Latest news with #lifestylebrand
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I can't understand Meghan's marketing gobbledygook - but I do know where her business is going wrong after an insider told me, writes RICHARD EDEN
When the Duchess of Sussex launched her lifestyle brand, As Ever, last month, products including her wildflower honey with honeycomb ($28 or £21.60) and edible flower sprinkles ($15 or £11.60) sold out within just 45 minutes. I was among those who presumed that Meghan was using the oldest sales technique in the book: deliberately having only a tiny amount of supplies available for sale to create the illusion of huge demand.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Meghan Markle's business seems to be in chaos: Palace insider reveals exactly what's going wrong in savage swipe - and why Prince Harry must now step up to save the Sussexes, RICHARD EDEN writes
When the Duchess of Sussex launched her lifestyle brand, As Ever, last month, products including her wildflower honey with honeycomb ($28 or £21.60) and edible flower sprinkles ($15 or £11.60) sold out within just 45 minutes. I was among those who presumed that Meghan was using the oldest sales technique in the book: deliberately having only a tiny amount of supplies available for sale to create the illusion of huge demand.
Fast Company
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
How Meghan built her pioneering partnership with Netflix
Meghan carries many titles these days. Besides being the Duchess of Sussex, she's a podcaster, a philanthropist, a children's book author, the star of a Netflix show, and the founder of a direct-to-consumer startup. But when I sit down to speak with her, she says she's recently taken on a new role: that of Tooth Fairy. Archie, her 6-year-old son, recently lost his first tooth. Meghan rushed home to ensure she could be the one to leave a little money and a small dinosaur under his pillow. At 2 a.m., Archie woke Meghan up excitedly to tell her what had happened. 'I had a lot of business meetings the next morning, but I still chose to cuddle with him the rest of the night,' she says. 'Those mom moments energize me to be a better founder, a better employer, a better boss.' These are the kinds of work life details that Meghan likes to get into in her podcast series, Confessions of a Female Founder, made with the production company Lemonada Media (which is also behind podcasts by Sarah Silverman and David Duchovny, among others). It has had more than 800,000 downloads since its April launch. On the show, Meghan talks with female founders about the origins of their business, along the lines of Guy Raz's How I Built This. But the show also has another dimension: It allows Meghan to get practical advice about launching her own lifestyle brand, As Ever. 'I'm pulling back the curtain to allow people to see the candid experience of being a founder,' Meghan says. In the eight-part series, she's spoken to guests ranging from Bumble's Whitney Wolfe Herd to Kitsch's Cassandra Thurswell. The finale, released May 27, features Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx and Sneex. A Pioneering Netflix Deal In her conversation with Blakely, Meghan talks about how she partnered with Netflix to create As Ever, her new brand, which launched in February. The line included products like tea, jams, honey, cookie mixes, and her iconic 'flower sprinkles,' which are edible flower petals that spruce up dishes (priced between $9 and $28). Over the past few years, even as Netflix's subscriber numbers have continued to show impressive growth (it added 18.91 million subscribers, a year-over-year increase of 15.9%, in the fourth quarter of 2024), it has also been exploring how it can create products tied to the content of shows. The streaming service now has an online shop that sells everything from cosplay costumes for Squid Game to Stranger Things bomber jackets. With Bridgerton, one of Netflix's biggest hits, the streaming service produced its own products, like coffee mugs, but also licensed Bridgerton branding to other companies, like Hill House Home and Selkie, to produce dresses. Meghan says that she had been exploring various ways of launching a business when Bela Bajaria, Netflix's chief content officer, approached her. 'At the time, I had been working towards building out my own in-house team,' Meghan says. 'But I had a complete U-turn because I completely bought into the vision she was sharing, which is where content and commerce meet, not in a product placement way, but rather in an ideological way.' In many ways, this is a pioneering partnership for Netflix. Along with Meghan, the Netflix team decided that it made sense for As Ever to exists on its own, without any Netflix branding. This is why the line isn't called, 'With Love, Meghan,' like the show. 'The brand is in the same universe at the show, but they're not the same,' Meghan says. Meghan also points out that Netflix is not just a financial backer. The company's consumer packaged goods team works closely with Meghan's team to manufacture the products. 'We are on calls daily, working through product development, SKUs, and inventory,' she says. 