LOVE IT or hate it there is one thing we all have to do at home and that’s clean.
From scrubbing the loo bowl with a toilet brush to scouring out the murky drawers in the fridge - cleaning is one of life’s great levellers.
But who knew you could become one of the UK’s richest influencers as a result of knowing your microfibre cloth from your feather duster?
Step forward Sophie Hinchcliffe – aka Mrs Hinch. Because there is nobody with a better domestic strategy than the Essex-born blonde.
In 2018 the 32-year-old former sales rep decided to give it a go as an influencer.
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Within a year she had 2.5 million followers – or Hinchers as they became known - using the hashtag #HinchArmy.
Fast forward to today and the mum-of-two is a multi-millionaire.
Last month (Dec 2022) Hinchliffe, director of Mrs Hinch Limited, filed accounts ending in April 2022 to Companies House.
They show that in the previous 12 months, she coined in around £2.1m in earnings.
The accounts also show she has pocketed a whopping £5million in just two years.
No wonder then that the Instagram cleaning influencer last year moved into a dreamy £1.1million farmhouse with her husband and kids.
Britain’s most popular female influencer now lives in a five-bedroom sprawling Essex property with husband Jamie, 42, and their sons Ronnie, 3 and Lennie, 18 months.
Hinch Farm sits on 1.7 acres and boasts a gated driveway, grand wooden staircase, stables, brand new kitchen and outdoor space to host the menagerie of Hinch animals including chickens, pigs and alpacas.
So how on earth is she raking in all her money?
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Today with over 4.6 million followers on Instagram, Sophie started out promoting cleaning products she loved. Who can forget the minky cloth? Or the obsession with (environmentally suspect) Zoflora cleaning product.
Her ‘Hun army’ were riveted to her posts set in her immaculate grey and silver home complete with karate-chopped cushions.
Before long the deals and collabs started rolling in.
Hinchliffe signed with the social media influencer agency Gleam, the giants who launched Zoella and represent the likes of Tanya Burr.
Their website describes “Hinching” as “a fun, inclusive activity which encompasses all elements of housework and the home.”
BOOKS
In 2018, 11 publishing houses bid to join the Mrs Hinch gold mine and it was rumoured that a six figure deal was brokered for her first book “Hinch Yourself Happy” which sold 160,000 copies in its first 3 days of release in April 2019. One journalist even had to sign a non-disclosure agreement before she could see a preview copy.
Predictably it became a Sunday Times Bestseller. Her subsequent titles “Mrs Hinch: The Activity Journal”, “Mrs Hinch: The Little Book of Lists” and of course the life memoir “This Is Me.”
Her books have sold over 2 million copies and a new one out in February next month, aimed at kids, is reporting on life on Hinch Farm.
Their website describes 'Hinching' as 'a fun, inclusive activity which encompasses all elements of housework and the home'
CLEANING PRODUCTS
Little wonder Proctor and Gamble signed up Mrs Hinch as their Ambassador in 2019.
In June 2019 the ASA announced they were investigating the ‘cleanfluencer’ following complaints over a lack of transparency over the promotion of certain goods.
Since then P&G have used the Mrs Hinch brand to push items such as “a limited-edition laundry duo for Winter 2020.”
She's gone onto promote for beauty giants Garnier.
A Telegraph article spoke to a company boss, on the condition of anonymity, who said after he thanked Mrs Hinchliffe for a positive post about his goods, her social media agency reps contacted him to suggest a “£10,000 deal” for a “series of promotions”.
TESCOS
Tesco's Mrs Hinch collection launched in January 2021 with items including bedlinen, heart-shaped bowls and candles.
They are in the grey and silver tomes beloved of Mrs Hinch pre-Hinch Farm.
With her new book at no. 1 in the best sellers list before publishing she’s on to a winner here
Nick Ede
TRANSITION TO LIFESTYLE
Brand and Culture expert Nick Ede says the secret to the lucrative deals that Mrs Hinch has managed to achieve is that she has now gone beyond the cleaning hacks she was one only known for.
"All the tiny details are paid for by brands looking to affiliate with her 4 million strong following.
"Now she has expanded into children’s books which is a huge money spinner for talent - look at stars like David Walliams and Alesha Dixon who make millions from their books.
"She’s doing the same and with her new book at no. 1 in the best sellers list before publishing she’s on to a winner here."
BACKLASH
Yet not everyone is in the Hinch Army.
In October last year a Mumsnet member asked, "Please… somebody tell me I’m not the only person to find her so completely tone deaf, given her position as an “influencer” and the current economy?!"
Her methods were also questioned by Interior Design Masters’ Michelle Ogundehin for her regular use of “toxic” cleaners.
