Ocado credits Clarkson’s Farm for British produce sales spike

Consumer demand for British produce has soared following the release of the new series of Clarkson’s Farm, according to data from online grocery retailer Ocado.

Demand data from Ocado has shown that sales of meat, fish, fruit and vegetables from its “Best of British” aisle jumped significantly week-on-week since the series retuned to screens on 3 May.

See also: Clarkson’s Farm 3 wins plaudits from farmers

Now in its third series, the programme follows Jeremy Clarkson as he tackles the daily challenges of running his 1,000-acre Diddly Squat Farm in the Cotswolds.

The latest episodes have seen Mr Clarkson introduce pigs to the farm for the first time, which has coincided with a significant increase in sales of Ocado pork products, including sausages, bacon and gammon.

The British pork products with largest week-on-week increase in sales included M&S Select Farms British 12 free-range pork chipolatas (+134%) and sausages (+108%), and The Black Farmer Wiltshire cured smoked bacon (+56%).

Increases in sales were also seen in the M&S British gammon (+42%) and Packington free-range pork loin (+42%).

Another new introduction to the farm has been Lion’s Mane mushrooms, which Mr Clarkson is growing and selling in Diddly Squat’s farm shop.

Ocado data shows searches for Lion’s Mane mushrooms have increased by 482%.

Martha Springham, produce trading manager at Ocado Retail, said: “Programmes like Clarkson’s Farm show consumers just how hard Britain’s farmers work, so it’s brilliant to see our customers supporting them.

“Sales of British produce, from pork loin to kefir to mushrooms, have risen dramatically since we launched Ocado’s Best of British aisle, which contains more than 800 quality products spanning fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs and dairy.

“British produce is among the best in the world and we will always do what we can to champion it”.