Meghan Markle will aim to sell her style as “affordable elegance” as new details of her brand ‘American Riviera Orchard’ emerge.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, first launched her brand in March 2024, and available products could include selling tableware, stationary, jam, and dog treats to customers.
Royal biographer, Emily Andrews, told Grazia magazine Meghan’s brand aims to position the Duchess as a “beacon of inspiration, aspiration and attainability.”
She explained: “Her style will be sold as ‘affordable elegance’ and while her image will concentrate on her status as a family-orientated yet ‘regal’ figure, while customers will be urged to embrace their innate elegance and ‘elevate the every day’.”
A Netflix show which explores home, garden, and general lifestyle content was set to compound the brand but the streaming giant is reported to have pushed the release to mid-2025.
However, in a bid to trademark her new homewares empire, Meghan has experienced a setback. Without a trademark in place, anyone can “imitate the brand, flog cut-price rip-offs and cheapen its image.”
The royal biographer explained this could prove to be a “headache” for the Duchess. Emily added: “Of course, Meghan’s office might submit a disclaimer mark confirming no claim is made to the exclusive right of ‘American Riviera’ but that does prove rather a headache for her and for Netflix (who are helping to bankroll it).”
The hitch in the process included Meghan’s team facing a number of hurdles to successfully secure the trademark. Her team applied to the Patent and Trademark Office in the States for legal protection to exclusively trade using the name ‘American Riviera Orchard’.
The application has reportedly been rejected and now she has three months to amend the request – or it will be removed from the register, as stated in the Sun.
Earlier this year, Meghan chose 50 friends and influencers that would receive a PR package of the brand’s jam after she soft launched it in March. Each jar had a personalised label, letting people which of the 50 jars they had.
Speaking of the jam’s release PR expert Meghan Boyle at TAL Agency told Express.co.uk: “Given the limited numbers and Meghan handing out the jars herself, it’s highly likely that Meghan sourced the jam in Montecito and produced it by hand, to make the recipients feel special and considered.
“This approach shows Meghan is firmly putting the focus on her brand, and the ARO lifestyle, rather than it being her own personal brand.
“The whole premise of ARO is to highlight the exceptional quality and products that have been lovingly handmade.”
Meghan hasn’t shared the origin story yet, but American Riviera is a term used to describe the Santa Barbara area where she lives with her husband, Prince Harry, and their two children.
So far, Meghan Markle’s brand has more than 612,000 followers on Instagram, but the website remains empty with just a waitlist sign-up form available.
