The Duchess of Sussex returned to her acting roots with a starring role in a new advert for her powdered “wellness” latte brand.

The former actress took on multiple guises in a new Clevr Blends commercial, appearing as an employee stacking boxes, typing on a computer while slurping an oversized drink and making hot drinks for colleagues.

Meghan, 42, is in the background of every scene, acting as a member of the “fulfilment crew”, the digital team and the ops team.

She even tries her hand at a more comedic turn by failing to fist bump another member of the team in the final shot, before walking off camera laughing.

Initial investment in 2020

The Duchess was an early supporter of the brand, investing an undisclosed sum in late 2020.

It was her first solo business venture after moving from the UK to California and was said to mark the launch of a burgeoning career of private investments in a string of female-led start-up companies “in line with her values”.

She soon proved her worth by roping in Oprah Winfrey to endorse the business to her 19 million Instagram followers.

The Duchess sent the influential US broadcaster a basket of Clevr Brands products which she duly unwrapped and gushed over on camera.

Hannah Mendoza, the company’s British chief executive and co-founder, also appeared in the advert, strolling around the office and thanking the team for its hard work.

“I want to give a huge shout-out to our amazing Clevr team here at HQ, without them we are nothing,” she said.

“Our fulfilment crew, lovingly packing your lattes, they’ve been listening to Britney on loop since 2019. Our very smart, only slightly nerdy digital team – making sure the website doesn’t crash again like it did last year. Finally, the glue that literally holds us all together, our incredible, resilient ops team.”

Clevr Blends published the video on Instagram with the caption: “Damn, you’re keeping us BUSY right now! Had to call in some reinforcements.

“So grateful for the immense love and support this year – thanks for helping us keep the latte-loving dream alive, and thriving!”

Ms Mendoza was raised in Buckinghamshire and is the daughter of wealthy British businessman Marc Mendoza, an advertising veteran and the former UK chief executive of Havas Media.

In 2019, he was recruited to be a non-executive chairman of Encore Digital Media after moving back to the UK from the US, where he relocated for several years.

Mr Mendoza, who was also formerly the chief executive of the Media Planning Group, was once described in a profile as “a bit of an Arthur Daley character” after he said: “I do a bit of this and a bit of that.”

He and his wife Kim have a second daughter, Mollie, a musician and “mindset and empowerment coach”.

The family owns a seven-bedroom holiday home in Padstow, Cornwall.

‘I believe in her’

Ms Mendoza studied psychology at the University of California before co-founding Clevr Blends in 2017, initially selling her powdered “SuperLattes” out of a van before turning to mail order.

The Duchess contacted the company after tasting one of its products.

She has previously said: “I’m proud to invest in Hannah’s commitment to sourcing ethical ingredients and creating a product that I personally love and has a holistic approach to wellness. I believe in her and I believe in her company.”

The company donates 1 per cent of profits to organisations fighting for food justice in the US.

In 2019, Clevr Blends recruited an army of social media influencers to sell its $28-a-bag (£22) lattes in a multi-level marketing scheme.