The Duchess of Sussex has a new interview with Fast Company. It’s entirely about her businesses – her Netflix show, her As Ever line and the Confessions of a Female Founder podcast. It sounds like Meghan is having a quiet moment where she’s planning and mapping out the future for all of these ventures and more. She isn’t breaking big news in this piece, but she does make some interesting confirmations, namely: there’s interest in a second COAFF season; As Ever will probably be restocked at some point, but there will be even more products offered next year; Netflix collaborates with her on almost every aspect of As Ever; the new products will probably involve tableware, kitchenware and the like. Some highlights from Fast Company:
Archie 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.”
How Netflix got involved with As Ever: 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.”
Why As Ever is separate from WLM: 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.”
As Ever’s next phase. 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 endlessly restock the popular products, which would likely sell out very quickly again. But while the As Ever team has hinted online that the items will be back on sale soon, Meghan also 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.
The As Ever expansion: 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.”
Building her brand around her love of home: “My heart is very deeply in my home. 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.”
Perhaps a clothing business? 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.
What is her job description? “If I had to write a résumé, I don’t know what I would call myself. 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.”
“The easiest thing to do would have been to endlessly restock the popular products, which would likely sell out very quickly again.” Yeah… that would be the plan of action which would make the most sense, which is why I do think it’s weird that Meghan hasn’t prioritized a restock yet. “Meghan also wants to take a step back, gather data from the launch, and figure out exactly what As Ever could be.” She can do that while restocking her products!! To be clear, I fully support Meghan and her businesses, and so do tens of thousands of other people. Which is why I find it hard to believe that Meghan and her team think it’s smart to sell out once a year and leave it at that. That’s not a sustainable business model, especially when there are so many people dying to buy more jars of monarchy-destroying jam!
Photos courtesy of As Ever’s IG, screencap from the Jamie Kern Lima Show.
