Meghan Markle breaks long Instagram silence with launch of new lifestyle brand
The Duchess of Sussex took to Instagram for the first time since 2020 to launch what appears to be a lifestyle brand with potentially dozens of products in the works.
Markle appeared to hard launch her latest project via an Instagram account and story on March 14. American Riviera Orchard currently consists of nine tiles on Instagram creating the logo and a website with nothing (yet) but a newsletter signup box.
But behind the scenes, things are brewing: According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Markle filed a trademark application for “American Riviera Orchard” Feb. 2. The application covers “retail store services [and online retail store services] featuring foods, books, tableware and tablescape goods, table linens, and servingware” and much, much more.
A lifestyle brand would be a return to form for Markle, The Guardian reported. Markle previously ran a lifestyle website called The Tig where she interviewed celebrity friends, shared recipes and blogged about “food, cooking, recipes, travel, relationships, fashion, style, interior design, lifestyle, the arts, culture, design, conscious living, health and wellness,” according to Glamour magazine. Markle shut the site down in 2017 ahead of her 2018 wedding in a final, heartfelt post shown below, but the site is archived across various websites unaffiliated with the duchess.
The name “American Riviera Orchard” is even a nod to her past work with The Tig. Short for Markle’s favorite wine, Tiganello, The Tig was a nod to her California wine country roots. Similarly, “American Riviera” is a nickname for the California Central Coast where she and her family reside.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex left the royal family in 2020 but have kept busy since with various projects including podcasts, a docuseries, launching their production company Archewell Productions, adopting a beagle and of course raising two young children, Archie and Lilibet.
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