Despite Meghan Markle’s As Ever products being lovingly crafted by her, it appears her brand is under the invisible hand of a huge corporation, which is reportedly running the business with products being mass-produced. Meghan is involved in the development of her products, but much of the business side is also being handled by Netflix, who came on as her partner in the business.
According to the Daily Mail, there is no indication on the label of the fruit spread as to where it is actually made. One expert has gone so far as to describe it as “purposefully vague”. Experts the outlet spoke to suggest that the spreads are mass-produced, and possibly from a “co-packaging” factory.
The label on Meghan’s spread lists Netflix’s corporate offices on Sunset Boulevard as its official address.
American jam-maker, Donna Collins, explained: “A high-end client might want to give the impression their jams are being made by hand in a country kitchen, while they’re actually made in an industrial warehouse on a sterile production line.”
Ms Collins added: “Looking at the video she’s posted, her production looks industrial, not small-scale. Her raspberry spread isn’t touched by a human hand in its entire production. It’s made at scale in a huge vat and cooked quickly, pumped down a pipe and squeezed into jars.”
Non-disclosure agreements (NDA) are sometimes signed the moment a celebrity approaches a jam manufacturer, threatening hefty fines if anyone is caught leaking details to the public.
The jam maker also said: “Meghan and Netflix have kept it simple, labelling the products as coming from Netflix means they can source the ingredients from anywhere – as long as they come from within the US. If they buy ingredients from outside the US it has to say so on the label.
“Legally she can manufacture the jam wherever she wants. It’s what most celebrity brands do. There’s just more scrutiny on her.”
The pricey preserve is said to be “inspired by the recipe Meghan crafted in her home kitchen” and an Instagram video showed a fruity mixture bubbling in a pot at the duchess’ Californian property.
The mother-of-two faced more scrutiny after it was reported The Republic of Tea factory, which produces the jam, is based on an industrial estate 2,000 miles from Montecito, quite the contrast to the homely image the duchess has presented in marketing for the preserve.
Previously on her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, she described harvesting berries and making small batches of jars in her kitchen, for friends and family, adding: “I did save one of 50 for my mom.”