Tom Bower Claims NDAs Hid As Ever Jam Site
Royal biographer Mr Tom Bower has claimed the makers behind Meghan Markle’s As Ever jam were required to sign non-disclosure agreements to keep the manufacturing location private. The allegation adds to ongoing scrutiny of the Duchess of Sussex’s lifestyle brand, which expanded from its initial launch into a wider line of home and pantry products.
Mr Bower said he spent significant time and money trying to establish where the jam was produced and who supplied the jars, arguing that secrecy around the product was tightly controlled. Daily Star reported that he made the comments on the Daily Expresso podcast, where he claimed the jam producers were bound by confidentiality and required to sign NDAs about the manufacturing location.
The report also notes that the spread’s label was said to offer few clues about where it was made, with one expert describing the information as “purposefully vague”. Specialists quoted in the piece suggested the product could be mass-manufactured at a co-packaging facility rather than produced locally to Meghan’s Montecito home.
The claims come as As Ever’s newer releases continue to provoke debate online, including over candles named after Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet’s birth dates that were promoted for a US Mother’s Day drop.
Neither Meghan nor representatives for As Ever have commented on Mr Bower’s assertions. However, the remarks are likely to fuel questions around transparency and branding as the duchess’ commercial ventures remain a regular target for online criticism.
