Meghan Markle couldn't get Beyonce so settled for her mum… but even a global star couldn't save As Ever, expert slams

The Sun

03-06-2025

Emily Jane Davies
Summer Raemason
Published: Invalid Date,
MEGHAN Markle couldn't bag Beyonce for her podcast so she settled for her mum instead, an expert claimed.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, sat down with Tina Knowles for the latest episode of Confessions of a Female Founder this week.
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But marketing expert Nick Ede told The Sun how chats with famous celebs won't be enough to save her brand.
This comes as the Duchess decided to"just pause" restocking As Ever - after previously selling out in under an hour.
Meg said she wants to wait until it is "completely stable and we have everything we need" as to not annoy customers.
Mr Ede said: "Meghan obviously is trying really hard to establish herself in a big way, and associating herself with other female founders, was kind of a good idea, because it went well with the As Ever brand, and how that was developing.
"But the issue is that actually the As Ever brand hasn't really gone particularly far, so she can't really say that she's a particularly great female founder.
"And so when she's been interviewing some of these brilliant people like Sarah Blakely, for instance, who who came up with Spanx and was one of the first youngest billionaires in the world, that's somebody who's actually aspirational, somebody who's worked really hard and created a product which is sold around the world and recognized around the world.
"And unfortunately, as ever isn't."
Mr Ede dubbed it more of a "PR spin" than a proper brand.
He also compared it to Tina Knowles ' success as a bestselling author in America and a popular fashion designer.
"Meghan is great at piggybacking off other people's success," the expert added.
But, despite chatting to popular celebs on the podcast, Mr Ede didn't think it would be of much benefit.
"I think one of the biggest problems with this is that unfortunately, Meghan hasn't had the people who are going to get the bums on seats who are going to get the listeners who are going to get the downloaders," he said.
"And also the conversations aren't particularly interesting.
"They're only interesting to people who want to be female founders, and if they're not, then it doesn't really give them much to talk about."
Mr Ede also highlighted how the Duchess "isn't particularly relatable".
He said there's a "massive disconnect" as "really she's not a female founder".
The expert suggested the mum-of-two's best bet would be venturing into the fashion world.
"I don't think she'll do another podcast. I just don't think it's working," he continued.
"I would really sit back and go, 'how front facing do I need to be? Do I actually need to be right at the forefront of it? Or can I just use my name to influence and drive sales, make money and feel much more protected?'
"I think that would be the best strategy for her in the long run."
Meghan has previously told of the difficulties of building her firm and "how many tears" she has shed behind the scenes.
She chatted about As Ever on a bonus episode of her podcast featuring Beyoncé's mother Tina Knowles.
The Duchess has suffered a myriad of problems with the business, from branding rows to claims she is "out of touch" with reality with her pricey jams.
The 43-year-old has previously admitted As Ever "overwhelms" her and she stays up stressing about it until 3am.
On the podcast, she also expressed her dream of launching a future business with daughter Princess Lilibet, after talking to Tina about the Cecred haircare line she started with Beyoncé.
"I wonder if one day I'll be in business with Lily and we'll be building something," the Duchess said, with Tina adding: "That's the best."
Meghan spoke about the April launch of her As Ever products including jam and herbal tea.
She said that the "scarcity mentality at the beginning might be a hook for people", comparing it to "a sneaker drop".
But she feared it might be "annoying" for customers, adding: "I don't want you to eat that jam once every six months. I want that to be on your shelf all the time."
Meghan said: "So for me at the moment, with As Ever, it was great. We planned for a year we get and then everything sells out in 45 minutes.
"Yes, amazing, great news. Then what do you do? And then you say 'Ok, we planned as best as we could. Are we going to replenish and sell out again in an hour? Or is that annoying as a customer?
"I'm looking at it saying 'Just pause. That happened. Let's wait until we are completely stable and we have everything we need'."
She added how people "see all the flashy stuff and they see the product. But that end game... those behind the scenes moments, how many tears I've shed".
But experts claimed she used a sneaky "ploy" to make sure her pricey food brand sold out in minutes.
When Meghan, 43, finally launched her highly anticipated As Ever items, from £11 jars of jam to £22 limited edition honey, it was swiftly out of stock.
But a source said: "This is simply a marketing ploy.
"You make a relatively small amount available so it all gets bought and then you can say it's so popular it sold out."
Meg's chat with Tina comes she shared snaps with Prince Harry as the couple enjoyed watching a Beyonce concert last month.
The pair were seen dancing in a luxury suite worth thousands of dollars at the singer's Cowboy Carter tour in LA.
Harry, 40, was standing and bopping his head awkwardly while the Duchess repeatedly threw her hands in the air as Beyonce belted out Texas Hold'Em.
A separate official photo posted onto Beyonce's official tour website showed the couple smiling with their arms around each other.
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