Wednesday morning, I wrote about how the Duchess of Sussex’s As Ever product line would be going on sale at any moment. I was thrilled that the products were finally being launched and I had a feeling that they would sell quickly. But I didn’t know that they would sell out in under an hour!! Meghan sent out the As Ever announcement email at 9:15 am EST (at least that’s when I got my email). I ordered three items just minutes later – two teas and the raspberry spread – and I immediately got my order confirmation email. It looks like tons of people missed out though! So many Sussex Squadies are fighting!
Soon after As Ever’s product sold out, Meghan posted the IG above, with this message: “Our shelves may be empty, but my heart is full! We sold out in less than one hour and I can’t thank you enough…for celebrating, purchasing, sharing, and believing. It’s just the start @aseverofficial 
Here we go!” Interestingly enough, I thought her earlier IG caption was more notable: “We’re live! Come shop the As ever collection I’ve poured so much love into. So excited to share this with you…*Limited quantities for each seasonal drop*.” This is the first time we’ve heard anything about a “seasonal drop,” right? Meaning, what? Was this all we get for spring? Will supplies come back in stock for the spring product line? Or will people have to wait for the summer product line?
Meanwhile, Wednesday was also the first time the prices of As Ever products were revealed. While the items were “pricey” if you’re used to Walmart shopping, I didn’t find them outlandish at all. $14 jam, $15 flower sprinkles, tea mixes for $12. Those are farmer’s market prices and lemme tell you, a lot of people are used to farmer’s market prices. The Telegraph also huffed that the only reason why As Ever products sold out was because there were only limited quantities:
The Duchess of Sussex has revealed the prices for her lifestyle brand, including wildflower honey with honeycomb priced at $28 (£21.60). The As Ever range also includes a $14 (£10.80) jar of raspberry jam and flower sprinkles for $15 (£11.60).
The goods, which also include shortbread and crepe mixes, both costing $14 (£10.80), and various herbal tea mixes for $12 (£9.30) each, went on sale in the United States on Wednesday and the entire product range appeared to have sold out within 30 minutes of going live.
A well-placed source told The Telegraph that the items would be made available in small quantities and quickly marked as sold out to generate interest, which is a common marketing ploy.
I think it’s always difficult for a start-up to gauge the demand for their product, and most start-up businesses will find it easier to scale up rather than scale down if they’ve wildly overestimated interest. Meghan started small to see what the real-world interest would be in her product line. Now she knows that the demand is there and she can scale up accordingly. Interestingly, the Telegraph’s “marketing ploy” eyeroll reminded me of Kylie Jenner starting Kylie Cosmetics back in the day. Kylie also underestimated demand, and for the first year of Kylie Cosmetics, every product drop would be sold out in minutes. It wasn’t a marketing ploy, it was an inexperienced businesswoman trying to figure out how to scale up to meet demand in real time. Anyway, Kylie is now a billionaire or close to it. Something to think about.
Photos courtesy of Meghan’s IG, Cover Images.
