Making a mint from merchandising: £1.8m
DESPITE selling her condiments company to RH Amar, Mary has had plenty of income from her other businesses. Under her married name of Hunnings, Mary is listed as a director of Mary Berry Ltd, which reported assets of £1,474,781 to the year ending June 2019, and Mary Berry Merchandising Ltd, which reported net assets of £346,506 in 2019 — up from £288,390 in 2018.
Little information is available on any of these companies as they only file summary accounts. Mary may channel all or part of her earnings from licensing deals and other royalties through them. Her income is likely to include sums from her kitchenware ranges, deals on both of which were done in 2014, at the peak of Bake Off’s popularity.
There was The Mary Berry Collection, a range of upmarket kitchen products available through Sainsbury’s and John Lewis. A year after arriving in store, sales of the various items are said to have exceeded £1 million. They currently include a Mary Berry Signature Collection Dinnerware Set for £125 and set of four eggcups for £12.95.
Since 2014 she has also had a range with Lakeland, reported to be worth five figures, that embodies her ‘care and devotion’. Products include a £399.99 Kenwood by Mary Berry Special Edition mixer and £11.99 Stackable Cake Display Stand to showcase that hopefully nottoo-soggy bottom. And she might be in her ninth decade, but Mary has embraced new technology. Knowing it is a sure-fire way to lure in younger fans, she has launched a £1.99 app for mobile phones and tablets, In Mary We Trust, featuring 60 recipes.