Netflix staffers are doing their part to keep As ever merchandise free — the streamer’s Los Angeles offices are filled with Meghan Markle merchandise, Page Six has learned.
“Apparently there are two storage rooms filled with As ever products,” the source said. “They’re literally just handing it out to their employees. One (employee) took home 10 products for free.”
We’re told that the storage rooms at the Icon Tower and Epic Building on Netflix’s sprawling campus in Hollywood are stocked with jam jars, candles, wine and Meghan’s famous petal sprinkles.
“There is a huge amount of excess inventory,” another source confirmed.
Page Six reached out to Netflix and Markle’s representatives, but requests for comment were not immediately returned.
Nevertheless, we’ve heard that As ever’s inventory was moved to another warehouse “a long time ago” and is no longer stored at Netflix headquarters. Staff are allowed to take home freebies, as what remains in the office will be used for gifts, sampling, and promotions.
Last month, Markle officials were forced to deny that the company was in financial trouble after a website glitch revealed about 650,000 unsold items.
Although the issue has now been resolved, the site at one point displayed an inventory containing approximately 220,000 jars of jam. 30,000 jars of honey. 90,000 candles. There will be 80,000 cans of flower sprinkles, and approximately 70,000 bottles of wine, including sparkling wines such as Sauvignon Blanc, Rosé, and Brut.
As before, we sell jam for $14 per jar, tea for $14 per box, honey for $32 per jar, and candles for $64. A bottle of rosé is $35 and a bottle of brut is $89.
Meghan’s site is currently selling a Valentine’s Day package for $185 that includes chocolate, strawberry and raspberry spread, a candle featuring scents of water lotus, sandalwood and California poppy, hibiscus tea and flower sprinkles.
In a post shared on Reddit, users claimed that when they added a large number of individual items to their shopping cart, As ever’s website would display the maximum available quantity, potentially revealing the total inventory.
But sources familiar with the business insisted the brand was simply preparing for international expansion, pointing to growth rather than slowdown.
“It’s normal for companies not to talk about sales data, but I think it’s fair to say that the glitch that led to this data being exposed shows that the business is not just thriving, it’s literally taking off,” a source told People.
Markle, 44, has revealed how she teamed up with Netflix to create products tailored to her lifestyle after abandoning plans to name her business American Riviera Orchard amid a trademark dispute.
The business was supposed to be a tie-in to Meghan’s Netflix show, “With Love, Meghan,” but Markle actually used the series to promote her own products. However, as we reported, the show will not be returning for a third season due to poor viewership.
The series, which began its second season last August, was watched just 2 million times in the last four months of the year. According to Netflix’s “What We Watched” data dump, it was the 1,217th most-watched title on Netflix in the second half of this year.
The show’s special, “With Love, Meghan Markle: A Holiday Celebration,” fared slightly better, coming in at number 1,015 on the list with 2.4 million views.
Sources said Markle, who has a first-look deal with husband Prince Harry with Netflix after the couple’s exclusive deal with the streamer was not renewed, will now focus on building her lifestyle brand and may produce a one-off holiday special.
Markle appeared on The Circuit with Emily Chan podcast last August and declined to reveal sales figures, but said much of the brand’s inventory quickly sold out, including its debut rosé, which sold in less than an hour.
“It’s actually a double-edged sword when you sell out that quickly, because it’s an incredible thing to happen to any small business or startup. At the same time, you don’t get the same metrics and learnings about which products are most coveted because everything is gone so quickly,” she said.
She added that after the initial launch, the brand significantly increased inventory in preparation for a second seasonal drop.
“[We]were confident it would last at least a few weeks. It sold out in hours. And all of a sudden, the conversation we had earlier this year where we were talking about thousands of jars and lids turned into, ‘We need to create a purchase order for a million units.'” And that’s a huge leap just a few months into the business, she explained.
When Chan asked if the plan was to expand globally, Markle said: “Yes, absolutely.”
