Meghan Markle is a wearer of many hats (if not tiaras). She went from actress to Duchess of Sussex, becoming and then unbecoming a member of the British royal family before she and Prince Harry stepped back from royal duties in 2020. While the see-saw of her personal life has continued to oscillate publicly, one role has remained consistent: that of an entrepreneur. With her lifestyle brand As Ever, Meghan has firmly established herself as a player in the space. A website glitch recently exposed internal sales data, revealing that her Signature Fruit Spread Gift Box, priced at $42, has been selling at scale. Roughly one million units of the product were reportedly ordered, with about 130,000 remaining. The figures suggest an estimated 87 percent sell-through and around $36 million in stock value sold.
A source told The Sun, “I think it’s fair to say business isn’t just successful, it’s flying off the shelf.” The numbers inevitably bring to mind the critics who mocked and ridiculed Meghan during the release of her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, where she hosted friends and celebrity guests at her California home for activities like cooking, gardening, and DIY projects. Yet it is difficult to ignore the timing. The show appears to have helped fuel interest in the brand, especially given that Netflix is also invested in the company.
Long before sell-outs, streaming deals, Meghan learned the mechanics of work in a far more ordinary setting. At 13, her first job was at a frozen yogurt shop called Humphrey Yogart. Once a teenager earning her own money behind a counter, Meghan Markle now leads As Ever, a lifestyle brand whose Signature Fruit Spread Gift Box has become a favorite among well-known names, including Oprah.
While teen Meghan learned service, customer mood-reading, and pace during busy shifts at the frozen yogurt counter, adult Meghan has had to master demand forecasting, inventory optics, and the infrastructure strain that comes when a website buckles under traffic. It is a problem, but a good one to have. Meghan shared, “When you sell out that quickly… it’s a double-edged sword… You don’t get the same metrics and learnings… because it’s all gone immediately.”
The glitch also revealed the depth of As Ever’s inventory beyond fruit spreads, including roughly 80,000 packets of edible flower sprinkles, 30,000 jars of honey, 30,000 mulling kits, nearly 90,000 candles, and 70,000 bottles of wine. At 44, Meghan has no shortage of work ahead as she expands the business beyond the United States to international markets, including Britain, where her jam may soon become as much a talking point at afternoon tea as she herself has long been.