In early March, we learned that the Duke and Duchess had just hired their first “chief communications officer,” a woman named Meredith Maines. Maines has an extensive background in marketing, business, streaming and the management of talent. All of which to say, the Maines Effect has been immediate, especially for Meghan. Meghan has been so proactive in the past month and a half, drowning out the negative blitz attack with her own sunshine and positivity. She’s now launched a successful, highly-rated lifestyle show, launched her As Ever product line (which sold out in under an hour) and this week, her new podcast began streaming. Confessions of a Female Founder is smart, slick and right in Meghan’s wheelhouse. I mean, a lot of this is just Meghan growing comfortable with herself and her message. But there’s been so much message discipline, so much proactive media relations and management. I LOVE IT!! Anyway, all of that to say, Meghan has given another interview, this time to Fortune. It’s a GREAT interview. Some highlights:
As Ever is well-positioned for the Trump Tariffs: “At the moment, all of our products are currently made in the U.S., so we don’t anticipate tariffs affecting us directly,” Meghan told Fortune. “But as we look at the larger context of how this is going to affect the consumer day-to-day, I’m very grateful that in part of the conception of this brand, I wanted to create products that look more prestige, but are more accessible and affordable. I think during any time of recession, people still want to find creature comforts, items that can bring them joy.”
They made tens of thousands of affordable products: As Ever’s first product drop (with inventory of an undisclosed size, but the company says “tens of thousands”) almost immediately sold out the company’s selection of jam, honey, teas, and mixes. The brand seems constructed to compete with brands like Stonewall Kitchen and Crofter’s Organic — the $10 to $16 jam that feels like a treat, but isn’t out of reach. “You’ll see the bulk of our SKUs are under $20,” said Meghan. “From our standpoint, certainly for me, even in the expansion of the brand, things should still feel accessible.”
Her new pod: “I’m talking about what I’m going through as I’m going through it, not with reflection after some time, not with that different vision you can have when you think about hindsight 20/20. While it created a very, very tight schedule… it just felt like the right move to do the storytelling justice.”
The evolution of her partnership with Netflix on As Ever: “It was really organic, how it happened—I guess every pun is intended, with food and consumables,” said Meghan, who for years had been sending Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria and Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos homemade jams as part of her holiday season gift-giving. “[Netflix’s Bajaria] said: ‘You need to teach people how to do this,’ and from that moment she was very excited about the possibility of a show. And I think because of how savvy my partners are, and certainly business-minded strategically, she said: ‘In addition to a show, you should talk to our consumer products and division about a partnership.’”
The global expansion: Meghan went on to connect with Josh Simon, Netflix’s VP of consumer products, and she felt that the partnership was the “right move for the global expansion we want.” She isn’t disclosing financial specifics, or what the ultimate ambition of As Ever is, whether that’s an exit or IPO. “I can’t speak to the specifics of the terms of the deal,” Meghan said. “We are very, very much in harmony on how we see the growth of this, and the trajectory over the next five to seven years.”
Investing in women: It does seem like Meghan sees the core audience for As Ever to be women, a throughline to the podcast, which focuses specifically on female entrepreneurs at a time when they still receive single-digit-percentages of total venture funding. It’s also a throughline to her own angel investing for the last five years, which has primarily involved backing female founded-companies like coffee company Clevr and women’s midlife health startup Midi. “Women need to see that they can build. Women don’t need to be afraid to talk about finance. And I think the more financial literacy we have, the stronger we’re going to be.”
She’s always been about “the high-low.” “At its conception, I had thought about the interest that people seem to have in my fashion, for example, what I would wear. I think there’s a parallel here, always the ‘high-low.’ I always loved things that present beautifully, but didn’t break the bank.”
This is new info to me: “involved backing female founded-companies like coffee company Clevr and women’s midlife health startup Midi.” Did we know that she invested in Midi?? Midi is described as tailored healthcare for “midlife” women. Interesting. I also love that Fortune was like “girl, the tariffs” and Meghan was like “girl, we’re made in America!!” She was already bringing back American manufacturing! I love her and I love that she truly believes that she can build As Ever into a global brand. I think she can too, although it will be a lot harder with the Trump Tariffs.
This is important too: “I can’t speak to the specifics of the terms of the deal. We are very, very much in harmony on how we see the growth of this, and the trajectory over the next five to seven years.” Meaning, Netflix and Meghan see themselves in business together until the 2030s, at the very least. That’s so weird, because I’m pretty sure the Daily Mail is going to rustle up someone’s cousin’s dog-walker’s step-nephew who will swear that a Netflix executive told them that the Sussexes’ contract will not be renewed! Meanwhile, Meghan was sending jam-baskets to Ted Sarandos and he was like “get this woman a cooking show, NOW!”
Photos courtesy of As Ever’s IG, Netflix.
