Meghan’s Lifestyle Brand Takes a New Direction With an Unexpected Collaboration
Meghan Markle has pivoted the promotional flow of her lifestyle brand 'As Ever' as reports about poor website visits emerge.
When Meghan Markle started ‘As Ever’ in 2025, there was no doubt that she would be the face of the lifestyle brand. She was famous, had experience speaking in front of cameras, and most importantly, the brand was, in its essence, a tangible extension of her blog, ‘The Tig’, that she had run successfully before closing it ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry. And as per expectation, for more than a year, except for her family, Markle had been the solo feature on the brand’s Instagram page. However, things have now seemingly taken a small diversion amid reports of weak traffic figures on the website this year.
Recently, ‘As Ever’ posted a video featuring popular lifestyle influencer Olivia McDowell on Instagram. The content creator with around 294k followers gave three summer hosting tips, using Markle’s scented candle, matchsticks, hibiscus tea, and raspberry spread. This is a significant break from the brand’s usual promotional campaigns. The Duchess of Sussex has previously sent PR packages to fans and celebrities, but the social media page has never really featured anyone else in its posts.
This new style of collaboration has come amid the reports about ‘As Ever’ getting poor website traffic this year. The lifestyle brand has reportedly drawn just under 400,000 American visitors on their website since the start of the year. The reports have uncovered a glaring gap between the actual and expected demand. An earlier technical glitch on the website had revealed the inventory levels of 650,000 product units, as per Newsweek. While the actual sales figures are undisclosed, the number of website visitors seems to have fallen massively short of the inventory.
However, a source close to ‘As Ever’ defended the Duchess by telling the publication that the brand is expected to “double in size this year. By any measure, for any startup, you can't deny that it is anything but a success. People are obsessed with wanting her to fail.” The source further added, “The commentariat are clouded by their own prejudice and a need to perpetuate a narrative that her business is a failure, because they pegged her that way from the start and they can’t take being wrong.”
‘As Ever’ covers many bases within the lifestyle space, including edible items, candles, and even reading tools. In September 2024, Markle had reportedly filed for 12 trademarks in Australia, which were approved last year. The filings included different categories from skincare, candles, homeware, self-care, jewellery, gardening, event planning, and podcasts, under the description “fancy”. The categories also include "gardening trowels, gardening shears, gardening wedding forks" and a "garden tool gift set", along with “yoga straps" and "pet feeding mats". This was taken as a sign that the Duchess might expand her business Down Under as well.
Markle has previously spoken about her ambitions to take ‘As Ever’ beyond the US. She has seemingly taken steps to solidify her brand and grow it independently, even after her deal with Netflix fell apart. And now, it seems that the Duchess has taken a pivot in the promotional activities as well.
