Battle of the brands? Meghan Markle‘s new American Riviera Orchard company may have an unlikely opponent in King Charles’ jam line. As it turns out, the monarch’s brand of fruit jams is already outselling the Duchess of Sussex’s upcoming product line, thanks to some dedicated royal followers.
Meghan announced her latest business venture, a new lifestyle brand called American Riviera Orchard, in March 2024. She made the announcement by launching an Instagram page for the brand, marking her return to social media over five years after closing her personal profiles upon marrying Prince Harry in 2018. While the initial launch provided limited information about the brand’s offerings, a trademark application filed for the American Riviera Orchard brand revealed that the brand plans to offer a variety of products, including cutlery, cookbooks, and jarred foods—evidently including a line of fruit jams and preserves.
In recent weeks, Meghan began soft-launching her products by gifting 50 jars of jams to her inner circle of celebrity friends, including her former Suits costar Abigail Spencer, fashion designer Tracy Robbins and Delfina Blaquier, the wife of Prince Harry’s friend Nacho Figueras, all of whom took to social media to gush about the upcoming product line. “This jam is my jam,” Spencer wrote via Instagram on April 21, 2024. “A delicious taste of what’s to come indeed. Love you so M.”
Though Meghan hasn’t announced when her jam will be publicly available, the interest generated by her soft launch seems to have caused a ripple effect, driving up demand for King Charles‘ jam, particularly his Organic Strawberry Preserve. Just days after Meghan’s inner circle began posting about her jam, the King’s jam began selling out in droves on his website.
King Charles jam is sold under the Highgrove brand (formerly known as Duchy Originals) which he started in 1990. The brand was established by Charles, then the Prince of Wales, to promote organic farming and support sustainable agricultural practices. It has since grown into a popular range of organic food products that includes jams, biscuits, beverages, and dairy, among other items.
The products are often sourced from Highgrove, King Charles’ own private estate in Gloucestershire. In 2010, the brand partnered with Waitrose, a British supermarket chain, to distribute its products more widely, and this partnership has helped raise significant funds for charity, with millions of pounds donated to the king’s charities over the years.
While profits from Highgrove sales go to charity, while Meghan’s venture is for-profit. Her American Riviera Orchard brand also seems to be inspired by her central Californian identity, which aligns with her and Prince Harry’s current base in Montecito, whereas King Charles’ jam is marketed as a “quintessentially English” product.
Many social media users have started drawing these comparisons for themselves, with some speculating that the unexpected boost in sales for Charles’ jam could be a result of consumers preparing to compare the taste of the two jams. Others, however, believe that royal followers simply don’t want to see Meghan win. “Wow it took Meghan selling jam for the King’s 30-year-old jam to sell out… That’s the Meghan effect,” one social media user wrote. Another questioned, “What will they do when Meghan Markle makes a full course meal? It’s just JAM!”
For now, we will need to wait a little longer for Meghan’s jam to hit the shelves before fans can decide how it measures up against the king’s popular preserve. May the best royal jam reign.
Jenzia Burgos
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