Meghan Markle’s $148 As Ever Advent Calendar Divides Shoppers Over the Price of 24 Chocolates

Meghan Markle’s latest As Ever launch has turned a familiar holiday tradition into an unexpectedly heated debate over luxury pricing.

The Duchess of Sussex’s lifestyle brand has unveiled a limited-edition advent calendar containing 24 handcrafted chocolates, created in collaboration with Los Angeles-based chocolatier Compartés.

The catch is the price.

The calendar is being offered for $148 in the United States, prompting some shoppers to question whether 24 pieces of chocolate can justify a price normally associated with a much more elaborate luxury gift.

Others, however, have embraced the product as a premium seasonal indulgence and praised Meghan’s latest move into the luxury food and lifestyle market.

That divide has made the calendar one of the more closely discussed As Ever products since its launch.

Meghan has released an advent calendar (Credit: Shutterstock)

Why Meghan’s $148 chocolate calendar is attracting so much attention

At first glance, an advent calendar is a simple idea: 24 individually numbered treats designed to be opened during the countdown to Christmas.

Meghan’s version takes that concept into the premium gifting category.

As Ever says the limited-edition box contains 24 handcrafted chocolates, with the design drawing inspiration from Meghan’s California home and garden.

The packaging is deliberately personal rather than generic.

Each chocolate has its own countdown number, while Meghan’s handwritten numbers and edible gold detailing add another layer of exclusivity to the presentation.

But consumers quickly focused on one number above all others.

$148.

That works out to a little over $6 per chocolate before considering the value of the packaging and the collaboration behind the product.

The price immediately triggered debate across social media.

Some users questioned whether the chocolates represented sufficient value, while others dismissed the product as excessively expensive for a holiday countdown.

One social-media reaction compared the price with the number of chocolates and argued that shoppers were effectively paying more than $4.50 per piece in British currency.

Another questioned whether customers would really spend $148 on 24 chocolates.

The comments illustrate the challenge facing celebrity lifestyle brands when they enter the premium consumer market.

A product can be designed as a luxury experience, but customers will still compare its price with ordinary alternatives.

Not everyone is criticizing the launch

The online reaction has not been universally negative.

Some Meghan supporters welcomed the collaboration and viewed the advent calendar as a fun seasonal product rather than an everyday chocolate purchase.

Others praised the timing of the launch and the broader idea of turning Christmas traditions into something more personalized.

That distinction is important.

The As Ever calendar is not being positioned as a supermarket chocolate box.

It is a limited-edition luxury lifestyle product, with the presentation, celebrity association and collaboration with Compartés forming part of the overall proposition.

For consumers who already follow Meghan’s brand, those elements can be just as important as the chocolate itself.

The disagreement therefore comes down to a familiar luxury-market question:

Are shoppers paying for 24 chocolates — or for the entire experience surrounding them?

What exactly comes inside the As Ever advent calendar?

The calendar contains 24 handcrafted chocolates, with flavours inspired by California ingredients and products associated with the As Ever brand.

According to the product description, the assortment includes flavour influences connected with strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and orange marmalade.

That connection to As Ever's existing range is deliberate.

Rather than creating a completely separate Christmas product, the calendar extends the brand's established identity into the holiday gifting market.

One chocolate is decorated with Meghan’s signature flower sprinkles, while the collection also includes a dark chocolate ganache truffle from Compartés.

The individual pieces are numbered for the countdown, with the numbers presented in Meghan's handwriting.

Edible gold lustre adds another visual element.

The result is intended to feel less like a conventional box of chocolates and more like a collectible seasonal gift.

The packaging may be almost as important as the chocolate

Luxury food products often rely heavily on presentation, and Meghan’s advent calendar appears designed around exactly that principle.

The keepsake box features an illustration inspired by the Duchess’s Montecito home and garden.

That personal connection gives the product a narrative that an ordinary supermarket advent calendar does not have.

The design effectively turns Meghan’s California lifestyle into part of the product.

For fans, that can make the box feel more personal.

For critics, it may reinforce the impression that the price reflects the celebrity branding as much as the food itself.

That tension is at the heart of the reaction.

In the modern celebrity commerce market, consumers increasingly buy products associated with personalities they follow.

The celebrity becomes part of the perceived value.

The question is whether Meghan’s audience sees enough value in the As Ever identity to pay a premium for the finished product.

The Compartés connection adds another layer of luxury

The collaboration with Compartés is also significant.

The Los Angeles chocolatier has built a reputation around handcrafted chocolate and visually distinctive products, making it a natural partner for a lifestyle brand seeking to position a seasonal release at the premium end of the market.

For As Ever, the partnership allows the company to present the calendar as a collaboration rather than simply another branded chocolate product.

That distinction matters in the world of premium confectionery.

Limited-edition collaborations often depend on scarcity, presentation and brand recognition.

Consumers are not necessarily purchasing the same product they could find at a local grocery store.

They are buying something marketed as special, seasonal and connected to a particular brand story.

Whether that proposition succeeds at $148 will ultimately depend on how many customers believe the experience is worth the premium.

Meghan’s handwritten details make the product more personal

One of the unusual details of the calendar is the use of Meghan’s handwriting for the countdown numbers.

The numbers appear on the individual chocolates as part of the product’s design, accompanied by edible gold detailing.

That small feature reinforces the idea that the calendar is connected directly to Meghan rather than simply carrying an As Ever logo.

It is a familiar strategy in the celebrity lifestyle sector.

