The Instagram post had the desired effect, with the company quickly announcing that it had been inundated with orders.
The latest marketing ploy marks the second phase of a soft launch of American Riviera Orchard, a commercial venture promoting a domestic idyll through the sale of everything from jams, cutlery and nut butters to place mats and cookbooks.
The website was launched on March 14, with a holding page inviting supporters to join a waiting list to hear about about “products, availability and updates”.
An Instagram profile under the same handle, americanrivieraorchard, features the same gold logo and states that the page brand is “by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex. Established 2024”.
The logo bears a remarkable resemblance to her royal cypher, a cursive M topped with a crown.
A short video set to Nancy Wilson’s I Wish You Love showed Meghan arranging flowers, baking in a kitchen and posing in a doorway in a ballgown at what appeared to be her Montecito home.
The brand will be heavily trailed through a new Netflix show, featuring the Duchess.
Celebrate the joys of cooking
The series, announced last week by Archewell Productions, will “celebrate the joys of cooking & gardening, entertaining, and friendship”.
The at-home-style cookery show has been “curated” by Meghan and is in the early stages of production, with its title and release date to be announced in the coming months.
American Riviera Orchard’s name appears to be derived from the Sussexes’ location.
Their Montecito home boasts an orchard featuring orange, lemon and almond trees, while Santa Barbara is known as the American Riviera thanks to to its climate, food and wine culture.
The launch follows claims that Meghan is planning to “take on America’s most famous lifestyle queens” such as Ina Garten, Martha Stewart and Joanna Gaines.
She has been working on it for more than a year and is hoping it becomes her primary commercial focus in the longer term.
The “highly personal” project will reflect her own tastes and lifestyle interests. She was forced to shut down her successful lifestyle blog, The Tig, when she became engaged to Prince Harry.
The nascent brand, which is expected to be launched fully later this spring, has been compared to the California-based Flamingo Estate which sells candles, honey and soap to its wealthy customers.
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