Meet the influencers who have generated £2m sales for one company

A husband-and-wife team of influencers have contributed more than £2m of sales for one Lancashire cruise company.

Richard and Helen Chalu were 49 when they gave up their day jobs in 2020 to become full-time cruise and travel content creators.

The couple, who have three grown-up children, have clocked up 85 cruises and share their vlogs with the 71k subscribers to their YouTube channel ‘Visit With Us’.

They also act as ambassadors for luxury cruise retailer Panache Cruises and have just reached £2m in sales for the Chorley-based company. 

James Cole, chief executive of Panache Cruises, said: “It’s an amazing achievement to have generated more than £2m in sales.

“When I started Panache in 2020 I wanted to find an influencer who shared our values and culture.

“We spoke to a number of influencers but Richard and Helen were head and shoulders above everyone else.

“They specialise in producing high quality content and share our love of luxury and ultra luxury cruises.

“They’re brilliant at capturing experiences and I couldn’t think of better ambassadors for the Panache brand, which is evidenced in topping more than £2m of sales.”

Helen and Richard primarily earn money through YouTube ad revenue with added sales commission coming from Panache.

Richard, who is a former finance director, said: “Panache is the only travel agent that we have a partnership with.

“We have a very simple business model. We don’t over complicate it with merchandise.

“We try and make each story as cinematic as possible because with luxury cruising, it’s the details that matter and we believe they matter to the viewer too. 

“Also, every second of video on our channel is our own material. We never use stock footage or third party clips. If we don’t experience it with our own eyes, it simply doesn’t go into the video. That way, everything you watch can be relied upon.”

The couple, who are both 55, go on an average of 10 cruises a year - often being invited on board by the cruise lines directly - and create enough content to produce a 30 or 60-minute video every 10 days or so.

Richard said: “We really enjoy what we do and we’re left to our own devices. I think Panache Cruises are a fabulous company and they share our vision.

“When we left our jobs at the age of 49 our initial plan was to do this for five years but we enjoy it so much we can’t wait to see what the next five years will bring.”