Will Meghan's American Riviera Orchard Bear Fruit?
Why I think Meghan is not the next Martha Stewart nor is her lifestyle brand going to be like Goop.
I just navigated to AmericanRiviera.com to see if anything is cooking, no pun intended, and the answer is no. There is still no activity on the Duchess of Sussex’s lifestyle brand that she unveiled March 14th.
Everyone has reviewed the trademark filing and noted the broad array of items listed. Meghan may never market a lot of these items, but it makes sense she would cast the net as wide as possible to defend her brand as best she can. I am sure her lawyers were tasked with listing everything she could conceivably market under the lifestyle banner. Although she has extended her trademark to items as diverse as gardening gear and pet shampoos, I think the tableware, cookbooks, home goods, etc., make clear Meghan is launching a Martha Stewart-style endeavor.
I do wonder about the timing of the launch. Since unveiling the name and launching her Instagram, no new content has been forthcoming. According to some outlets, Meghan is still interviewing candidates for the position of CEO. It was reported earlier in the month:
Another Meghan Markle Netflix show is on the horizon and is set to 'start filming within weeks' it was revealed today, just hours after the Duchess launched her new luxury lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard.
The Duchesses' new project, said to align with her now defunct lifestyle blog The Tig, has been launched to coincide with a new cooking show said to be taking place on the streaming giant, sources claimed.
It comes after the bosses of Netflix revealed that Britons 'devour' any content released by the Sussexes' and that the couple had a 'bunch' of new projects lined up.
I do wonder if she wanted to take advantage either of Kate’s absence or of the massive media attention the royals were getting. I just don’t think that a “coming soon” soft launch that doesn’t have any follow up for so long (or any hint at when one might expect content) is a great strategy. It reminds the consumer of her many false starts and failed rebrands of days gone by. Not the energetic look she should be going for.
Everyone is wondering if this new endeavor will be a success. I think it is a little hard to predict. One thing has become very clear, Meghan does not have much of a work ethic. There were hints of that even when she was a royal, but it came into clear focus once she left the royal family and returned to the States. She flitted from one cause to the next without following through or making a success of any project.