Earlier this week, the Duchess of Sussex introduced a new matcha collaboration with Hannah Mendoza, co-founder of wellness drinks company Clevr Blends — a brand Meghan backed after stepping away from royal life.
However, visitors to Clevr Blends’ website noticed an unexpected detail: the recipe for its Strawberry Jam Cold Foam Matcha Latte directs customers to use Bonne Maman preserves instead of As Ever’s strawberry spread.
Meghan, 44, who is based in Montecito, has been an investor in the California company since December 2020. She also made a brief background appearance in one of Clevr Blends’ Instagram promotions in 2023.
On Tuesday, the partnership expanded further when Meghan announced that her lifestyle label, As Ever, had teamed up with Clevr Blends to launch “The Strawberry Matcha Set.”
That made the website’s recipe choice all the more surprising. Rather than steering shoppers toward Meghan’s own As Ever range, the Strawberry Matcha Latte instructions recommend adding one to two tablespoons of Bonne Maman Strawberry Preserves to create what the brand describes as a “dreamy, creamy, and fruity fusion.”
Online, some fans called the apparent mix-up “awkward,” with others reacting with comments such as: “Oopsie” and “You can’t make this stuff up.”
Meghan explained that she has ‘proudly supported’ the co-founder and CEO of Clevr Blends ‘for years’ while sharing a picture of the pair on her Instagram Stories this week.
‘I’ve proudly supported Hannah and Clevr Blends for so many years now,’ Meghan captioned the snap. ‘Thrilled about this collaboration with one of my favourite gals and two of my favourite brands.’
The Duchess of Sussex collaborated with Clevr Blends earlier this week – but the brand encourages its shoppers to use Bonne Maman Preserves with its matcha – and not As Ever’s spread
Clevr is a wellness brand that specialises in oat-milk ‘Super Lattes’ enriched with adaptogens, probiotics, and reishi mushrooms.
Reposting Meghan’s story, Hannah wrote how ‘nothing compares to having badass women in your life that lift you up’ and that the ‘collab’ with As Ever is now live.
A spokesperson for Meghan confirmed in December 2020 that she had invested an undisclosed sum in Clevr Blends, which has a range of lattes that come in powder form.
Around the time, the former senior royal used her connections to promote the company, which was founded in January 2019 and is run by University of California, Santa Barbara graduate Hannah, by sending a basket of products to her neighbour, Oprah Winfrey.
Three years later, the former Suits actress made a cameo as an intern for Clevr Blends in a social media ad for the company.
The Duchess could be seen stacking boxes, making hot drinks and working on a computer in the commercial, while Hannah Mendoza walks around the company’s HQ and thanks the team for all their hard work in 2023.
At one point, Meghan comically failed to fist bump another member of the team in the final shot as she walks off camera, leading to everyone bursting out laughing before the video ends.
Clevr Blends posted the video on Instagram with the caption: ‘Damn, you’re keeping us BUSY right now! Had to call in some reinforcements.
California-based Clevr Blends encourages its customers to pair its matcha with Bonne Maman Preserves
‘So grateful for the immense love and support this year- thanks for helping us keep the latte-loving dream alive, and thriving!xo’
According to Meghan’s As Ever website, the two brands teamed up to create a ‘seasonal’ set because they have a ‘shared love of joyful morning rituals’.
For $56, customers will receive Clevr’s blend of ceremonial-grade matcha and functional ingredients, Meghan’s Strawberry Spread, and flower sprinkles to ‘add beauty to each bite’.
The launch of As Ever’s limited-time collaboration with Clevr Blends comes days after Meghan gushed over her best friend Kelly McKee Zajfen’s newborn baby on Instagram.
Posting on social media ahead of the King’s official birthday, Meghan shared the image to her Stories taken during a visit to her friend, Alliance of Moms co-founder Kelly, who gave birth to Jack Oliver Zajfen earlier this year.
Unlike Kelly, Meghan typically hides her children, Archie, seven, and five-year-old Lilibet’s faces when posting about them on social media.
However, following her friend’s approach, she posted newborn Jack’s features in the photo, in which she’s pictured embracing the baby and pecking him on his head.
‘We know I love a redhead,’ the Duchess wrote alongside the image, before joking: ‘And let me stop you before they start, no it’s not his baby.’
Her close friend Kelly, a former model, announced she was expecting Jack in November last year, after tragically losing her 9-year-old son in July 2022, after he contracted a viral illness.
Meghan added a second picture of her fellow California mother, whom she has been friends with for 20 years, smiling alongside Jack, saying: ‘Love you @heartmom.’
