Oprah Winfrey, a billionaire TV mogul, has given Meghan Markle’s woke-coffee brand another boost after including the superfood latte company as part of the latest edition to her Favorite Things gift guide.  

The TV host featured instant oat milk latte brand Clevr Blends products in this year’s Christmas guide. She also gushed about the brand, which she was introduced by her neighbor Meghan’. She invested an unknown amount in the company last. 

Meghan, 40 years old, announced in December 2020 she was supporting the California-based wellness brand’. She also quickly sent Oprah a gift basket with superfood brands and promoted its products by promoting them via her friend Oprah.  

Oprah shared the products on her Instagram account with more than 19 million subscribers. It was a post that was worth $1 million in free publicity.  

Oprah, now 67, has offered Meghan’s company another promotion, including instant lattes being included in her Favorite Things list starting 2021.

“My neighbor Meghan (yes that one) introduced to me to this woman-led wellbeing brand,” she stated in the list.

Promotion: Oprah Winfrey has once again touted her 'neighbor' Meghan Markle's 'ethical' coffee brand by including it in her Favorite Things gift guide

Promotion: Oprah Winfrey praised Meghan Markle, her neighbor, for her ethically-minded coffee brand by including the item in her Favorite Things Gift Guide 

Helping hand: The inclusion comes 11 months after Oprah, 67, promoted the brand's products on her Instagram page, where she had more than 19 million followers at the time

Helping hand: This inclusion comes 11 months after Oprah (67) promoted the brand’s products via her Instagram page. At that time, she had more than 19,000,000 followers.  

This kit comes with a chai latte mix, a little frother, and a lot of golden latte goodness.

“You can also add the ingredients to smoothies for a flavor boost.

Oprah’s website listing also contained a link that took customers to the Clevr Blends website. There, they can purchase the brand’s $74 SuperLatte starter kit at a 20% discount by using the code ‘Oprah. 

Gushing: In her 2021 gift guide, Oprah claimed that she drinks Clevr Blends' lattes daily - and she included a link and discount code for customers to buy the brand's $74 SuperLatte Starter Kit

Gushing: Oprah claims that she drinks Clevr Blends’ coffee every day. In her 2021 gift list, Oprah included a link to the brand’s SuperLatte Starter Kit for $74 and a discount code. 

Meghan first became involved with the product last January. She sent Oprah a gift pack of vegan coffee and she shared a video of her unboxing it on her Instagram.

The post was valued at least $1million, according to experts. MailOnline was told at the time by experts that it was probably the most valuable piece in history of free publicity.

“On the first Christmas day, my neighbor M sent me a basket full of deliciousness!” (Yes, that M. My new drink of preference for the morning and evening. I wish I had @clevrblends earlier, ’cause it would have been added to my Favorite Things List. She wrote that #HappyHolidays was her goal. 

It’s not clear how much Meghan invested into the company.

After Prince Harry and she had resigned from their royal duties, it was her first investment. She moved to Los Angeles to live a private life and to seek financial independence.

‘This investment is in support of a passionate female entrepreneur who prioritizes building community alongside her business,’ said Meghan of the brand’s founder and CEO, Hannah Mendoza.

“I am proud to invest in Hannah’s commitment to ethical ingredients and creating a product I love and that has a holistic approach towards wellness.

“I believe in her and her company.” 

The startup sells latte products in matcha, Chai, and coffee flavors. They can be made into drinks by adding hot, or cold water.

Hannah stated in a statement that entrepreneurs need funding but also need advisers who are passionate about the things they are building.

“I’m grateful to be able to find both in the Duchess” 

Oprah and Meghan are understood to have struck up a close friendship - which helped to land the TV mogul her sensational sit-down interview with the Sussexes earlier this year

Oprah and Meghan are said to have a close friendship, which helped land the TV mogul a sensational sit down interview with the Sussexes earlier in the year  

Meghan, 40, said she was 'proud' to invest in the company and praised CEO Hannah Mendoza for her 'commitment to sourcing ethical ingredients' (pictured, Hannah Mendoza)

Meghan, 40, stated that she was proud to invest in the company, and praised Hannah Mendoza, CEO, for her ‘commitment towards sourcing ethical ingredients’. (Photo: Hannah Mendoza). 

