Meghan Markle was warned she needs to be careful with her new lifestyle brand’s imminent launch.
The Duchess of Sussex soft-launched American Riviera Orchard last month by dropping a new Instagram page for it, which featured the brand’s logo, a bio that said “by Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex” and linked to a website where people can join a waiting list.
The brand’s hard launch has not been announced yet, however, earlier this week, its first product – strawberry jam – was sent to 50 influencers to taste test ahead of the launch.
Now a branding expert has given a word of caution to Prince Harry’s wife and claimed there is one “stupid” mistake she could make that would prevent her from raking in the cash – and that is her pricing.
Brand strategist Lucie Greene claimed Meghan has included a lot of “class references” in her branding, from her royal title to the name of the brand.
She told Grazia: “American Riviera sounds like old money – and then ‘Orchard’ gives it this folksy, Hamptonsy, Ina Garten feeling.
“What’s going to be interesting is the price point Meghan chooses, because I think she’d be stupid to make it too expensive.
“There’s a real opportunity for her to make it more accessible than Flamingo Estate [a luxury LA-based company selling handmade apothecary items], and market high-class America to an aspiring middle-class American crowd.”
Meghan is thought to be selling a wide range of items through her brand, including household goods, cookware, pet products, gardening tools, beverages, food and condiments.
Her jam jars went viral this week on social media after the influencers posted them online.
The product, individually hand-numbered between 1-50, is presented in a glass jar with a fabric lid with the American Riviera Orchard logo stamped on the top.
The lid is fastened in a neat bow and a label is stuck to the front that also features the brand name and Montecito underneath.
American Riviera Orchard is said to coincide with another one of Meghan’s projects – a series on Netflix which will “celebrate the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining, and friendship”.
