She's been an actor, a duchess, a TV show host, and now, Meghan Markle is a jam maker. In early April, Markle launched As Ever, a line of food products, including crepe mix, tea, and jam. While going from British royal family member to a preserves seller seems like quite the jump, Markle explains that it was a natural move, one which was encouraged by her friend, her mentor, her one-time meme-worthy interviewer Oprah Winfrey.
On a new episode of her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder—Markle is also now a podcast host—she spoke about deciding to launch As Ever.
"At the beginning, I just liked making jam. All I liked to do was just make jam and preserves," Markle said (via People). "And it went from, 'Okay, I'm gonna share this jam with lots of friends and family,' to 'People really like it and it brings me joy. So maybe I can share it more broadly.'"
If you've seen Markle's Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, you know that she actually does really like making jam—and really like using "flower sprinkles", which As Ever also sells.
Markle continued, "But even then, I was in so much fear of failure or opinion, that I wasn't thinking big enough at first." She thought she would just make small-batch jam at home, but she asked herself, "Am I playing small because I want to play small? Or am I setting in motion playing small because I'm scared?"
Winfrey's advice helped her move past this point. As she explained to guest Jamie Kern Lima, the co-founder of IT Cosmetics, "Oprah, who I know as a mentor and friend to you, same for me, she was the one that said, 'There are tons of things you could put your name on. But for you and how you like to show up for people, once you figure out how to encapsulate your essence, then you'll know.'"
It seems that the jams really encapsulated Markle's essence, because she decided to go full steam ahead. And it makes sense: Before she was known world-wide as Prince Harry's girlfriend and then the Duchess of Sussex, she wrote a lifestyle blog called The Tig. Food and hosting has been an interest for quite some time.
The 43-year-old explains on the As Ever website that the brand is "an extension of how I love. Through thoughtful gestures and small details, I hope this collection brings you as much joy as it does for those I hold close."
Currently, all of the items on the site are listed as "sold out" or "coming soon". But, there is more on the way. Markle also was a guest on Kern Lima's podcast, The Jamie Kern Lima Show, on which she said that more flavors of jam are coming. "Of course, more jam drops,” she said (via Vanity Fair). "Think of them like sneaker drops."
Markle explained, "Let’s say this: If it started with what I was just making on my stove, and it starts in your kitchen as these sweet offerings—actually sweet—and then the extension of what do you pair that with? For me, as we’ve talked about a lot today, what are these small gestures? What are these thoughtful details? What are these ways that you can show up for someone?" The answer? "Hostess gifts and hospitality is a big category that I’m really excited that we’re developing."
So... Markle's essence encapsulated in crackers? In candles? In peanut butter pretzels in a tastefully labeled bag? She'd be pretty funny for that one, to be honest.