The first products from the Duchess of Sussex’s new lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard have been revealed, complete with twee packaging and rave reviews from pals

The very first look at Meghan Markle’s new business venture has arrived as her close celeb pals are busy trying out products from her new lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard.

After spending a few days basking in the Florida sunshine for a charity polo match that promoted her husband Prince Harry’s charity Sentable – it’s clear that Meghan has been hard at work in the background getting ready for her upcoming launches.

The sneak peek came after her pals Delfina Blacquier and Tracey Robbins posted photos of the items they had been sent by Meghan on social media, sending fans of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex into a frenzy. As the Duchess teases the upcoming products, here’s everything we know about Meghan’s brand new venture so far.

First look at product

Meghan’s close friend Delfina, posted a photo of strawberries scattered across a plate next to a piece of jam on toast on her Instagram story, before showing an up-close shot of the first products we have seen from Meghan’s new business: jars of strawberry jam with kitsch packaging.

Delfina – the wife of Harry’s long-time friend Nachos Figeuras, a polo player, Sentebale ambassador, and model – has called Meghan her “sister” previously as the pair are so close, so it’s no surprise that she was lucky enough to get a first look at Meghan’s new offering.

Delfina quickly tried out Meghan’s jam (
Image:
@delfinablaquier/Instagram)

The pair are as close as ‘sisters’ (
Image:
@delfinablaquier/Instagram)
Delfina wrote in her post: “Strawberry jam makes me happy. And I love your jam,” and tagged the official account of American Riviera Orchard, which gained hundreds of thousands of followers after it was first launched.

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Fashion designer Tracey Robbins also posted a first look at Meghan’s product on her story, writing: “Thank you so much for this delicious basket! I absolutely love this jam so I’m not sharing it with anyone.” The designer added, “Thank you M!” and said “Breakfast, lunch, and dinner just got a little sweeter.”

The first look at Meghan’s venture sent fans into a frenzy (
Image:
@mrstracyrobbins/Instagram)

Meghan looks set to dominate the lifestyle space (
Image:
@mrstracyrobbins/Instagram)
Each of the delicately designed jars had a number on it – Tracey’s was 17/50 and Delfina’s was 10/50 – showing that this was likely a limited edition drop.

Launch date’s controversial timing

When Meghan launched her new brand website and accompanying Instagram profile, she wracked up hundreds of thousands of followers in less than a day. The new Instagram profile was launched with nine posts that together showed the logo of the new business, and was accompanied by a short video that featured the Duchess in a couture gown standing in a doorway, arranging flowers in a vase and making food in the kitchen.

The timing of the launch coincided with the Diana Legacy Awards, at which both Harry and William spoke, earning the Duchess criticism from some commentators for trying to take the spotlight. However, one royal expert – Jennie Bond, the former royal correspondent for the BBC – defended Meghan against the criticism of poor timing and the idea that she shouldn’t have used her royal title and crest in the branding.

Meghan’s Instagram launched with a short video (
Image:
americanrivieraorchard)
“Honestly, there is so much criticism of Meghan, whatever she does and whenever she opens her mouth and I think we should be wary of that,” said Bond. “You know we’re trying to say that we should lay off Catherine, that we should be kind toward Catherine after a small mistake. Well, we can’t have dual standards, and be so critical of everything Meghan does and then demand kindness for Catherine.”

The expert added: “She’d probably get criticised whenever she launched it, because there are a lot of other royal events going on over the place….What harm has been done? There’s been publicity for her venture, there has been plenty of publicity for the Legacy Award. I don’t see what this great conspiracy theory is all about, and all this criticism. Good for her for launching something that is very genuinely her, she says, I think it is her forte…I think this will be a huge success.”

What products Meghan will be selling?

We have had a first look at the jams Meghan has sent out to her nearest and dearest, but trademark papers filed in the US indicate her ambitions go far beyond this one product.

The paperwork includes pet food, linens, homeware, cookbooks, nut butters, gardening tools, decorative lighting, stationary, photo albums, candles, yoga mats, cooking utensils, tableware, seasonings, condiments, aprons, scarves, and much more.

The Duchess isn’t the first royal to launch their own brand of jams and other food items, with Charles having great success with his Duchy Originals brand, which launched with biscuits back in 1990. His goods were grown from ingredients straight from his Highgrove Estate.

When will Meghan’s products be available to buy?

As yet, there has been no date announced for when you will be able to get your hands on Meghan’s jam – or any other products she may launch. However, by visiting America Riviera Orchard’s website, anyone eager to be the first in the know when products become available to buy can sign up to the company’s waitlist.

What else is Meghan up to?

It has also been announced that Meghan will have a new cooking show on Netflix, as part of the couple’s multi-year deal with the streaming service. It’s been called a celebration of “the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining, and friendship,” and will be run by the same person who worked on Selena Gomez’s cooking show, Selena+Chef, Leah Hariton. There aren’t many details available yet about exactly what form the show will take, but the Mail reports that it will not be filmed at the couple’s Montecito mansion.

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