Only a select few of the Duchess of Sussex’s friends and former coworkers were lucky enough to receive a limited-edition jar of strawberry jam to commemorate the California-based brand’s soft launch. Made with ingredients sourced from Montecito—the Santa Barbara neighborhood where Markle lives with her husband Prince Harry and their children, 4-year-old son Prince Archie and 2-year-old daughter Princess Lilibet—each jar of strawberry jam was labeled with the brand’s palatial logo.
Also on the labels: a handwritten number from 1 to 50, suggesting that a mere 50 people, including fashion designer Tracy Robbins and Markle’s family friend Delfina Blaquer, received one. Topped with cream linen fabric and tied with a cotton ribbon, the jar’s packaging also nods to both Markle’s affinity for country living and the beachy, breezy essence of the Santa Barbara coast, also known as the “American Riviera” (hence the company name).
Social media has been abuzz about the royal figure’s latest venture since the brand’s Instagram launch on March 14, particularly because Markle had removed herself from social-media apps for the previous five years. The Duchess has been tight-lipped about exactly what American Riviera Orchard will produce, but trademark applications from the brand filed on March 9 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and obtained by People in late March, revealed that the company plans to sell a *very* wide range of lifestyle products down the line.
On the list alongside kitchen goods like textiles, dinner wares, cookbooks, and yes, jellies and jams, are gardening tools, planners, bath towels, makeup, room fragrances, jewelry, home decor, skin-care products, and pet goods (a nod to the royal couple’s dogs Pula, Guy, and Mamma Mia), among other items.
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But what we’re especially pumped about are all the wellness items for which the brand has reportedly sought exclusive trademark rights, too, which include meditation blankets, yoga bolsters, yoga straps, yoga blankets, and meditation cushions, according to People. If you’re a fan of Markle, this may not surprise you; she’s been known to practice yoga regularly (after all, her mom is a yoga instructor) and maintain a twice-a-day meditation practice.
The gifted jams from the forthcoming brand also seem right on theme with another soon-to-come venture for the Duchess: a Netflix series about her love of all things domestic and aesthetic (think: cooking, gardening, and hosting), set to be filmed in Montecito. No title or release date have been shared yet—but we can only suspect American Riviera Orchard will have a starring role.
