Expert reveals Meghan Markle's marketing plan for As Ever

As Ever products sold out in 30 minutes, gushed its founder, Meghan Markle, on Instagram.

“Our shelves may be empty, but my heart is full!” she penned. “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. Here we go!”

Following the stunning sale, the Duchess of Sussex has promised to restock eight products, including $45 honey, $22 raspberry jam, and $24 flower sprinkles.

But Pauline Maclaran, a Marketing & Consumer Research professor at Royal Holloway, University of London, said the picture is not as smooth as it seems.

The expert alleged that this quick sale was the Suits actress's marketing tactic: the scarcity principle.

Her claim is also in line with a well-placed source who told The Telegraph that "items would be made available in small quantities and quickly marked as sold out to generate interest."

"Of course, we don't know how many products there were in the first place - we don't know how limited it was," she said.

Pauline continued, "But in a way, it seems to me to be quite a good branding strategy because she is working on the scarcity principle. She's whipping up demand through the idea that the products are something to prize and that you have to wait for it - and that she is going to have more supplies very soon."

"The whole story at the moment, according to her, is that it has been hugely successful because everything has sold out within the hour so people who want to get the product will be on tenterhooks following when she is going to announce there's more," the expert noted.

"That can work quite well but I don't suppose she will reveal how limited the stock was. But this is a tried and trusted strategy for encouraging demand and increasing anticipation around particularly high-value products," the professor added.

"The price of her jam is really the price that Fortnum and Mason charges so it is really at the top end with a high-end pricing point. At the moment, I have to say that after what seems like a pretty shaky start, the launch has been good with a bit of a punch," Pauline concluded.