Ocado Partnership — Tim’s take:
There’s a peculiar irony in watching a man who once drove tractors on television for entertainment now ship his farm produce to customers who’ve never set foot in the Cotswolds. But Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat model is worth studying, regardless of whether you’ve ever seen Clarkson’s Farm. The partnership with Ocado announced this week will put Diddly Squat products in fridges up and down the country from early summer, timed to coincide with the new series landing on Prime Video on 3 June.
What catches my attention isn’t the celebrity angle. It’s the 5p-per-item donation to The Ernest Cook Trust, which channels funding into young people building careers in farming and the countryside. That mechanism matters. Clarkson gets the national distribution and the streaming boost. The trust gets a revenue stream. Young entrants to the industry get funding. More farms are chasing direct-to-consumer routes, but few are wrapping it in something more lasting than a brand extension.
For working farmers watching this, the practical question isn’t whether Clarkson’s Farm makes good television. It’s what a nationwide online presence means for the economics of a farm shop business that typically turns over £30,000-£40,000 a year. Whether this elevates the local farm shop model or simply shows how exceptional his circumstances are remains to be seen once the sales figures emerge.
Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm Shop is heading into online grocery aisles nationwide through a new partnership with Ocado.
Diddly Squat products head to Ocado shelves nationwide — Ocado Partnership
Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm Shop is heading into online grocery aisles nationwide through a new partnership with Ocado. The Cotswolds-based farm, which opened in 2020 and features in the hit Prime Video series Clarkson’s Farm, will now see its products available to shoppers across the UK without needing to visit the physical shop. The announcement comes ahead of the return of Clarkson’s Farm, with the latest series set to launch on Prime Video on 3 June.
Under the partnership, Ocado and Diddly Squat Farm Shop will each donate 5p for every item sold to The Ernest Cook Trust, a charity supporting young people pursuing careers in farming and the countryside sector. The Ernest Cook Trust has long supported education and training opportunities for young people entering agriculture, making this partnership a direct investment in the future workforce of British farming. This charitable element transforms what could be seen as a celebrity marketing exercise into something with tangible benefits for the agricultural community.
The online range includes some of Diddly Squat’s most popular products: fudge, hand-cooked crisps, mustard, and the farm shop’s chocolate-covered honeycomb treats known as “Little Turds”. Clarkson himself has previously described the farm’s British Beer Mustard as “as close to heaven as it gets” when served with a cold sausage. The partnership allows customers who cannot travel to the Cotswolds to access these products directly through Ocado’s online platform.
New branding and the For Farms Sake campaign
The Ocado partnership arrives shortly after Diddly Squat Farm Shop unveiled a refreshed brand identity featuring a new cockerel logo, replacing its previous tractor design. The rebranding was accompanied by the statement: “It’s no cock-and-bull story, we’ve got a fresh look to celebrate the best of British farming with our iconic Diddly Squat cockerel.” The shift in logo from a tractor to a cockerel represents a subtle but meaningful pivot in how the brand positions itself—less about machinery and more about the living, breathing elements of farm life.
The move also ties into Clarkson and the Diddly Squat team’s ongoing ‘For Farms Sake’ campaign, launched to highlight the growing pressures facing British farmers and champion home-grown produce. Clarkson’s Farm has become one of the UK’s most recognisable programmes focused on modern farming and rural life, helping bring agricultural issues to a wider audience that might otherwise have little exposure to the realities of food production. The show has succeeded in making topics like BPS payments, environmental schemes, and crop failures into mainstream conversation.
What This Means for Farmers
The practical implications of this partnership for working farmers extend beyond the immediate charitable donation. Clarkson’s Farm has demonstrably shifted public perception of British agriculture. Before the show aired, mainstream audiences had little insight into the bureaucratic burdens, weather-related risks, and economic pressures facing farmers. Now, millions of viewers understand why farms need support.
The partnership with Ocado creates a direct channel between a high-profile farming operation and mainstream consumers. While not every farm can achieve Diddly Squat’s level of celebrity exposure, the model demonstrates how direct-to-consumer sales can build brand loyalty and command premium prices. More importantly, it shows how visibility translates into consumer action—people who watch Clarkson’s Farm are genuinely interested in buying British and supporting farmers.
The 5p per item donation to The Ernest Cook Trust is modest in isolation but compounds across thousands of sales. The trust funds apprenticeships, training, and educational visits that give young people direct experience of farming. With the average age of UK farmers sitting around 59 and recruitment into agriculture struggling, any initiative directing money toward the next generation addresses a genuine structural problem.
Specifically, ocado’s commitment to the partnership reflects growing supermarket interest in provenance and supply chain transparency. The spokesperson said: “This initiative is our shared commitment, helping ensure the future of British farming stays bright—even when the weather isn’t.” That final phrase acknowledges the brutal reality that British farmers face increasingly volatile weather patterns, and that support mechanisms matter when harvests fail.
What to Do Next
Farmers and industry representatives should watch how this partnership performs over the coming months. If Ocado’s customers respond positively to Diddly Squat products, it signals appetite for more farm-branded goods on major online platforms. That could open doors for other farm shops and producers looking to expand beyond farmers’ markets and farm-gate sales.
Those interested in supporting the charitable element can purchase Diddly Squat products through Ocado, with every item contributing to The Ernest Cook Trust’s work with young people. Farmers who employ apprentices or have links with agricultural colleges might also explore whether their own branding could translate into retail partnerships.
The wider lesson from Clarkson’s approach is about using visibility strategically. Clarkson’s Farm was never just entertainment—it was a calculated effort to put farming on the national agenda. The Ocado partnership represents the commercial arm of that visibility campaign, turning audience engagement into sales and sales into charitable donations. For farmers facing their own communications challenges, there is something to learn from how Clarkson has built a platform that politicians, media, and now major retailers take seriously.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Diddly Squat and Ocado partnership?
Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm Shop has partnered with online supermarket Ocado to sell its products nationwide. For every item sold, both Ocado and Diddly Squat donate 5p to The Ernest Cook Trust, which supports young people entering farming.
When does Clarkson’s Farm return?
The latest series of Clarkson’s Farm is set to launch on Prime Video on 3 June.
What products are available through the Ocado partnership?
The online range includes Diddly Squat’s fudge, hand-cooked crisps, mustard, and chocolate-covered honeycomb treats known as “Little Turds”.
What is The Ernest Cook Trust?
The Ernest Cook Trust is a charity that supports young people pursuing careers in farming and the countryside sector through education, training, and apprenticeship funding.
Why did Diddly Squat change its logo?
Diddly Squat Farm Shop recently unveiled a refreshed brand identity featuring a new cockerel logo, replacing its previous tractor design, as part of its ongoing ‘For Farms Sake’ campaign celebrating British farming.
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