Seven months ago, specifically in March, 43-year-old Meghan Markle blew many minds by launching her lifestyle company called American Riviera Orchard.
Not only that, but she also took the plunge by opening an Instagram account that, in a matter of hours, attracted thousands of followers.
News that kept emerging afterwards pointed to Meghan being determined to follow the path of other celebrities in the entertainment world, betting on lifestyle products.
Brand applications that have surfaced suggest that Meghan had quite ambitious plans; she wanted to sell everything from pet food to yoga mats, stationery, candles, and more under her new brand.
However, months later, the brand is still not launching anything on the market.
What Happened to American Riviera Orchard’s Sales?
So far, American Riviera Orchard has failed to sell anything. Interestingly, a journalist seems to have played a role in this situation.
Richard Eden, a royal commentator, suggested that her decision to rush to announce her new brand was partly because she didn’t want the news to hit the media first.
Meghan reportedly launched her company’s Instagram page with a spectacular video, but eight months later, no sales have yet been made and interest appears to be waning.
“Meghan was apparently so desperate for the news not to appear first in the Daily Mail that she immediately launched the Instagram page for her company, complete with a glitzy video. Eight months later, the company has still not started selling any goods, and interest seems to be waning.
Obviously, the brand wasn’t ready to go to market, but Meghan decided to launch it before it was leaked to the press.
“A textbook example of how not to launch a business.” Eden said.
Most intriguingly, there is no word on when the duchess will launch her project. This hasty move on Meghan’s part has brought recent criticism from royal biographer Tina Brown into sharper focus.
Brown, who was Princess Diana’s biographer, launched harsh comments about Meghan, noting that she is impeccable at getting everything wrong and has “the worst judgment of anyone in the entire world.”
To add fuel to the fire, she commented that Meghan is a perfectionist who always ends up doing everything wrong, and that, although she asks for opinions from several people, in the end she does what she thinks without listening to anyone. According to Tina, all her ideas are completely wrong, unfortunately.
“She’s a perfectionist about getting it all wrong. Her issue is that she doesn’t listen. She has all these people, asks them their opinion, and then doesn’t follow it. She does what she wants to do,” she said, adding that “all of her ideas are total crap, unfortunately.”
Meghan seems to be on a roller coaster ride with her new business venture, and only time will tell what will happen with American Riviera Orchard.