Highlights
- Meghan Markle's new lifestyle brand, "American Riviera Orchard," is anticipated to be an online retail store selling various items.
- The brand's unexpected debut led to confusion and anticipation among social media users and lifestyle pundits.
- Meghan's brand launch could earn her profits in the six figures, potentially reaching hundreds of millions in the future, following her Netflix deal.
Following the shocking news of Kate Middleton's cancer diagnosis, some lighter news surfaced across the pond about her estranged sister-in-law — Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex.
On March 14th, Meghan slowly began to roll out her much-anticipated new lifestyle brand, one with a mouthful of a name: "American Riviera Orchard."
The initial soft launch on March 14th was quite mysterious, as it consisted solely of a gold-leaf logo, the company's name, and its location, "Montecito," on both Instagram and AmericanRiviera.com.
There was no accompanying press release, nor promotional social media campaign, nor any other announcement, all practices which we've become accustomed to being inundated with every time a celebrity launches a brand.
At press time, the Instagram account boasted 570,000 followers — including a couple of big names, like Tamara Mellon and Elle McPherson.
Meghan also released a very short video – a scant 16 seconds, to be precise – set to jazzy music.
That clip featured ethereal, soft-focus images of Meghan stirring something up in the kitchen, arranging flowers, and donning a ballgown in a fancy courtyard:
The online debut of American Riviera Orchard was so unexpected that Vogue magazine contacted Meghan's people to make sure it legitimately belonged to the Duchess.
A quick search of the U.S. Patent And Trademark Office's (USPTO) website returns an application for "American Riviera Orchard," which was filed on February 2nd.
According to the application's details, the brand will be an "online retail store services featuring food and beverages, books, tableware and tablescape goods, table linens, and servingware."
The owner of the company is listed as "Mama Knows Best, LLC."
First things first, however. Exactly what does "American Riviera Orchard" mean?
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Before one can make millions with a lifestyle brand, its name must first be memorable, and conjure feelings of well-being, luxury, and aspirational wealth.
Meghan had social media users scratching their heads due to her choice of name, as "American Riviera Orchard" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue; some even called it "word salad."
Meghan, however, is certain that the name is simply "perfect," and an unnamed source told People:
Meghan finds the name American Riviera Orchard perfect. It feels authentic to her.
Apparently, Meghan and Prince Harry's American hometown of Montecito, California, has been dubbed "the American Riviera" by those in the know.
Now that we've learned the name and have seen the logo, lifestyle pundits are frantically attempting to figure out exactly what American Riviera Orchard will offer.
Olivia Craighead of The Cut wrote:
"My heart is open to this [brand], but it does sort of sound like the pitch here is this: What if Chip and Joanna Gaines were from Montecito instead of Waco? Or maybe it’s more like: What if Ina Garten did Goop? Either way, congrats are in order for Markle.
"According to whoever talked to People, she is 'excited to share her style and things that she loves.' It’s nice that a little across-the-pond chaos isn't stopping her from pursuing her dream of selling what I imagine will be $400 tablecloths. I’m sure they’ll be very beautiful."
Craighead articulated what many are likely pondering with respect to the aspirational brand: "Will I possibly be able to afford anything that bears an American Riviera Orchard logo?"
If the logo and short video clip are any indication, owning a piece from American Riviera Orchard could signal prestige and understated taste — even if one can only splurge on the smallest of the brand's presumably pricey wares.
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Experts and analysts have predicted that Meghan Markle's lifestyle brand will net the Duchess profits "in the six figures" just in the initial few weeks of its launch.
"Brand expert Hayley Knight believes the Duchess of Sussex even has a chance of amassing huge financial success in the first week if her new business venture takes off around the world," reported the UK's Express.
A source told the Daily Mail that by leveraging the brand, Meghan has secured deals with the potential to generate virtually unlimited cash for the former royals:
The brand is meant to coincide with the launch of a new cookery show for Netflix. Meghan will be making, and selling, products such as jams. And at some point there will be a book and blog ...
Meghan and Harry inked a five-year, $100 million Netflix deal in September 2020, and as such, a cooking show could certainly be on the table.
Meghan could use some good business news, following the failure of her Spotify deal. Citing the Wall Street Journal, Forbes reported:
" ... About $20 million. That’s how much the deal between Archewell Audio — the couple’s audio production company — and Spotify was worth, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"The couple did not meet the 'productivity benchmarks' required to get [their] full payout, the Journal reported."
Meghan has since signed with a podcasting company called Lemonada.
OK! Magazine estimates that Meghan and Harry are currently worth around $60 million — and if American Riviera Orchard is a success, it could see the erstwhile royals raking in hundreds of millions of dollars.
After all, Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop lifestyle brand is worth an estimated $250 million.
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