Demand for British food surges following new Clarkson's Farm

New sales data suggests that the return of the popular TV show may have sparked increased demand for British food
New sales data suggests that the return of the popular TV show may have sparked increased demand for British food

Demand for British produce has surged following the airing of the new series of Clarkson’s Farm, which returned to screens earlier this month.

Data from Ocado shows that sales of meat, fish and fruit and veg from its Best of British aisle jumped significantly week on week following the series’ return to screens on 3 May.

Now in its third series, the programme follows Jeremy Clarkson as he wrestles with the daily challenges of running his 1,000-acre farm in the Cotswolds countryside.

Ocado, a solely online supermarket, said that the show had coincided with a significant increase in sales of pork products, including sausages, bacon and gammon.

The latest episodes of the hit Amazon series saw Jeremy Clarkson introduce pigs to the farm for the first time.

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

This also captured consumer interest, as Ocado data shows searches for Lion’s Mane increased by 482% this week compared to last.

A theme of this series has been a focus on regenerative and sustainable farming practices. Sales of organic produce have been among the highest week-on-week increases, with mushrooms, butter and kefir all seeing significant growth.

British organic products products with largest week on week increase in sales include butter, up 38%.

Martha Springham, produce trading manager at Ocado Retail, said sales of British produce had surged since the airing of Clarkson's Farm.

“Programmes like Clarkson’s Farm show consumers just how hard Britain’s farmers work, so it's brilliant to see our customers supporting them," she said.

"Sales of British produce, from pork loin to kefir to mushrooms, have risen dramatically since we launched Ocado’s Best of British aisle.

"[This] 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”.