Financial expert claims Meghan’s Clevr Mixes investment is worth millions in PR 

FEMAIL was informed by Jasmine Birtles (Founder of MoneyMagpie.com) that Meghan’s involvement in the company will be worth millions in free publicity, regardless of how much she invests in it.

She stated that Meghan could get a great deal from the company due to her star-power.

“A lot of celebrities have invested in start-ups very successfully, Ashton Kutcher made some amazing investments. He was an early investor in Uber, AirBnB, and Skype. There are actors who do well, and actors who do poorly. Paris Hilton invested in cryptocurrency, and lost her money. Many of these start-ups are successful. Some do very well, while others fall apart quickly.

“Investing in start-ups is a risky proposition for celebrities and ordinary people. You should be very careful about it, only invest money that you can afford to lose.

“What often happens is that friends, neighbors, and family members set up businesses. People think it’s going be great.

“People can get in at the bottom level and I have done that, and it was a loss of money. If it’s a family member or friend, you need extra caution and to show your natural inclination to help. However, you must be extra certain that it has legs and do extra due diligence. It can lead to a lot of negative feelings if it goes wrong. You just need to be careful. Having said that, if you’d put £100 in Google as a start-up you’d be a millionaire now.

“I definitely believe that, if Meghan had any sense, she would have put it to them for a good deal. Given her worldwide recognition and PR, it would not surprise me if she said she would like it at half-price.

“Investing in start-ups is a great thing to do, but it’s best to invest in more solid things first, such as pensions, blue chips, stocks and shares, and then take a chance on starts ups. Even if you are in your twenties, it is a good time.

“Meghan is almost 40, so I would expect her to have other investments by now.

“Her passion for the work we are doing is palpable. I can’t think of a better partnership. We are excited for the future. 

Clevr Blends, despite being an ethical brand, was criticized earlier this year by The Mail on Sunday for importing large amounts of its ingredients from a Chinese supplier. This is despite the fact that Clevr Blends is based in a violent police state. 

Human rights groups had urged Western businesses to end all ties with China’s Xinjiang Region. These abuses include forced labor, the detention of a quarter of a billion Uighur Muslims in reeducation camps, where it is claimed that women are systematically raped.  

Despite this, Clevr Blends was able to reveal in April that it had received nearly 19 tons of oat powder from a company based out of Urumqi (the capital of Xinjiang), before switching to a US supplier several months back. 

The supplier – Xinjiang Haiyan International Trade – had its head office within four miles of four suspected detention centers, including a possible maximum security prison, and an alleged re-education site.  

However, there is no evidence that Xinjiang Haiyan uses forced labor. The Mail on Sunday reported that Clevr Blends received oats that were not grown or processed in Xinjiang. 

However, the US Department of State issued a new warning to American businesses in July about’supply Chain and Investment Links’ in the Region. The warning urged companies to discontinue any existing relationships with local suppliers. 

“Given the gravity and extent of these abuses including widespread, state sponsored forced labor and intrusive monitoring taking place amid ongoing crimes against humanity and genocide in Xinjiang,” the warning states. Businesses and individuals that do no exit supply chains or ventures connected to Xinjiang may run a high chance of violating U.S. Law. 

Oprah has not addressed the controversy around Clevr Blends’ connection with the Xinjiang provincial, but she has continued to promote the brand’s products.    

The TV mogul is a friend of Meghan for many years and was a guest at her wedding in May 2018. However, their relationship is believed to have grown stronger since Meghan and Harry moved into a $14M Montecito home that is just a stone’s throwing from Oprah’s sprawling home.  

Then, in March this year, she sat down to Meghan and Harry for an explosive interview that aired primetime TV. In which the couple made a number of very damaging allegations against the royal family, including accusations that someone in The Firm made racist comments about their son Archie’s skin tone prior to his birth.