Meghan Markle’s tie-up with Netflix to sell her jam, pancake mix and flower sprinkles is already ‘petering out’ after just seven months, it was claimed today.
The Duchess of Sussex’s As Ever brand is partnered with the streaming giant but none of her products are listed on the Netflix website.
Netflix is also opening its first bricks-and-mortar stores in the US later this year so fans of shows such as KPop Demon Hunters, Squid Games and Stranger Things have the chance to buy merchandise.
But there are growing doubts that As Ever products will be sold on the shelves despite her formal partnership with the streamer only being announced in February, the Daily Mail understands.
Speaking on her The Rest is Entertainment podcast with Richard Osman, journalist Marina Hyde suggested that Netflix is quietly dropping Meghan’s As Ever.
‘Meghan’s jam is supposedly for sale in the Netflix store. But they don’t even have a tab for her show’, she said.
‘She has gone into a product partnership with them but I’m afraid that will just peter out’.
Meghan Markle has a show and a lifestyle brand As Ever, backed by Netflix, but experts say this business partnership is petering out
There are growing doubts that her products will be sold on the shelves of Netflix’s new stores in the US, due to launch later this year
Her orange blossom honey sold out within minutes despite the $28 (£20.68) price tag – but is not being sold in the Netflix site
It came after Meghan and Harry agreed a new TV deal with Netflix but experts said it was a ‘downgrade’ on their previous $100million contract, marking a loosening of ties between them. Her second season of With Love Meghan is only at 136 in the Netflix chart, under two weeks after its release.
And it also appears that the Duchess of Sussex, 44, has quietly shut down her ShopMy website, which sold items from £20 ($26) grey t-shirts to £1,600 ($2,000) silk gowns.
The As Ever range was widely expected to be featured in the Philadelphia and Dallas branches of Netflix House, the streaming giant’s first physical stores.
But a Netflix source has insisted that no final decisions had yet been made on any of the products that will be on the shelves later this year.
Netflix has been asked to comment.
It came after the Daily Mail revealed that Netflix staff who would be selling the Duchess of Sussex’s can’t afford it on their hourly wage.
Employees at Netflix House will be earning as little as $20 (£14.77) an hour.
That means some of Meghan’s As Ever range will be more than they earn for an hour’s work.
As Ever wine lovers must purchase a minimum of three bottles for $90 or six bottles for $159 and 12 bottles for $300 – plus $20 for shipping and taxes.
Meghan’s crepe mix costs $14 (£10.34) and her herbal teas would be expensive for ‘Crew Members’ at $12 (£8.86).
Even her infamous flower sprinkles would be steep at $15 (£11.08) a pack.
Meanwhile Season 2 of With Love, Meghan, released under two weeks ago, is at 136 in the charts, below two cancelled series that are up to ten years old.
It has received poor reviews.
Meghan failed to land a star like Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama or a Kardashian for season two of her show so was left with a ‘very underwhelming’ cast including her make up artist and pilates instructor.
Netflix has bailed out the Duchess of Sussex by packing the With Love, Meghan with people who have shows with the streamer, most of them TV chefs, a source has said.
The majority of Meghan’s guests have links to WME, the talent agency that also represents the Duchess of Sussex, the Daily Mail understands.
A British Hollywood insider said last month: ‘It’s very underwhelming. It’s really down to Meghan to get the stars. Where is Oprah, Michelle Obama or a Kardashian, even? It is just a bunch of random people she knows’.
And fans have not been wowed by the guests in a rented house near her Montecito mansion used for privacy reasons.
Meghan crafts with Chrissy Teigen whose trolling past has made her a controversial guest
Tan France, British star of Queer Eye, greets Meghan in the new trailer. He has been a vocal supporter of the Sussexes, claiming they were badly treated in the UK
Meghan enjoys some wine with Clare Smyth. The chef was in charge of the menu at the royal wedding reception when she married Harry in 2018
Model and TV star Chrissy Teigen is arguably the biggest name but there has been controversy because of the Sussexes’ campaigning on online safety and Chrissy’s ‘mean girl’ past that led to her apologising for bullying several people on Twitter.
