Last week, Meghan Markle ended the initial run of her Lemonada Media podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, but on Tuesday, she returned with a bonus episode featuring one of the duchess’s most exciting guests yet. Tina Knowles, mother of Beyoncé and Solange Knowles, spoke to Meghan about her bestselling memoir, Matriarch, and how her career as an entrepreneur predated her daughters’ careers in the entertainment industry.
During the conversation, Meghan shared new details about her own business, As Ever, and the challenges she faced when she launched her initial slate of products in early April. “You want to share the thing you’ve worked so hard on,” she said. “For me at that moment with As Ever, it was great. We plan for a year, and then everything sells out in 45 minutes. Great news, but then what do you do?”
Still, the duchess said the initial launch was bittersweet because she was concerned about the customer experience. “You say, okay, we planned as best as we could,” she added. “Are we going to replenish and sell out again in an hour? Or is that annoying as a customer?”
After the eighth episode of her podcast premiered on May 27, Meghan said she would be taking a longer break before coming back with a new set of As Ever products. Still, a source close to the duchess told Vanity Fair that the company is still planning for an eventual restock of the initial slate of products, which included honey, raspberry preserves, baking mixes, and herbal teas. Otherwise, the company has not shared any information about its timeline.
During her conversation with Knowles, Meghan elaborated on her decision to “pause” after the initial launch. “Let’s wait until we are completely stable and we have everything we need,” she said. “I don’t want you to eat that jam once every six months. I want that to be on your shelf all the time.”
In response, Knowles said that she and Beyoncé had a similar experience when they launched their haircare brand, Cécred. “We had a lot of setbacks, because it takes a long time with products. You have to test them,” she said. “You just go all the way and start all over again.”
Near the end of the conversation, Meghan said that she thinks about what it would be like to run a business with her daughter, Princess Lilibet of Sussex, in the future, asking Knowles if she has any advice for working alongside family. Knowles replied with insight into how she and Beyoncé deal with tensions when they arise.
“We have disagreements about things, but it’s her business. I’m helping with the business because I just want to leave this earth knowing that she, other than entertainment, is going to be okay,” Knowles said. “Otherwise, we get along really well. If we have a disagreement, it’s her business, so she gets to win.”
