Meghan Markle’s lifestyle range will finally be on the market in just a few weeks, Page Six can reveal.
However, don’t expect to see the organic jam the Duchess of Sussex sent to celebrity pals in kitschy linen-topped jars last April when she first announced the brand, initially called American Riviera Orchard.
Instead, one branding expert said to anticipate a “much more commercial” fruit-spread version of the jam Markle originally produced from her own garden. (The duchess later said when she could confirmed that As Ever would include “fruit preserves; I think we’re all clear at this point that jam is my jam.)
It’s part of her move to grow a “billion dollar business” and take on her frenemies, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Martha Stewart. It also follows months of shenanigans behind the scenes, Page Six is told.
This week, Markle also launched a ShopMy site filled with her favorite clothes in muted Markle shades of taupe, blue and gray, alongside her the makeup selections she used for her 2018 wedding and her friends’ hair care products.
The page noted that some products may contain “commissionable links” — meaning Markle could receive a percentage of sales.
Not to mention, she will debut her new podcast, “Confessions of a Female Founder with Meghan” — all about building “billion dollar businesses” — on April 8.
This new boss-lady approach will certainly be needed if Prince Harry, 40, is to build upon his role as a global statesman — especially in a week when he was forced to step down from his beloved African charity, Sentebale.
Page Six has reached out to the Sussexes’ rep for comment.
But Markle’s move from royal to influencer has not been without its pitfalls, multiple sources tell us, as they described precisely what happened in the run up to the launch of Markle’s Netflix lifestyle show, “With Love, Meghan.”
Just weeks before the series debuted on March 5, the mom-of-two announced she was changing the name of her brand, from American Riviera Orchard to As Ever, amid a string of trademark snafus.
She later admitted to “tons of twists and turns” when building her business, “even with the name.”
One Hollywood source noted, however, “Meghan has never said it was a trademark issue. She has never said those words out loud — she won’t admit fault.
“All she will say is that she was parallel patenting these two names all along,” the source added. “She acts as if nothing is wrong, when everything around her is in chaos.”
Markle’s lifestyle plan was to take on Gwyneth Paltrow and Martha Stewart, sources said.
“It was going to be her own business, but she didn’t want to work with investors — and she didn’t want to spend any money to build it,” claimed an industry insider familiar with the business.
A source told Page Six the show was already in development with Netflix before any discussions began about collaborating on consumer goods.
Under the umbrella of ARO, Markle trademarked a host of products — from fruit spreads to dog biscuits.
“She was set to use ARO, all the labels were printed and then somebody had to tell her, ‘You can’t use this trademark,’” the industry insider added. “It was while the show was being made and it was too late to stop everything … that’s why the products weren’t ready in time for the air date.”
Asked if Markle has reacted to the headlines the brand changes have garnered, the insider replied she is capable of “throwing a fit. She always wants to hear a rose-tinted version.”
Markle was going to announce the new brand name when the show aired, but decided to announce it in February when it started to leak — releasing her own glossy video saying she had had the second name all along.
She has absolutely thrown herself into As Ever with gusto, we’re told.
The duchess in every single meeting and is dedicated to her products. “It’s not like she’s slapping her name on Smucker’s,” said another source.
“With Love, Meghan” — which is no longer the Netflix top 10 — will return in the fall for a second season
“We’re a passive partner in Meghan’s company, and it’s a big discovery model for us right now,” Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos told Variety this month.
As for why Markle was “the right person to bet on,” Sarandos explained, “I think Meghan is underestimated in terms of her influence on culture.
“When we dropped the trailer for the ‘Harry & Meghan’ doc series [in 2022] … The shoes she was wearing sold out all over the world. The Hermès blanket that was on the chair behind her sold out everywhere in the world. People are fascinated with Meghan Markle. She and Harry are overly dismissed,” he continued.
It seems that Markle is learning publicity tricks from a master.
Amid rumors of a rift with her Montecito neighbor, Gwyneth Paltrow, the pair made a knowing appearance together this week on Paltrow’s instagram.
Still, as the Daily Mail reported and Page Six confirmed, when Paltrow recently hosted a dinner at her house for the cashmere brand Loro Piana, Markle was not invited — even as her neighbors and pals Oprah Winfrey, Whitney Wolfe Herd and fashion designer Tracy Robbins were all on hand.
“No matter how you get the eyeballs they can be turned into cash,” Rachel Richardson, the founder of the Highly Flammable trends newsletter, told us, pointing out that several brands reporting selling out of products after Markle’s ShopMy launch.
“If her As ever product range passes the taste test then it will certainly find its niche, whether or not it has the royal seal of approval,” Richardson added.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry is working on projects close to his heart, like the Invictus Games, but faced a personal setback this week.
Both he and his co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho stepped down from the board of Sentebale — the charity Harry set up in memory of his mother, Princess Diana — amid a fallout with the chair, Dr Sophie Chandauka.
Sources familiar with the charity issues, which has now been reported by Dr. Chandauka to the UK charities commission, told Page Six the chair had hired fundraisers for more than half a million UK pounds — with little to show for it.
In a statement, Dr. Chandauka said, “Beneath all the victim narrative and fiction that has been syndicated to press is the story of a woman who dared to blow the whistle about issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir and the cover-up that ensued.”
Asked about the question of any financial impropriety, a Sentebale spokesperson told Page Six: “A lot of information being shared is untrue and defamatory in nature.”
Meanwhile, Markle continues on with her money-making endeavors, which the industry insider likened to Sarah Ferguson being a Weight Watchers spokesperson from 1997-2007.
Said the insider: “Meghan may be cashing in, but she’s also selling out.”
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