Meghan Markle debuts first product from lifestyle brand
The Duchess of Sussex has soft-launched American Riviera Orchard.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is cornering the lifestyle market, one gifted jar of limited edition jam at a time.
The first product from Markle’s mysterious American Riviera Orchard lifestyle brand has been teased, and it’s strawberry jam.
Tracy Robbins, a fashion designer, friend of Meghan and Prince Harry, and wife to Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins, shared a photo of the cheesecloth swaddled jar in a gift basket.
“Thank you for the delicious basket! I absolutely love this jam so I’m not sure I’m sharing with anyone!” she wrote alongside a snap of the jam, which had clearly not been opened. “Thank you, M!” she added, tagging American Riviera Orchard’s Instagram page as well as hashtagging the brand name.
In a follow-up Story, she shared a close-up of the jar, writing, “breakfast, lunch, and dinner just got a little sweeter.”
The jam in question was part of a small batch of 50. A handwritten note on the label — which is embossed with the American Riviera Orchard logo — marks Robbin’s preserve as number 17 of 50.
Delfina Blaquier, who is married to the polo player Nacho Figueras, received jar number 10.
Markle first unveiled her plans to launch a lifestyle brand last month, in her first post on Instagram since 2020. The 15-second video, shot in a grainy, sepia tone, showed the former actress arranging white roses and hydrangeas in her homely Southern California kitchen.
While little was revealed about American Riviera Orchard, a trademark filing application for the brand included cookbooks, tableware, linens, a range of spreads and preserves including jellies, jams, and nut butters.
A second, international registration application includes stationery, textiles, string bags, yoga equipment, and a range of pet-related items such as leashes, collars, feeding mats, and birdseed.
The jam reveal comes after news the Markle and Prince Harry have two new unscripted series in the works for Netflix, as part of a $100m deal that the couple inked with the company in 2020 via their Archewell Productions banner.
The first, a lifestyle show to be curated by Markle, that ties neatly into the American Riviera Orchard universe by celebrating “the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining, and friendship.”
The second, an “unprecedented” look into the US Open Polo Championship in Florida.
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