Five job ideas for Meghan, Duchess of Sussex

Bad news for fans of content-adjacent jam this week, as it emerges that Netflix has pulled out of the Duchess of Sussex’s luxury consumer products brand ‘As Ever’. Apparently, the company’s curation of high-end pantry goods was no longer cutting the mustard. And also the mustard costs $28.

And so Netflix has withdrawn its financing, we’re told, after the 360 commercial strategy of “filming Meghan preparing light-bites in someone else’s kitchen for her hairdresser to smile awkwardly at” somehow didn’t result in an overnight unicorn. Which is surprising, when you think of it. One of my favourite scenes in the Steve Jobs biography is that breakthrough moment when he and Mike Wozniak work out how to tie up some lavender stems in rustic twine. And it’s not like Meghan didn’t make all the right noises, either. The business started, apparently, when she finally asked herself the fundamental question (and here I quote directly from As Ever’s website): “What would it take to scale my fruit spreads into something I could share more broadly?” It’s a challenge that has plagued cornershops, mid-market grocery stores, and village church fundraisers for decades, to be fair. How can we disrupt marmalade? And should we pivot away from quince?

While Meghan returns with renewed energy to answer those questions — and she will need to: Variety claims that Netflix is currently sitting on $10 million of unsold As Ever stock — here are five other businesses the Duchess might like to turn to.