A 'no fruit waste' berry business is seeing success in turning its sweet, ripe fruit that is too soft or odd-shaped for supermarkets into cider, hand crafted ice cream, preserves and jams for its visitors.

When Kim and Jason Lewis launched their farm-tourism venture along a quiet country road, they knew they had to create an experience that customers would be willing to travel for.

Ten years ago the couple took a leap of faith to realise that dream when they bought an old rose farm at Wolvi, a one hour drive north of Noosa, and founded Cooloola Berries.

Their licensed farm cafe now opens seven days a week with hundreds of people visiting on busy weekends.

Cooloola Berries is a family-run business with Kim, Jason, Patrick, Kay, Molly and Gary Lewis all involved. ( ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols )

"We like to grow the amount of strawberries that there is a use for, so we minimise food waste," Ms Lewis said, as she poured brightly coloured glasses of cider from a freshly opened keg.

"Not all strawberries are beautiful enough to make the cut to go in our first quality fruit, so that's where the cider comes in.

"We take our strawberries down to a micro-brewery in Brisbane and we produce a lovely strawberry cider that has an apple base.

"We've also added the blueberry and pear cider this year as well.

"We've diversified into blueberries, which has added to our farm experience, and more recently we've planted lavender."

Lavender has been planted to add to ice cream and provides a burst of colour on the farm. ( ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols )

Diversification adds interest

Ms Lewis said she was romantically inspired by the concept of leading an idyllic rural life after meeting her husband twenty years ago.

Jason was working on farms and his parents, Gary and Kay, have a long history as seasonal workers, travelling Australia's harvest trail.

This year they expect to pick about 60 tonnes of strawberries from 80,000 plants for their products, farm shop and farmers markets.

"We focus on sweetness and taste rather than shelf life, rather than the qualities supermarkets are looking for," Mr Lewis said.

A new dining room has been added to their cafe as the business grows. ( ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols )

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 6 minutes 24 seconds 6 m A Big Country: Cooloola berries a no-waste berry farm Download 2.9 MB

"Our pick-your-own market is huge here and because we let people eat in the paddocks they tend to taste all the varieties and leave with punnets of different varieties."

Cooloola Berries focuses on providing an authentic farm experience.

The packing shed doubles as a dining room and Jason's father Gary is a common sight, picking sweet berries from the fields beside the cafe.

Patrick Lewis, 12, contributes to the business by selling the family's farm fresh strawberry ice cream at events. ( ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols )

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 5 minutes 8 seconds 5 m Kim and Jason Lewis discuss the success of their farm tourism business ( Jennifer Nichols ) Download 2.4 MB

The couple's children also do their bit.

Twelve-year-old Patrick is a junior member of Slow Food Noosa and helps sell Cooloola Berries' fresh strawberry ice cream at festivals and events.

"Traditionally farms weren't huge, we had a lot of small family farms. We've decided small is good. Let's just be really good at being small," Mr Lewis said.

"We've just been overwhelmed by the amount of support," Ms Lewis added, as she explained the growth of the business which now hires four local junior staff members and a permanent part-time senior to cope with the growing number of tourists.

"Not only local visitors, but people from the Sunshine Coast.

"We get phone calls on a Sunday morning from Brisbane that they're in a convoy, and up they come."

Cooloola Berries is a popular destination for car clubs, such as the Gympie Car Club (pictured), and bus groups. ( Supplied: Cooloola Berries )

Popular with clubs

Two huge pans are pulled out every Sunday as Ms Lewis' husband cooks up paella in the paddock.

Mr Lewis had never heard of paella before his wife bought the pans.

He now he cooks for hundreds of people.

Jason Lewis cooks up paella in the paddock for convoys of tourists each Sunday. ( Supplied: Cooloola Berries )

Cooloola Berries was a Delicious Produce Awards state winner in 2016, and in the same year it was also recognised as the Gympie Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year.

"It's all about saving the pennies of that year and then the next year adding more to the dream, creating the vision, making it a reality for people to enjoy," Ms Lewis said.