Meghan Markle and Prince Harry may be swimming in bankruptcy rumours, but a fresh Newsweek analysis of their lifestyle business paints a different picture. Markle’s online shop, As Ever, is flying off the virtual shelves, from $9 teas to $30 bottles of wine, the products barely stay in stock. If she wanted, she could be pocketing millions just by scaling up supply.
Meghan Markle could make millions in a week
Though Netflix hasn’t confirmed anything yet, there’s been a lot of noise around the streamer not renewing the $100 million deal with the Montecito-based royals, especially after the couple’s recent content setbacks. Meghan Markle, meanwhile, dropped her lifestyle brand As Ever back in April, and it started making noise from day one, even with the early backlash over trademark issues. Her top sellers $9 raspberry jams, $11 pancake and cookie mixes, and a $30 Napa Valley rosé, everything’s been vanishing off shelves within minutes of each drop. After her first batch sold out in April, she followed it up with a second drop in June, and then amped things up with a wine launch on July 1, which went out of stock in no time.
Behind the scenes, the couple had been building hype for months, quietly sending curated boxes to Hollywood A-listers and influencers. Newsweek dug into the numbers and found As Ever pulled in half a million page views during the second launch. If every visitor had grabbed just one jar of $9 jam, that’s $4.5 million in a week. Realistically, not everyone buys, but even if a chunk did, and some splurged on $28 honey or $90 wine sets, the math still adds up to millions.
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However, a few things are still holding back Meghan’s profits. Her team is keeping every drop limited and seasonal, which means she’s cashing in only a fraction of what she could if supply actually met demand. And that $4.5 million is before cutting out costs (production, packaging, shipping, staff, marketing), and whatever’s left has to be split with Netflix, which holds a stake in the brand. While Meghan wants to keep things exclusive, some experts warn that items like edible flower sprinkles ($15 for a tiny 0.18-ounce tin) and jams might come off more as novelty buys than essentials. People might try them once for curiosity, but they’re not necessarily coming back.
That said, brand analyst Nick Ede believes Meghan’s real shot at building something lasting lies in wine. If she nails the next launch and manages to get bottles into global retail instead of just selling online, it could mean regular buyers, repeat orders, and real profits. She’s currently planning to drop a sparkling wine later this summer, and if she gets that one right, it could be a game-changer for As Ever.
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Meanwhile, Prince Harry may be extending an olive branch to the Royal Family, but insiders say don’t expect him to start playing by Buckingham Palace’s rules anytime soon. A couple of weeks ago, his PR team was seen in London meeting with King Charles’ chief of communications, fueling hope that the Sussexes, after failing to have it their way in America, might finally be ready to come back home. But a source close to the couple says Harry still doesn’t like being “controlled by the royal machinery”, and that’s unlikely to change.”
