Meghan Markle company ‘exceeded everybody’s expectations’ as insider slams ‘negative narrative’

Speaking to Newsweek, the source claimed: “It's exceeded everybody's expectations in terms of how well it's gone, I would say, across the holiday period. That period has been incredibly successful.

“People are attempting to paint a negative narrative and are choosing how they present things, choosing how they share information to fit a particular narrative to perpetuate certain negative story lines and this is just another example of how people have to be really discerning with the way that they not only consume media, but the way that they interpret data and facts that are shared with them, because they often don't present the whole picture.”

The remarks come after social media users claimed they were able to infer inventory totals by attempting to add unusually large quantities of products to their online baskets.

These actions would trigger the site to display the maximum quantity available.

The apparent loophole has since been closed, with the As Ever website introducing purchase limits and restrictions on bulk orders.

Customers are now limited to 50 spread gift boxes or 20 bottles of wine per transaction.

In addition, an on-site message warns: “The quantity requested exceeds our current stock.

“Please adjust your order or contact support for bulk inquiries.”

The inventory discussion has driven significant online attention because the figures circulating on social media were far larger than some expected for a brand that has previously leaned into small batch messaging.

The stock levels implied by the workaround amounted to roughly $21.8million worth of products at sale price, which is around £16million, though that figure reflects retail value rather than costs.

Sources close to Meghan pointed out that she has previously spoken about the difficulty of stock planning when early releases sell out quickly.

In an interview with Bloomberg’s The Circuit, the mother of two described sell-outs as a “double-edged sword”.

The duchess also said As Ever increased inventory tenfold ahead of a subsequent drop, only for it to sell out within hours.

She also said the business moved from ordering “a few thousand jars and lids” to discussions about “a purchase order of a million”.

As Ever launched in April last year as Meghan’s lifestyle brand, selling a curated range of food and homeware products.

Early releases sold out rapidly, prompting the business to significantly scale up production.

The brand has since expanded its product range to include preserves, teas, candles and wine.

Meghan has previously described As Ever as a long-term commercial venture rather than a short-term project.