Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, unveils new lifestyles brand As Ever
Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, speaks during South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas, on March 8, 2024. (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP, File)
Au revoir, American Riviera Orchard. Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has rebranded her fledgling company to As Ever just weeks after restarting her social media life under a new handle on Instagram.
Meghan teased American Riviera Orchard last year with jars of preserves. The new company has a fresh website she unveiled Monday with a rare photo of 3-year-old Lilibet, her youngest child with Prince Harry.
Lilibet is seen frolicking on a well-manicured lawn with her mother.
In a video posted to her new Instagram account, @Meghan, she said the name American Riviera, a moniker for her home turf near Santa Barbara, California, felt limiting in its support of locally grown and made products. She said she wants to include a wider range of goods under her new umbrella.
The news comes two weeks before the debut of “With Love, Meghan,” her lifestyles show on Netflix. Meghan said Netflix has come on board as a business partner as well. She called that development “huge.”
She said she chose the name As Ever in 2022. During her “Suits” years, she had a popular lifestyle blog, The Tig.
“As Ever essentially means as it’s always been and if you followed me since 2014 with The Tig, you know I’ve always loved cooking and crafting and gardening. This is what I do and I haven’t been able to share it with you in the same way for the past few years. But now I can,” she said.
Meghan left Instagram when she got engaged to Prince Harry and spoke last year about the dangers of social media. Last March, a new account called American Riviera Orchard appeared on Instagram, saying it was created by Meghan.
The unverified account included photos of a logo and link to a website to join a waitlist to learn more details.
Documents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office registered the American Riviera Orchard name and sought trademark protection for a variety of goods and services.
Those include textiles, cutlery, “jellies, jams; marmalades” and assorted food spreads. It also said the brand might feature “coffee services in the nature of tableware; tea services in the nature of tableware; serving ware for serving food and drinks; decanters” and other beverage ware.
The trademark application for American Riviera Orchard is still pending. An application extension was filed in November.
It appears paperwork for the “As Ever” trademark was filed in September, for similar goods and services as American Riviera Orchard.
The new company was filed under a different LLC than American Riviera. A spokesman for the couple, Kyle Boulia, did not immediately return an email Tuesday for additional comment.
Meghan fans, and her A-list recipients of her jams, shouldn’t worry.
“Of course there will be fruit preserves,” she said. “I think we’re all clear at this point that jam is my jam. But there are so many more products that I just love that I use in my home. And now it’s time to share with you.”
