French expat starts snail farm in Victoria to supply restaurants

Coralie Schaff is establishing a commercial snail farm in the Otway Ranges of south-west Victoria to supply local restaurants.

After purchasing 21 hectares of land in Beech Forest, Schaff traveled to France to study snail farming and decided to launch a business in Australia. She currently keeps 3,000 snails in a custom-made pen and plans to expand her capacity to 300,000 snails.

Schaff intends to sell her produce to local restaurants, participate in French festivals in Geelong, and offer a farmgate experience for visitors. She currently collects garden snails from neighbors and monitors the breeding process to build her stock. She chose the Otways because the region's rainfall and moderate temperatures resemble the climate in France, which she considers ideal for snail farming. Other farmers have faced challenges with the niche market in Australia.

Helene Hawes operated Simpson Snails in Victoria but sold the farm after struggling to meet high demand from Melbourne restaurants. Victoria Howe also closed a farm in Western Australia because the business grew too quickly to manage without more staff. To navigate these hurdles, Schaff uses a collection of historical research documents dating back to 1931 to guide her farming practices.