Meghan Markle just soft-launched her new lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, with a super-exclusive homemade jam, and the social media responses have been oh-so-sweet. Only a select few of the Duchess of Sussex’s friends and former coworkers were lucky enough to receive a limited-edition jar of strawberry jam to commemorate the California-based brand’s soft launch. Made with ingredients sourced from Montecito—the Santa Barbara neighborhood where Meghan Markle lives with her husband Prince Harry and their children, 4-year-old son Prince Archie and 2-year-old daughter Princess Lilibet—each jar of strawberry jam was labeled with the brand’s palatial logo, according to Instagram photos recently posted by Markle’s close friends.
On April 15, fashion designer Tracy Robbins posted two photos of the limited-edition jam to her Instagram Stories, one with a caption reading, “Breakfast, lunch and dinner just got a little sweeter” with the official official American Riviera Orchard Instagram account tagged. Also on the labels: a handwritten number from 1 to 50, suggesting that a mere 50 people received jam, including Markle’s family friend Delfina Blaquier, a socialite and lifestyle content creator.
In the photos is a jam jar topped with cream-colored linen fabric and tied with a ribbon—seemingly a nod to both Markle’s affinity for country living and the beachy, breezy essence of the Santa Barbara coast, also known as the “American Riviera” (hence the company name). The jar’s packaging also appears to include a gold-and-cream embossed sticker label with American Riviera Orchard’s logo and “17 of 50” handwritten beneath. In her post, Robbins writes, “Thank you for the delicious basket! I absolutely love this jam so not sure I’m sharing with anyone.”
Social media has been abuzz about the royal figure’s latest venture since the brand’s Instagram launch on March 14, particularly because Markle had removed herself from social-media apps for the previous five years. The Duchess has been tight-lipped about exactly what American Riviera Orchard will produce, but trademark applications from the brand filed on March 9 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and obtained by People in late March, revealed that the company plans to sell a *very* wide range of lifestyle products down the line.
On the list alongside kitchen goods like textiles, dinner wares, cookbooks, and yes, jellies and jams, are gardening tools, planners, bath towels, makeup, room fragrances, jewelry, home decor, skin-care products, and pet goods (a nod to the royal couple’s dogs Pula, Guy, and Mamma Mia), among other items.
But what we’re especially pumped about are all the wellness items for which the brand has reportedly sought exclusive trademark rights, too, which include meditation blankets, yoga bolsters, yoga straps, yoga blankets, and meditation cushions, according to People. If you’re a fan of Markle, this may not surprise you; she’s been known to practice yoga regularly (after all, her mom is a yoga instructor) and maintain a twice-a-day meditation practice.
The gifted jams from the forthcoming brand also seem right on theme with another soon-to-come venture for the Duchess: a Netflix series about her love of all things domestic and aesthetic (think: cooking, gardening, and hosting), set to be filmed in Montecito. No title or release date have been shared yet—but we can only suspect American Riviera Orchard will have a starring role.
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