Meghan Markle’s lifestyle brand suffers new setback

Meghan Markle ’s new lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard has suffered a setback ahead of its official launch following the discovery of trademark “irregularities”.

According to reports, several items intended to be sold by the luxury brand including yoga matts and picnic labels were incorrectly labelled and needed to be “corrected”.

The error, identified by the US Patents and Trademarks Office in July, will cost an estimated $11,382 (around £9,000) to fix.

The commercial production of the brand is reportedly being taken over by Netflix ahead of the release of Meghan’s new cooking show and it is believed that the streaming giant will cover this cost.

News of American Riviera Orchard was first revealed earlier this year when the Duchess of Sussex, 42, set up a website and Instagram page for the brand.

While the pages did not reveal any of its products, it did reveal its logo and name “ARO” and the word “Montecito” – a reference to the California town where Meghan lives with Prince Harry and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

The types of products that would be sold were then soft launched on social media by Meghan’s celebrity friends and influencers, who were gifted exclusive batches of raspberry and strawberry jam as well as dog biscuits.

An insider told Page Six that the duchess plans to sell products that are “close to her heart”, including rosé wine.

American Riviera Orchard is not Meghan’s first foray into the lifestyle space and ahead of joining the royal family in 2018, she ran a successful lifestyle blog called The Tig.

Meghan also launched the brand via an Instagram video that saw the former working royal arranging flowers and cooking to the backdrop of Nancy Wilson’s “I Wish You Love”.

The Daily Mail reports a source who said the brand will position Meghan as “a beacon of inspiration, aspiration and attainability.”

Fashion designer Tracy Robbins, who shared the jam on social media, wrote: “@AmericanRivieraOrchard breakfast, lunch and dinner just got a little sweeter.”

She followed this up with a picture of the jam in a basket of lemons, where she added: “Thank you for the delicious basket! I absolutely love this jam so not sure I’m sharing with anyone. @AmericanRivieraOrchard Thank you, M! #MontecitoGoodness #AmericanRivieraOrchard.”

The United States Patent and Trademark Office website reports that the company has also applied to sell downloadable and printed recipe books, table wear, and textiles.

The Independent has reached out to Netflix and a representative for Meghan Markle for comment.