Instagram has gone gaga for Meghan Markle’s jam after top tastemakers received one of a limited edition of fifty pots of her new American Riviera Orchard conserves.
Like many who ditch big city life in favor of country living, Meghan has thrown herself into traditional rural pursuits such as hiking, keeping chickens, and taking up jam-making as a hobby. But while regular homesteaders content themselves with an honesty box at the end of the drive to sell their sweet and sticky wares to passing travelers—along with a few eggs—Meghan is doing things rather differently.
First came the brand: American Riviera Orchard (already known affectionately as ARO to the Sussex Squad fanbase on social media) and a shiny new Instagram page with a promotional video featuring Meghan of Montecito wandering, artfully out of focus, in a ballgown through the cloisters of her home and cooking in her palatial kitchen. She was wearing white at the counter and got not a spot of cooking debris on her.
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Unfortunately, the video was released just hours before Kate Middleton revealed she had cancer, leading to some unkind comparisons of the two warring princesses.
The Instagram launch was preceded by a trademark application that tipped Meghan’s hand to the masses, with its provision for American Riviera Orchard to sell downloadable and printed recipe books, tableware, textiles, jams, and marmalades.
Of course, the royal family have form in this area, with King Charles establishing the Duchy Originals brand when he was merely Prince Charles. It markets organic products, including oatcakes and cheese. Plus jam, obviously. The king has not responded to the prospect of his daughter-in-law parking her tanks on his lawn.
Unlike King Charles, however, Meghan soon announced a deal with Netflix focused on her passions of entertaining and cooking (her husband got his own series about the sport of polo, to be made by the team behind Ryan Reynolds’ soccer smash hit, Welcome to Wrexham).
And now the first batch of jam, strawberry since you ask, has been sent out into the world after being carefully simmered and decanted into artful pots with pretty muslins stretched tight as a drum over their necks and inscribed with individual numbers 1/50, 2/50, etc., like they are Damien Hirst prints.
The recipients appear to have launched a co-ordinated strike to help Meghan get the brand rolling, with the lucky friends, including fashion designer Tracy Robbins and Argentine socialite Delfina Blaquier (wife of Harry’s polo-playing pal Nacho Figueras) among those to post an image of the product on their Instagram Stories Tuesday.
Robbins posted a picture of her pot (“17 of 50”) with the caption “@AmericanRivieraOrchard breakfast, lunch and dinner just got a little sweeter.”
Instagram stories are only available to view by followers of the account; however, Sussex fan accounts were quick to repost them on other social networks.
Robbins, the wife of Paramount executive Brian Robbins, posted her jam sitting in a basket with lemons and added, “Thank you for the delicious basket! I absolutely love this jam so not sure I’m sharing with anyone.”
Blaquier (10 of 50) posted the pot along with the caption, “Strawberry jam makes me happy,” and an image of some of the jam spread on a piece of bread.
No one, as yet, has dared to remark in depth on what it tastes like, although Blaquier did bestow the catch-all comment, “I love your jam.”
