King Charles is sick. Kate Middleton is plagued by countless conspiracy theories. Now is obviously the perfect time for Meghan Markle to announce a new business venture. On Thursday — just days after her sister-in-law took the fall for a major royal Photoshopping fail — an Instagram account popped up for something called American Riviera Orchard. The bio on the page reads, simply, “By Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.” If anything, I might be distancing myself from that title right now?
What is American Riviera Orchard? We know that it’s in Meghan and Prince Harry’s adopted home of Montecito, California. Other than that, not much is clear. The Instagram account has done that thing where there are nine images posted that make one big image on the grid, but the image is just the ARO logo. In an Instagram Story set to Nancy Sinatra’s “I Wish You Love,” the brand (?) shared a video in which you can see Meghan baking something in a beautiful kitchen, someone arranging a bouquet, and a woman in a navy-blue gown standing in a corridor. On the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website, the name “American Riviera Orchard” is trademarked for “jellies, jams; marmalades” as well as several other homey items like cookbooks and tablecloths. So maybe she’s coming for Williams Sonoma’s bag?
On the website for Meghan’s new project — americanriviera.com — you can add your email address to a wait list, but that’s it. What are we waiting for? Who knows! The timing on this is certainly odd. Perhaps her market research shows that people love buying jam in the spring. Whatever the case may be, she succeeded in grabbing my attention (and getting my email).
This post has been updated.