Queer Eye star Tan France, a vocal supporter of the Sussexes, also appears alongside the less well known Jay Shetty and his wife Radhi Devlukia.
Meghan’s make-up artist friend Daniel Martin is back and her pilates instructor Heather Dorak. There are a number of chefs including Samin Nosrat, Christina Tosi, Jose Andres, David Chang and Clare Smyth – who cooked at the Sussexes’ 2018 wedding.
‘Chrissy Teigen isn’t popular anymore. Guests like Jay Shetty and his wife, or Jamie Kern Lima, they are well known, but not superstars. The others are quite niche really’, the Daily Mail’s insider said.
‘She’s not had any real celebrities on the show apart from Mindy Kalling.
‘The closest she has to one on this season is Tan France. But it feels like Netflix stepped in to help her there.
‘They have used Tan as Queer Eye is finished and they want to keep him as a Netflix face as he’s very popular’.
David Chang with Meghan. He is the star of the Netflix show Dinner Time Live
Jose Andres on With Love, Meghan. He starred on Chef’s Table legends on Netflix
Samin Nosrat with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. She is star of Netflix’s Salt Fat Acid Heat
Guests also include Jamie Kern Lima (right), who Meghan recently interviewed with
Meghan has also filmed a Christmas special for broadcast in December, in a potential clash with the Princess of Wales’s annual carol concert at Westminster Abbey.
The first series showed the former Suits star, 44, inviting friends and famous guests to a California estate, where she shared cooking, gardening and hosting tips.
Experts claimed that the Sussexes’ new Netflix deal is a ‘downgrade’ on their previous $100million five-year tie-up and more ‘we’ll call you’ than ‘here’s the chequebook’.
The couple signed a new ‘multi-year, first look deal for film and television projects’ with the streaming giant – understood to be worth less for the pair than their previous contract.
The ‘first-look’ arrangement means Netflix can say yes or no to new film or television projects before anyone else – allowing them to pick and choose what they invest in.
PR expert Mark Borkowski described the new deal as a ‘downgrade’, claiming it falls a long way from the jackpot figure of Harry and Meghan’s original contract in 2020.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘I think Netflix has done a very neat job of pivoting away from two very expensive people who didn’t deliver, and they’ve taken that deal off the table, and they’ve given them a modest one.
With Love, Meghan was renewed for a second season just as season one was released in March. It appears to have not been a major hit
Prince Harry and Meghan at the ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood in July 2024
‘It’s not like they’re gradually uncoupling – it’s a downgrade. Netflix are not going to expose themselves to those budgets again. It’s Netflix saying, ‘Let’s have a look at your content, but we’ll pick and choose, mate’.’
He believes the pair will be paid for each production selected by Netflix rather than receiving an overall fee, such as the reported $100million of their first deal.
‘I would be surprised if it’s not pay-as-you-go and it’s well, well below that first mark,’ he added.
On Tuesday it emerged that Meghan Markle has seemingly closed down her online store where she ‘hand-picked’ a collection of clothes for cash.
It appears that the Duchess of Sussex, 44, has quietly shut down her ShopMy website, which sold items such as £20 ($26) grey t-shirts to £1,600 ($2,000) silk gowns.
ShopMy is a platform for ‘top creators’ to earn affiliate cash from recommending products.
It appears that the Duchess of Sussex, 44, has quietly shut down her ShopMy website, which sold items such as £20 grey t-shirts to £1.6k silk gowns
Meghan joined the online shop back in March but the profile page is now completely blank and reads ‘this curator has not yet added any collections’
Meghan joined the online shop back in March, recommending button-down shirts, various neutral pieces, a range of accessories and a number of designer pieces.
A gold and diamond pendant from Maya Brenner, a Heidi Merrick dress and Sandals from Saint Laurent and Emme Parsons were some of the luxury items on her page.
The caption on her profile reads: ‘A handpicked and curated collection of the things I love – I hope you enjoy them!’
However, the profile page is now completely blank and says ‘this curator has not yet added any collections’.
Other of the ‘hand-picked’ items picked out by Meghan were from brands like J.Crew and Reformation.
The Duchess also added homeware items to her page along with beauty items and even kids’ products.
