In just a few hours, Meghan Sussex will debut her latest product, rosé. Right on cue, as the launch approaches, the tabloids are spiraling like cartoon villains, clinging to their tired concern-trolling over jam, tea, and carbon footprints to cope. The latest so-called ‘scandal’ is that Meghan’s raspberry preserve dares to be made in an Illinois facility, and her herbal teas are produced by Republic of Tea, as if that’s not how commercial brands have always operated. Tabloids have framed the outsourcing as evidence that Meghan’s “homemade” branding is misleading, presenting the routine arrangement as a controversy.

In reality, it’s how every successful food brand operates. The production locations were never hidden. In fact, As Ever posted footage from the jam facility and listed its tea blends as part of a curated collection. What’s unfolding isn’t an exposé. It’s a targeted smear campaign dressed up as consumer concern.

King Charles’s Own Brand Uses Wholesalers Too

Highgrove sells everything from buttery shortbread to silk scarves, yet no one imagines King Charles dusted the cookies with sugar or operated a loom. That disconnect resurfaces only when Meghan Sussex launches a product line.

Consider the Highgrove Celebrated Scarf by illustrator Rory Hutton. It retails for £110 (about US$140), celebrates the estate’s gardens, is designed in the UK, and made in Italy from 100 per cent silk, all confirmed on the official product page. No headlines call this outsourcing deceitful.

Highgrove wines follow the same pattern. The flagship Highgrove Claret is blended and bottled in Bordeaux and sold as an exclusive royal cuvée, as noted on its listing. Other Highgrove-labelled fizz comes from Laurent-Perrier in Champagne, France.

Even the Duchy Organics apple range, stocked by Waitrose, relies on imports when the UK crop is out of season. Current Pink Lady and Gala packs list Chile or New Zealand as their origin on Waitrose’s own site. A 2015 Daily Mail report likewise tracked Duchy apples to New Zealand orchards. Waitrose confirms it sells British-grown apples only during the harvest season, meaning Duchy-branded fruit is often sourced from countries like Chile or New Zealand for much of the year.

Related | As Ever by Meghan Sussex Launches With Style Heart and a Jar of Raspberry Jam

Meghan Spelled Out The Netflix Partnership From The Start

Despite what tabloids suggest, Meghan Sussex never claimed to be hand-picking tea leaves or stirring jam over a stove in Montecito. In fact, she was transparent about the scope of her brand and the scale it required. In a February 18 video message (posted weeks before the As Ever launch), she told followers that she originally considered naming the brand American Riviera Orchard but dropped it because it “limited [her] to things that were just manufactured and grown in this area.”

That line matters. It made clear that As Ever was always intended to go beyond hyper-local production. Meghan explained that Netflix came on not just as her content partner but as her business partner—an arrangement that allowed the brand to grow, source, and scale. She even stated her team was actively working through SKUs, inventory, and supplier visits. There was no illusion. No bait and switch. She told the public that As Ever would be made in partnership with experts.

So when a Puck report (republished by the South China Morning Post) framed the Netflix arrangement as a behind-the-scenes exposé, it recycled information Meghan had already disclosed. The article leaned on anonymous sources and loaded phrases like “white-label products,” yet offered no proof of wrongdoing, only judgment about how a modern lifestyle brand is built.

That judgment, notably, doesn’t extend to King Charles. His Highgrove line features wine made in France and scarves manufactured in Italy. No one demands he bottle the claret himself. But Meghan? She’s criticized for doing what every royal and celebrity entrepreneur does. The outsourcing is standard. The outrage is selective.

Quality Explains The Price

Royal commentators have also been howling about As Ever teas costing more than the standard round bags sold by Republic of Tea. But the comparison does not hold. Meghan partnered with the same company to manufacture a custom blend based on her own recipe. The teas include whole ginger, citrus peel, and come in biodegradable pyramid sachets. Netflix also works with Republic of Tea on its Bridgerton range, which shows the factory meets premium standards. The use of better ingredients and sustainable packaging increases the cost, yet the press continues to frame it as greed instead of a commitment to quality.

While wars rage and climate records break, several outlets led with “jam and tea scandal” banners. A simple “…AND?” response captures what so many feel: the nonstop criticism and scrutiny are exhausting.

A collage of tabloid headlines targeting Meghan Sussex’s As Ever brand, including a Vanity Fair article mocking her jam, a Daily Mail “exclusive” accusing her of hiding manufacturing details, and another headline noting her jam was made 2,400 miles from Montecito. The layout highlights the obsessive media scrutiny over routine food production practices.

Final Thoughts

Outsourcing is no conspiracy; it’s the only way any certified food brand scales from kitchen hobby to nationwide shelf. Highgrove does it. Fortnum & Mason does it. Martha Stewart does it. And now, As Ever does it.

Even on GB News, no safe haven for Meghan defenders, guest Ellen Coughlan (no relation to Nicola Coughlan) pushed back against the host’s attempts to paint Meghan Sussex as deceptive for outsourcing jam production. Coughlan reminded viewers that Windsor’s strawberry preserve is not made at Windsor Castle. It is produced in UK factories and shipped around the world. She called out critics for suddenly caring about carbon footprints and asked why Meghan faces backlash when royal-branded goods follow the same practices. In her words, this is not the “gotcha moment” tabloids were hoping for. The issue is not where the jam is made. It is the relentless double standard. Until tabloids apply equal scrutiny to Highgrove hampers and Windsor preserves, their outrage remains performative.

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