'We have a field trip tomorrow to look at different manufacturers and suppliers as we expand the brand.' What Comes Next for As Ever As Ever's first collection was a runaway success. Meghan says that even though the team spent a year preparing the line and forecasting demand, all the products on the site sold out in 45 minutes. Now, they're trying to plan As Ever's next phase. The easiest thing to do would have been to simply restock the products, which would likely sell out very quickly again. But instead, Meghan wants to take a step back, gather data from the launch, and figure out exactly what As Ever could be. She says she's planning to announce new products in the first quarter of 2026. There are some clues about what new items might be in the pipeline. Meghan's trademark application for her brand includes things like cookbooks, tableware, cutlery, and serving ware. 'I want to really focus on the hospitality angle of As Ever, but as we take the learnings, we can understand what the customer's needs are seasonally,' she says. There are now many models for successful celebrity brands. As Meghan contemplates what comes next, there are many directions she could go, from focusing on a single product category, like Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Kim Kardashian's SKIMS, to a broader play, like Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop and Jessica Alba's The Honest Company. But for now, she believes it makes sense to build a brand around a single idea. 'My heart is very deeply in my home,' she says. 'Everything comes from being rooted in the love story of your home and garden, and then you can imagine different verticals coming out of that.' In the future, though, the sky's the limit. I ask whether she might explore a clothing business, since many women are drawn to her personal style. 'The category of fashion is something I will explore at a later date, because I do think that's an interesting space for me,' she says. As she continues building As Ever, there's a good chance we'll hear about her twists and turns through through a podcast. There's interest in doing a second season of Confessions of a Female Founder, and many female founders have approached her to be a guest on the series. But Meghan is now involved in such a wide range of projects, she's sure to find some way to tell her story. 'If I had to write a résumé, I don't know what I would call myself,' she says. 'I think it speaks to this chapter many of us find ourselves in, where none of us are one note. But I believe all the notes I am playing are part of the same song.'
Daily Mail
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Meghan Markle shares behind-the-scenes glimpse into domestic life - as lifestyle brand As Ever accused of 'ghosting' customers
Meghan Markle has shared another behind-the-scenes glimpse into her life in California - as her lifestyle brand is accused of 'ghosting' customers after its launch. The Duchess of Sussex, 43, shared the sweet kitchen snapshot to her official As Ever Instagram page ahead of Memorial Day weekend in the United States. In the photograph, Meghan wears a spotless apron as she appears to bake inside a lavish kitchen, her hair pulled back and a natural smile on her face. Products from the As Ever line - the 'raspberry spread' - can be seen on the side. The image is captioned: 'Stir, sip, repeat — savouring moments slow and sweet this holiday weekend.' But this look into Meghan's life comes as the Duchess was criticised for a 'lack of planning' because her sold-out products still haven't been restocked after months. The Duchess of Sussex released her 'As Ever' line, first teased more than a year ago under a different name, on April 2 with the limited pieces hitting her online site at eye-watering prices. The eight products on sale included a wildflower honey with honeycomb, priced at $28 (£21.60), and some flower sprinkles at $15 (£11.60). Meanwhile, a jar of raspberry jam set punters back $14 (£10.80), while the abundance of other goods on sale included shortbread and crepe mixes, both being sold for $14, alongside various herbal tea mixes for $12 (£9.30 each). Fans snapped up the products within minutes – the range sold out in just half an hour. But now, nearly two months later, keen shoppers who had initially hoped to get their hands on the exclusive product range have been left bitterly disappointed. All of the sold-out stock is still unavailable to purchase online. At the time of the opening day, critics had begun to question the success of the 43-year-old's latest business venture. It was claimed the items had been made available in small quantities and then quickly marked as sold out in order to generate interest. Pictured: Some of the sold-out products within the As Ever collection. Exclusive products on sale included a wildflower honey with honeycomb, priced at an eye-watering $28 (£21.60), and some flower sprinkles at $15 (£11.60) One industry insider told MailOnline: 'Showing that there is a sell out is very common for new brands to fake demand. There is no warehouse full of jams.' But Renae Smith, founder and director of The Atticism, has now criticised Meghan for 'ghosting' her fans with what she dubbed a 'half-baked' PR move. She told the Express: 'It's not surprising people are mocking it. From a PR and brand-building perspective, the strategy feels a bit half-baked. 'The initial drop clearly exceeded expectations; honey selling out in five minutes is impressive, but it also screams lack of planning. Honey is honey. It doesn't take six months to source more.' Ms Smith added that it looks like Meghan 'launched, sold out, and then ghosted the audience'. 'That doesn't build anticipation, it creates the sense that the brand doesn't know what it wants to be,' she explained, adding that the 13-month tease period was 'boring'.
