Meghan Markle could be making millions of pounds in a week if she increases the supply of her As Ever products, a new report has claimed. The Duchess of Sussex launched her lifestyle brand in April, with most of her products selling out within minutes.
As Ever products ranged from £7 jams to £9 teas and £11 crepe and cookie mixes, as well as £21 honeys and a £22 wine. Due to the nature of its seasonal drops, each As Ever collection has been limited in quantity so far, and the brand says this will continue to be the case in the future. Now, a new analysis suggested that if Meghan’s website had an unlimited stock of her cheapest products – in this case, her £7 jams – the Duchess could be cashing in £3.5 million in just one week, based on visitor hits.
Newsweek’s analysis showed that Meghan’s website had half a million page views in the week of her second launch, noting that “demand appears to be far outstripping the limited number of goods available to buy currently.”
The outlet used page view data from the website to make a rough estimate of the extent of the demand, but noted on the caveats, saying that not all views would lead to a sale of the cheapest item but also, a single purchase could include the sale of more than one item and even the addition of more expensive ones. It also said that the analysis does not account for the costs, and therefore, how much is left for profit.
But a branding expert issued a warning to the Duchess that if she wants to earn a regular income from her brand, she needs to focus on consistency.
PR expert Nick Ede told Newsweek: “I think [£3,3] million is a lot for what you can expect someone like Meghan to earn a week, but definitely they could be earning a million dollars a week.
“But I think the main thing is actually to get the product right. I think people are going onto her site to have a look at it, to see if there’s new products available.
“That might skew those numbers a little bit. The expensive things like the wine, if she gets that right, that’s where she’s going to make her big bucks.”
Mr Ede said that As Ever’s products have an “issue” as they still “novelty products” and not essential ones, adding: “Will you have repeat customers? I cannot imagine you will have people repeatedly buying crepe mix or flower sprinkles.
“And that’s the biggest problem with this because the consistency isn’t there. You buy one tin of tea and then think, well, actually I can get the same taste for cheaper.”
But he went on to say that Meghan could ake “big bucks” from her wine if she plays her cards right.
He explained: “I think the wine is actually different because there’s consistency there and people get a preference for a taste and a flavour and they actually like to provide that for birthdays and Christmases and also just have it in their fridge.
“If she gets that right, that’s where she’s going to earn her money. Focus on wine, get the supply side in place and have it available globally and have it distributed so you can go to a wine merchant and buy an As Ever wine. It doesn’t necessarily have to be ordered online.”
As Ever has so far teased plans to release a new sparkling wine, which will also be produced in Napa Valley, just like its rosé. A release date has not been announced yet.