Move over, Mark Cuban. Meghan Markle has entered the shark tank. Markle has acquired a minority stake in Cesta Collective, a luxury handbag brand specializing in woven basket totes, she confirmed during a recent interview with The New York Times .
The bags themselves are handcrafted by women in Rwanda and finished in Italy. She disclosed that she first wore one of Cesta’s bags on a date night out with Prince Harry , Gwyneth Paltrow, and Cameron Diaz back in 2023 after discovering the company online. “I spend a lot of time just Googling, looking for brands,” Markle told the newspaper.
“When people are online looking for things or reading things, I’m trying to find great new designers, especially in different territories.” Of course, after Markle was spotted with the tote, founders Erin Ryder and Courtney Weinblatt Fasciano saw sales skyrocket. According to Markle, what drew her to invest her money in Cesta was the mission-based brand’s commitment to sustainability and ability to support female artisans by offering fair-wage opportunities.
“Courtney and Erin have a really incredible and strategic business,” Markle told People . “The quality of a brand’s products, the supply chain, ethical standards, and practices—these are all things that I consider before making an investment. With Cesta, I really started to understand how many women’s lives were being impacted and uplift through their work.
That was incredibly important to me.” With Markle’s backing, Ryder and Fasciano are looking to one day expand their line to other categories and eventually involve craftspeople from other developing countries. The Suits actress has had entrepreneurial success over the years.
In December 2020, she invested in vegan, Southern California -based coffee brand Clevr Blends and now serves as an adviser and advocate. “Investing in them has helped me line up for this chapter where I’m investing in myself,” Markle told The New York Times . Speaking of which, Markle announced in March that she was launching her own lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard.
There have since been reports that the business venture has had trouble getting off the ground. However, sources told US Weekly that ARO is expected to launch later this year and could align with the release of her forthcoming Netflix series..
