All About Meghan Markle’s American Riviera Orchard

Since relocating to Santa Barbara, California, in June 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been busy setting up their west coast empire while raising their two children, Archie and Lilibet. There is the couple’s charity, the Archewell Foundation; Prince Harry’s Invictus Games; Meghan’s podcast, Archetypes; the list goes on. One venture in particular, though, is drawing attention lately for its looming launch: American Riviera Orchard.

Meghan first raised eyebrows when she quietly debuted the American Riviera Orchard Instagram account on March 14. Little information about the brand was revealed, however; the bio simply reads “by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Launched 2024.” Since then, the brand produced a very exclusive jam, gifted to a close circle of friends pre-launch that included Mindy Kaling and Tracee Ellis Ross. Along with some dog biscuits and rosé, those are the only products that have so far been revealed.

Now that the official launch day is drawing near, here’s everything we know about Meghan’s forthcoming brand, American Riviera Orchard.

The Brand Ethos

The name American Riviera Orchard is a reference to the Sussexes home of Santa Barbara, which has long been known as the “American Riviera” for its resemble to the Mediterranean. Back in March, a source told People that the brand would reflect “everything that [Meghan] loves—family, cooking, entertaining and home décor.”

“She is excited about her latest, personal venture,” the source continued. “This is something she’s been wanting to do for a while. She is excited to share her style and things that she loves.”

In essence, American Riviera Orchard really is a lifestyle brand because its products will not fit into one—or even a few—distinct categories. Instead, the potential lineup really runs the gamut, with products that apply to almost every aspect of daily life.

The Product Lineup

“Lifestyle brand” is a broad term that can cover any number of products, but a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office revealed some specifics, including “non-medicated skin care preparations; Bath and shower gels and salts not for medical purposes; Non-medicated hair preparations; Bath soap; Bar soap; Non-medicated hand soaps: Body creams: Bath oil: Body lotions; Cosmetics; Body oil; Scented oils; Air fragrance reed diffusers; Fragrances; Room fragrances; Incense.”

Further in the filing were mentions of jewelry, paper products, and pet products. It seems the sky is the limit for American Riviera Orchard, which has plans for “nearly every lifestyle lane.”

The Public Reception

In July, American Riviera Orchard already had over 100,000 email sign-ups; meanwhile, the brand’s Instagram had over 600,000 followers. The soft launch was off to a good start.

“Meghan is very pleased with the early interest it has gained,” a source told US Weekly. “[She] is so excited to see how people enjoy her products and use them in their everyday lives.”

At the same time, however, Meghan braced for the backlash, which has become unfortunately standard fare for the Sussexes.

“She has reached the point now where she thinks that anything and everything she does will be unfairly criticized,” Royal author Tom Quinn told The Mirror. “With news that the couple’s Netflix contract may be under threat, along with the mockery that greeted the launch of her online brand, Meghan feels very much under siege.”

The Royal Reaction

It all started with the jam: after news of American Riviera Orchard’s exclusive jam dropped, Buckingham Palace made a point to promote their own on Instagram.

“Our Strawberry Preserve is made using only the finest berries and is delicious served in a variety of ways,” the caption read. “How do you enjoy your strawberry preserve? Let us know in the comments!”

Unsurprisingly, the commenters were more interested in the jam feud that the caption’s prompt: “Why buy an imposter when you can have the real royal strawberry jam!” one said; another joked, “Is it just me that loves the subtle shade?”

A couple of months later, American Riviera Orchard was under fire again, this time for appearing to attempt to outshine Kate Middleton with a product reveal on Nacho Figueras’s Instagram. The post came at roughly the same time as a cancer treatment update from Kate. The timing, however, appears to have been a coincidence—albeit an unfortunate one.

“To do this on the same day as Trooping the Colour shows a very naive approach to marketing as they know journalists keep an eye on what they do,” Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told The Mirror.