Meghan Markle stepped into the world of entrepreneurship with the launch of her first product under her new business venture—a lifestyle brand named American Riviera Orchard.
The Duchess of Sussex gave the world its first taste of her brand with the unveiling of a new line of strawberry jams. A number of influencers, socialites, and friends of Meghan received the inaugural item from her range.
Designer Tracy Robbins posted an image on Instagram showing off jar number “17 of 50,” indicating that only 50 of the homemade strawberry jams were part of the first drop.
“@americanrivieraorchard breakfast, lunch and dinner just got a little sweeter,” said Tracy, a close friend of the Duchess.
“Thank you for the delicious basket! I absolutely love this jam so not sure I’m sharing with anyone. Thank you, M! #MontecitoGoodness #AmericanRivieraOrchard,” Tracy added in the Instagram story.
Meghan Markle gave the world its first taste of her brand by reportedly sending 50 jars of homemade strawberry jams to friends and influencers
Image credits: Photo by Gary Miller/Getty Images
The recipients of the strawberry jam from Meghan’s debut offering included Argentinian model Delfina Blaquier, the wife of Nacho Figueras, a polo player and close friend of Prince Harry’s.
Delfina received jar “10 of 50” from the drop and shared a post about it on Instagram.
“Strawberry jam makes me happy. And I love your jam, @AmericanRivieraOrchard,” Delfina wrote and also shared an image of toast slathered with the jam.
While social media influencers and socialites enjoyed their first taste of the brand, others slammed Meghan’s entrepreneurial venture and criticized the touch of exclusivity that the debut launch came with.
The Duchess of Sussex faced backlash for the inaugural launch, with some calling it pretentious
Image credits: Vidapress
Some believed the numbering on the jars was a pretentious marketing gimmick.
"17 or 50! That’s hilarious, you would think it's a limited print," one wrote on social media, while another said, "Limited production for limited customers."
Another said, "Did you not laugh at the pretentiousness of the 17/50 label? It is not exactly limited edition art is it."
"Fifty pots of jam do not [make] a business empire... she is not creating anything except a brand. Everything will be made by other manufacturers and get her label slapped on it," said another.
Some criticized the timing of her business venture for coming at the heels of Prince Charles and Kate Middleton’s cancer announcements.
“Meghan Markle is shameless. And it's absolutely no coincidence that this gets publicized just as the world processes the weight and implications of the cancer diagnoses for King Charles and the Princess of Wales. This is calculated leech behavior by the Duchess of Montecito,” one wrote.
Netizens thought the numbering on the jars of strawberry jam was a pretentious marketing gimmick
Image credits: mrstracyrobbins
Some also went "tut tut" over the product label appearing to peel off in the pictures.
"Anybody notice the label on the promo jams Meghan Markle is sending to 'friends' is literally peeling off? Not a good start," one said, while another quipped, "Cheap labels coming off. This is what people were waiting for?"
"The label is hanging off. Tut tut. Poor quality," wrote another.
It was not just social media users that had plenty to say about the Duchess of Sussex’s new lifestyle brand. Los Angeles-based royal correspondent Kinsey Schofield also called the strawberry jams “another PR campaign.”
“Two years ago we were talking about this woman running for president, and now we’re talking about her making jam,” she was quoted telling TalkTV on Tuesday, April 16.
“Oh how the mighty have fallen,” Kinsey continued.
"These are gifted influencers packages that some of her contacts received but if I go to the American Riviera Orchard website today I cannot purchase (the jam)," she added.
"The label is hanging off. Tut tut. Poor quality," one social media user said
It was only last month when Meghan made the surprise announcement about the lifestyle brand on social media. The Duchess made a comeback on Instagram with the surprise announcement about the launch of American Riviera Orchard. The luxury lifestyle brand is expected to focus on home, garden, food, and general lifestyle wares.
The brand launch came as Netflix is gearing up to release Meghan’s new cookery show, where she will not only showcase her cooking talents but also promote her own product line.
It is understood that American Riviera Orchard plans to sell tableware, drinkware (including decanters), kitchen linens, and edible treats, such as jellies, jams, marmalade, and spreads. A book and a blog are also expected to come along the way.
The umbrella idea may also include a physical shop where tableware, mugs, jams, tablecloths, and recipe books are expected to be sold.
“It’s a lifestyle and cooking brand called American Riviera Orchard,” an insider told the Daily Mail last month.
“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,” they added. “And at some point there will be a book and blog etc.”
Following the inaugural launch of Meghan’s strawberry jams, express.co.uk conducted a survey from the afternoon of April 16 to the morning hours of April 17, asking fans whether they would buy a jar for themselves once it is open for sale to the public.
Out of a total of 13,917 votes, 98 percent (13,690 votes) indicated a lack of interest in purchasing Meghan's jam, while only one percent (163 votes) expressed interest in buying the product.
The internet had mixed reactions over Meghan Markle offering a "taste of royalty"