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
As Never?! Big questions swirl over why Meghan Markle's lifestyle brand has not been restocked for nearly two months
Nearly two months after it first launched Meghan Markle's lifestyle brand is facing questions over why its sold-out products have still not been restocked. The Duchess of Sussex released her 'As Ever' line, first teased more than a year ago under a different name, on April 2 with the limited pieces hitting her online site at eye-watering prices. The eight products on sale included a wildflower honey with honeycomb, priced at an eye-watering $28 (£21.60), and some flower sprinkles at $15 (£11.60). Meanwhile, a jar of raspberry jam set punters back $14 (£10.80), while the abundance of other goods on sale included shortbread and crepe mixes, both being sold for $14, alongside various herbal tea mixes for £12 (£9.30 each). Fans snapped up the unique product range within minutes, with the range selling out within just half an hour of going live. Reveling in the success, in a gushing post to her followers after the launch, Meghan wrote: 'Our shelves may be empty, but my heart is full! 'We sold out in less than one hour and I can't thank you enough... for celebrating, purchasing, sharing, and believing. It's just the start @aseverofficial. Here we go!' Pictured: some of the sold-out products within the As Ever collection. Exclusive products on sale included a wildflower honey with honeycomb, priced at an eye-watering $28 (£21.60), and some flower sprinkles at $15 (£11.60) But now, nearly two months later, keen shoppers who had initially hoped to get their hands on the exclusive product range have been left bitterly disappointed, with the sold-out stock still unavailable to purchase online. At the time of the opening day, some had began to cast an element of doubt on the success of the 43-year-old's latest business venture. It was claimed the items had been made available in small quantities and then quickly marked as sold out in order to generate interest. Meanwhile, one industry insider told MailOnline today: 'Showing that there is a sell out is very common for new brands to fake demand. There is no warehouse full of jams.' Described by Richard Eden, the Daily Mail's Diary Editor, as 'one of the oldest marketing tricks in the book', Richard was also quick to brand the As Ever range as 'pathetic' due to the limited range of products available. During MailOnline's hit Youtube show, Palace Confidential, Richard remarked: 'Have you looked at her lifestyle website As Ever? It went live yesterday with the prices and everything. It's really pathetic. There's only about ten items. I was expecting quite a nice range. 'Come on', "Sold out". I mean, give me a break. That's the oldest marketing trick in the book.' Meanwhile, Rebecca English, the Daily Mail's revered Royal Editor added: 'Interestingly, I went on the As Ever site when I heard it had gone live within about three or four minutes and already a lot of the items were either showing sold out or coming soon. 'It was kind of slightly all over the place. 'She has put on the site that there is a limited drop but obviously we have no idea of the number they are selling and Richard is right, there's a lot of marketing experts saying that this is one of the oldest tricks in the book.' Now, Mark Borkowski, one of the UK's leading publicity gurus and crisis managers, has described Meghan's management of the sold-out launch as 'chaos', questioning 'what the true story is' behind the long-standing unavailable products. Reflecting on how offering no explanation for the lack of stock could be harming her brand's image, Mr Borkowski told Newsweek: 'As soon as nothing's happening, people as questions but therefore her PR has always been chaos. 'Maybe the fact it's not restocking gives them the opportunity to refresh the story, but there's just no logic and now of course questions are going to be asked. Do they have the answers?' The expert even theorised that perhaps Meghan could be being 'let down by the very people who were surprised by her success'. Nevertheless, despite the ongoing stock issues, Mr Borkowski was quick to stress that Meghan's public image of 'create noise, create chaos', has continued 'business as normal'. And, while Meghan continues reaping the success of her podcast Confessions of a Female, alongside making vast profits from As Ever, a key question remains: 'What happens to Harry? How does he exist in this crazy world of their making?'
