I have to admit something: the Daily Mail was actually right about one little thing and I was wrong. In the Mail’s grumpy article about the Duchess of Sussex’s As Ever line going on sale, they made some strange claims about how no one would buy As Ever products (the sold out in less than an hour) and that “Netflix staff” hate Meghan and how disorganized everything is with the product line. All of that is clearly BS, but they also said that Meghan was sending out products to influencers to hype As Ever. I was like… no, that’s stupid, she’s not doing that. But she is, sort of. The As Ever team sent out gift boxes full of the As Ever product line to Meghan’s friends and various influencer-types. Boxes were sent to: Kris Jenner, Zoe Saldana, “fashion journalist” Elizabeth Holmes, fashion designer Annie Bing, Tracy Robbins and more.
I have no idea if the gift-boxes were meant as general As Ever hype or if Meghan had any idea that the products would sell out as quickly as they did. But I do know that a new cottage industry has sprung up this week: people derangersplaining why As Ever sold out, with conspiracies about just how few products were really made.
Kudos to Meghan Sussex (nee Markle). Prince Harry’s wife, who is leaning into her royal title, the Duchess of Sussex (despite loathing the royal family), debuted her As Ever product line and sold out of her $28 jars of honey, $14 jams, $12 teas and $15 dried flowers within an hour Wednesday. And while more products are in the works, insiders were skeptical about the “limited edition” selling out so fast.
“Limited Edition means, not many products were available — it was a test drive,” one industry insider told me. “It’s all about perception with her — a little smoke and mirrors. Like Netflix announcing a ‘second season’ of her show (‘With Love, Meghan’) when it was already shot and contractually built in. It’s not like they actually re-signed her and shot a whole new season. It’s the same thing here. Of course you can sell out of anything if there’s scarcity of product. It’s like saying the Loro Piana sweater Meghan owns sold out after she wore it on her show — well they only make like five of them!”
There is no way of knowing how many teas, jams and honey jars were made — and Markle is not letting people know which factory made them (most factories make similar products for many companies — it would be embarrassing to find out, say, that Markle’s $14 raspberry jam in keepsake packaging was made for another company at half the price).
Either way, most of the products are overpriced, even for the luxury market… similar “organic” dried edible flowers can be found on Amazon for $5 cheaper.
”That’s probably where she got them from and just repackaged them and put her name on it like she did with the pretzels (on her show),” the insider sniffed.
Meanwhile, Netflix staffers working on the product line are starting to grumble, complaining Markle’s business venture is a “logistical nightmare,” according to the Daily Mail. “The buying team are having an issue as they can’t work out what the demand will be, if any,” the source told the Daily Mail.
The PR team is in full motion, however, as The New York Times published a puff piece entitled, “Inside Meghan’s Real Kitchen, Away From the Cameras — Cooking with the Duchess of Sussex as she navigates her rebrand from recovering royal to domestic goddess,” and Meghan has a slew of friends set to cover social media with her products.
”I kind of hope this works out for her,” said a publishing insider. “She’s kind of blowing her wad all at once. The New York Times piece was a bit of a shock — they normally don’t glad hand like that — but you can be sure: They won’t do it again.”
[From NewsNation]
https://www.newsnationnow.com/entertainment-news/meghan-markle-as-ever-products-selling-out/
“They normally don’t glad hand like that — but you can be sure: They won’t do it again” – people considered that NY Times piece to be a “glad handing puff piece”? It was not. It was snotty, catty and bitchy towards Meghan, Harry and even Doria. I hope Meghan never lets one of those snide white women into her home again. And “kind of blowing her wad all at once”?? She gave two interviews in the week her product line was released and she sent out some product gift boxes. How is that “blowing her wad?” And it did, in fact, work out for her – the line sold out, the haters are mad that they can’t find out where her products are made, and Meghan has enough information about the demand for her products to ensure that there will be more in stock next time around. Anyway, Meghan’s multiple successes this year are really driving people crazy. I hope she keeps winning.
Zoe Saldana – “Thank you Meghan for this beautiful and yummy gift! Proud of you Aseverofficial”
Looks gorgeous
#AsEverMeghan #AsEver pic.twitter.com/aecb31rLcT
— ChrisBaronSmith (@ChrisBaronSmit1) April 3, 2025
Photos courtesy of Netflix, Meghan’s IG.
