After launching her As Ever products in April, Meghan Markle announced that her collection of raspberry spread, wildflower honey with honeycomb, flower sprinkles, herbal teas, and shortbread cookie mix, completely sold out in less than an hour.
The former Suits star posted about the success of her first launch via Instagram. But some thought that was misleading and accused the duchess of only producing a small amount that was available for purchase. The actual number of products available for purchase has not been released.
Meghan restocked those items and on June 20, added two new products to the inventory–an apricot spread and orange blossom honey. All of her products sold out for a second time, and the duchess made a video gushing about it.
Some think there’s a script that’s being followed: For every single time Meghan launches more products, the public will be told that they have sold out again. Now, a couple of experts are also weighing in and pointing out that if Prince Harry’s wife‘s products did indeed sell out again, she has shown a total “lack of confidence” in her brand.
Experts question the success of Meghan’s brand after sell-out claims
On her Confessions of a Female Founder, Meghan talked about customer fatigue if she released more products too quickly and then sold out again so fast, saying: “Are we going to replenish and sell out again in an hour, or is that annoying as a customer? … I’m looking at it saying, just pause. That happened. Let’s wait until we are completely stable and we have everything we need.”
But she apparently had another fast sell-out and leading PR consultant, Mark Borkowski, told Newsweek that shows a “lack of confidence” in the brand.
He said: “Nobody wants to be left with a load of stock you can’t shift. So it shows to a certain extent a lack of confidence in their own product because if they believed in it, they would go into overproduction or a greater production line. It shows they’re still unsure about the very thing that would seem to be quite successful. Anyone with a rudimentary understanding of supply and demand would think they are surprised by their success.”
Nick Ede, a U.K.-based brand and culture expert, who used to be friends with Meghan, also spoke to the publication and explained: “Obviously they’ve said they increased the inventory 10 times, but you wonder how large that inventory actually was. You actually want to, as a customer, as a consumer, go onto a website and feel you can buy the product.”
The duchess is gearing up for her next product drop
Meghan is gearing up for her next product drop in what was supposed to be seasonal is now becoming monthly as more items including wine will be available next month.
In the As Ever newsletter, she asked visitors to join the mailing list and wrote: “Our debut Napa Valley rose is launching just in time for summer entertaining. There’s something else we can’t wait to share — our debut As ever rosé. With soft notes of stone fruit, gentle minerality, and a lasting finish, this bespoke blend is launching just in time for summer entertaining, and will be available for purchase on July 1st.”
And on that date, you can expect Meghan to announce that this drop has sold out as well.
