Meghan has addressed the drama surrounding her big rebrand earlier this year, revealing when she’d realised there was an issue.
Meghan has finally addressed the drama surrounding her company’s trademark and last-minute name change on her podcast.
The Duchess of Sussex’s plans for her new lifestyle company hit a snag earlier this year when the US Patent and Trademark Office ruled that geographical locations could not be patented, meaning she had to scrap the original name – American Riviera Orchard – in favour of what it’s now known as: As Ever.
“American Riviera” is a nickname for Santa Barbara, where Meghan lives with Prince Harry and their two children.
The eleventh-hour rebrand came shortly before the premiere of the Duchess’ Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, and was seen by many critics as a sign of disorganisation behind the scenes of her highly anticipated career relaunch.
However, addressing it on the latest episode of her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, this week, Meghan insisted she had actually gone off the idea of the original brand name, American Riviera Orchard, before the trademark issues.
“You remember, I said, ‘I like American Riviera as an umbrella’, and then be able to have verticals beneath it,” she told her guest, hair colourist, business owner, and “dear friend”, Kadi Lee.
“And maybe have the ‘Orchard’ really small. But when that’s not feasible … suddenly it became this word salad. I didn’t love that so much.
“I was like, ‘Okay, let’s go back to the thing that I’ve always loved. Let’s use the name that I protected for a reason that had sort of been under wraps’.
“And then we were able to focus in the quiet and put our heads down and build on something that no one was sniffing around to even see about. It was really just helpful to have that quiet period.”
In February, Meghan released a video on her newly launched Instagram account, announcing that she had renamed her company As Ever.
“Some of you may have heard whispers about what I’ve been creating. In two weeks, my series on @netflix launches — but there’s something else I’ve been working on,” she told her followers.
“I’m thrilled to introduce you to As Ever — a brand that I created and have poured my heart into.
“‘As ever’ means ‘as it’s always been’ or some even say, ‘in the same way as always’. If you’ve followed along since my days of creating The Tig, you’ll know this couldn’t be truer for me.
“This new chapter is an extension of what has always been my love language, beautifully weaving together everything I cherish — food, gardening, entertaining, thoughtful living, and finding joy in the everyday.
“I will keep sharing behind the scenes tidbits with you here as we ramp up to launch, and I can’t wait for you to get your hands on everything we’ve been creating. Sending lots of love.”
It’s certainly been a busy start to the year for Meghan, who has experienced a series of highs and lows amid the launch of her array of new ventures.
After initially being postponed by two months following the devastating LA wildfires, her Netflix series finally landed in early March – and was quickly savaged by TV critics and viewers all over the world.
However, just days after With Love, Meghan premiered, it was announced that season two – which has already wrapped filming – was confirmed for release in the second half of this year.
Meghan Markle in a the trailer for her new Netflix show With Love, Meghan. Photo / Netflix
The first episode of her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, was released through Lemonada Media a month later, and had ranked high on multiple charts at the end of its first week.
Unfortunately, reviews have again been widely lacklustre, with The Times of London even describing it as simply “vapid lessons in self-love”, echoing the theme of many of the reactions to her Netflix show.
The As Ever website also officially went live in early April, with the eight products for sale selling out within minutes.
Shortly afterwards, Meghan took to Instagram to thank fans for purchasing the products in rapid time.
“Our shelves may be empty, but my heart is full!” she wrote. “We sold out in less than one hour and I can’t thank you enough for celebrating, purchasing, sharing, and believing. It’s just the start. Here we go!”
