When Meghan Markle announced in February that her new lifestyle brand would change its name from “American Rivera Orchard” to As Ever, she mentioned that she first filed a trademark for As Ever in 2022 to use as a potential option. In a new episode of her Lemonada Media podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, the Duchess of Sussex explained the process behind changing the brand’s original name, inspired by a common nickname for Santa Barbara, which started when Netflix came on as her business partner.
“I had secured As Ever as a name in 2022,” she told her guest, hair colorist Kadi Lee, adding that she went back to it when “everything started to evolve last year” because she had partnered with a large company. She originally wanted American Riviera to be the broader brand, with “Orchard” being one of a handful of sales verticals. “Maybe have the ‘orchard’ be really small,” she said. “When that’s not feasible, the name suddenly became this word salad. I didn’t love that so much.”
She said that the change to As Ever helped her have some privacy as she developed her company’s products. “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,” she said. “Which is really, really helpful—to have that quiet period.”
Though Meghan didn’t specify in the episode, she said in February that she worried the “American Riviera” name would limit her to products made in the area. In addition, the duchess reportedly experienced challenges due to the difficulties of securing a trademark associated with a location.
Lee, the beauty expert and co-founder of the salon and haircare line Highbrow Hippie, also does Meghan’s hair color. In their conversation for Confessions of a Female Founder, Meghan said they first met after a pandemic-era attempt to dye her hair at home went poorly, and hairstylist Serge Normant suggested Lee.
“Because it was the pandemic, I kept ordering boxed hair dye. I thought, I’m going to look just like she does on the box,” Meghan said. “Instead, it was this very inky, almost Elvira-esque black hair. I had texted Serge and he said, you need to see Kadi. You came over. We were masked and all the things.”
Lee also remembered meeting Prince Harry that day in 2020, using “H,” the nickname that Meghan and her friends often use for him. “It’s so vivid in my memory too. So much was happening that day with LA in general, and the city, and the protests,” Lee said. “You were so warm and both you and H wrapped us up in these big bear hugs. I was like, I don’t even know these people and I’m not a hugger. But let’s do it because I think everyone was just so, just needed this exhale of, okay, it’s going to be okay, but what now?”
In the episode, they discussed Lee’s journey from being an amateur hairstylist during her days as a student at Spelman College to launching her own business, and Meghan mentioned that she has been busy with her own new projects, including the podcast, As Ever, and her Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. “I’m doing the podcast right now, the show, and the brand,” she said. “That’s three launches at the same time. It’s a lot of moving pieces, but it’s also energizing.”
In response, Lee praised her skills as a businessperson and hostess. “I look at what’s coming up for you and it all makes complete sense because nobody entertains like Meghan,” she said. “Everything is just beautiful and intentional and thoughtful, and that’s why you’re not gonna lose.
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