A product becomes more collectible when consumers feel they are purchasing something linked directly to the person behind the brand.

For Meghan, whose public identity has increasingly moved toward lifestyle entrepreneurship, food, entertaining and home-oriented products provide a natural extension of that image.

British shoppers face an unexpected problem

There is another detail that makes the launch particularly interesting.

Despite Meghan and Prince Harry's recent relocation to Britain, the As Ever advent calendar is currently available for U.S. customers and does not ship to the UK.

That creates an unusual situation.

A product associated with one of the world's most famous British-born royal figures is being marketed primarily to American consumers, even as Meghan's family has reportedly returned to Britain.

The shipping restriction also means British customers who want the calendar cannot simply place an order through the As Ever website and have it delivered domestically.

For a brand attempting to build an international customer base, availability can be just as important as price.

The decision to keep the product U.S.-only could therefore become another talking point around the launch.

Prince Harry and Meghan moved back to the UK in August (Credit: Shutterstock/ SplashNews.com)

The launch comes during a significant moment for As Ever

The advent calendar arrives at an important point in Meghan's post-royal business journey.

As Ever has become a central part of her consumer lifestyle brand, with products designed around food, entertaining and the aesthetic associated with her California life.

The advent calendar takes that strategy into a particularly competitive category: holiday shopping.

Christmas products can generate strong consumer interest because they combine gifting, seasonal traditions and limited-time availability.

A limited-edition product can also create urgency.

Customers know they cannot necessarily buy the same item months later.

That scarcity can encourage purchases from loyal followers who might otherwise hesitate over the price.

At the same time, the higher cost creates a much narrower potential customer base.

Someone looking for an inexpensive advent calendar has countless alternatives.

Someone willing to spend $148 is being asked to choose a premium celebrity-branded experience instead.

Meghan promoted the collaboration with a glimpse behind the scenes

Meghan announced the collaboration through social media, sharing footage with Compartés chief executive Jonathan Grahm.

The video included the pair travelling in a golf buggy along a path surrounded by vine-covered fences, while sketches of the house appeared in the promotional material.

The imagery was unmistakably connected to the California lifestyle that has become an important part of As Ever's visual identity.

Meghan's Labrador, Pula, also appeared in the promotional material carrying a soft toy designed like an As Ever jam pot.

Another image showed Meghan opening one of the numbered doors on the calendar.

The presentation was carefully designed to make the product feel connected to everyday life inside her brand world rather than simply showing a box of chocolates against a plain background.

The price debate could actually increase the product’s visibility

There is an interesting irony to the backlash.

Criticism over the $148 price has created precisely the kind of conversation that can increase awareness of a limited-edition product.

People who had never heard of the advent calendar may now know that it exists.

The controversy has also encouraged consumers to compare the product with other luxury advent calendars, premium chocolates and celebrity-endorsed holiday products.

That comparison can work in different ways.

Some shoppers may conclude that the calendar is too expensive.

Others may see the limited-edition design, handcrafted chocolates and celebrity association as justification for the premium.

Either way, the discussion places As Ever directly inside a larger conversation about how much consumers are willing to spend on branded experiences.

Is Meghan selling chocolate — or a lifestyle?

That may ultimately be the most interesting question surrounding the launch.

As Ever's products are not simply competing with grocery-store food.

The brand is attempting to occupy a space where food, fashion, lifestyle, celebrity influence and luxury retail overlap.

The advent calendar illustrates that strategy particularly clearly.

The chocolates are only one component.

There is also the packaging, the limited-edition positioning, the Compartés collaboration, the California-inspired flavours, Meghan's handwriting and the connection to her home and personal brand.

Taken together, those details transform a box of chocolates into a lifestyle product.

Whether consumers agree with the $148 price is another matter.

What the backlash reveals about celebrity brands

The response to Meghan's advent calendar reflects a broader challenge facing celebrity-founded businesses.

Famous names can create enormous initial attention, but attention does not automatically translate into customer loyalty.

Consumers still evaluate price, quality, availability and perceived value.

That is particularly true when a product occupies the luxury market.

A $10 purchase can be an impulse decision.

A $148 purchase requires considerably more justification.

That makes the As Ever advent calendar an interesting test of how far Meghan's personal brand can influence consumer purchasing decisions.

If the limited-edition calendar sells strongly despite the criticism, it could demonstrate that her most dedicated customers are willing to pay a substantial premium for products carrying the As Ever identity.

If demand is weaker, the price debate could become a warning about the limits of celebrity-driven premium pricing.

The biggest question may be what As Ever launches next

The advent calendar is only one product in the broader As Ever strategy.

The brand's existing range includes food and lifestyle products such as fruit spreads and flower sprinkles, while Meghan has continued using social media to promote the company's identity.

The Christmas calendar therefore offers a glimpse at where the business could go next.

Holiday collections, premium collaborations and limited-edition products can all create new opportunities for a lifestyle company.

But they also raise expectations.

Consumers who pay premium prices will expect premium presentation, quality and exclusivity.

That is the challenge now facing Meghan's latest launch.

For some shoppers, $148 for 24 chocolates will remain difficult to justify.

For others, the combination of handcrafted confectionery, limited availability, celebrity branding and collectible packaging may make the calendar an appealing holiday purchase.

The debate is unlikely to disappear soon.

And for As Ever, the most important question is no longer simply whether people are talking about Meghan's $148 advent calendar.

They clearly are.

The real test is whether that attention turns into sales, repeat customers and long-term loyalty for Meghan Markle's growing lifestyle brand.