fun, really. It's life laga. Exciting future, I'm really looking forward to it. What I can't quite find, I can find out. I also drive on!” , Anett concludes.
