In what The Daily Beast has aptly described as an “astonishing coincidence,” two new product offerings for Meghan Markle’s forthcoming lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard—raspberry jam and, curiously, luxury dog biscuits—were teased at the absolutely wrong time this weekend in a move that Meghan seems to have had nothing to do with.
As news broke on Friday that her sister-in-law, the Princess of Wales, would be returning to royal duty for the first time in nearly six months at the next day’s Trooping the Colour—an announcement made via a vulnerable statement on social media and a stunning portrait of Kate taken last week by Matt Porteous—Meghan and Prince Harry’s longtime friend Nacho Figueras revealed the two new product offerings in his Instagram Stories. While the general public seems to be excited about Meghan’s forthcoming brand—which was announced three months ago, back in March—the timing really was pretty terrible, and made the situation look like something it wasn’t: Meghan trying to upstage Kate, who announced in March that she is battling cancer, detected earlier this year.
But, according to The Daily Beast, “Meghan’s team reportedly didn’t set out to sabotage Kate,” and the anger being leveled at the Duchess of Sussex “is not justified, Meghan’s camp believe.” Because it’s a day that ends in “y,” Meghan was criticized on social media for the post made by Harry’s polo friend Figueras, and “critics suspected that Meghan’s fingerprints are all over the affair,” leveling accusations that Meghan was looking to take away from Kate’s big return.
But, not so: according to The Daily Beast, “Meghan did not order up the post from Figueras, and in fact had no input over when or if he would post.” The outlet added that “Of course, ceding exact control over context and timings is an inherent risk in a user-led social media campaign, especially when your cheerleaders are powerful celebrities in their own right who might not react well to having their posts micromanaged.” (Figueras isn’t what we’d call a “powerful celebrity,” but many who received one of 50 of Meghan’s first product offering, American Riviera Orchard’s strawberry jam, very much are—think Kris Jenner, Chrissy Teigen, Mindy Kaling, Tracee Ellis Ross, and many more.)
“While I am sure the gift packages came with notes requesting social media coverage, you can’t tell Nacho Figueras what to do, so I think it’s certain the timing of his post was his own idea,” a marketing expert told The Daily Beast. “The larger point here is that the American Riviera Orchard campaign has been phenomenally successful, and cost Meghan nothing. It is a textbook social media campaign. The only problem is that there still seems to be nothing actually for sale, so what is it all for? I guess we will find out.”
Something to note: while the first product offering, the strawberry jam, was sent out in a batch of 50, Figueras’ raspberry jam was labeled “2 of 2.” The dog biscuits were shown in a large glass jar—alongside his dog, Nina Iggy, who is quite cute. As People pointed out re: the dog biscuits, “Although there was no American Riviera Orchard logo on the jar, ‘Dog Biscuits’ appeared to be written in Meghan’s calligraphy,” the outlet writes, adding that “Dog treats and other pet supplies were among the goods listed in trademark applications for exclusive rights to sell products under the American Riviera Orchard name.” (Harry and Meghan, by the way, have three dogs: Guy, Pula, and Mia.)
Royal commenter Richard Fitzwilliams told The Mirror that “To do this on the same day as Trooping the Colour shows a very naive approach to marketing, as they know journalists keep an eye on what they do.” But public relations expert Lynn Carratt countered that assessment, telling The Mirror that she believes this latest business move was “not done with any malice” and “didn’t overshadow anything”—and that Meghan had “no control” over when Figueras posted. “I don’t think Meghan sending a pot of her American Riviera Orchard jam and some dog biscuits to the couple’s close friend Nacho Figueras a day before the Trooping of the Colour and Kate’s first public appearance since undergoing cancer treatment was done with any malice,” Carratt said. “She didn’t have any control over when Nacho would post them. And it didn’t overshadow anything.”
Fitzwilliams also spoke to The Sun about the matter regarding what the outlet calls an “ill-timed brand rollout,” and said that “you can’t make sense of what the Sussexes have done. They should have just been quiet.” He added that the situation was “very, very odd. If she just sent the jam to a friend, she should have asked him not to post it, because otherwise it clearly makes them objects to mockery.” Fitzwilliams also said that he felt it was a “weird” choice amid the royal family’s ongoing “pressures,” and added that “The label on the jar said two of two—if she’s only going to send two jars out, what on earth is the point?”
Even before the Figueras snafu over the weekend, fans were clamoring for the ability to buy American Riviera Orchard’s strawberry jam—and some of the seemingly endless other products included in the company’s trademark filing. Three months after the brand’s soft launch, a lack of product offerings available for purchase doesn’t mean anything is wrong, said Abesi Manyando, founder of the public relations and branding development firm Abesi PR. Speaking to The Daily Express, she said “Even when brands give us teasers, they may not release until months to a year later.” She added “You have instances when celebrities tease an announcement and the products drop soon after, such as Rihanna did with Fenty Hair, and in some instances they may tease a product and the products drop months later and longer. It’s really very relative.”
Manyando added that “there is high anticipation for a drop” and that demand for the brand has only increased after Harry and Meghan’s three-day trip to Nigeria last month. “Whenever she does release her brand of products, it’s going to be very successful, especially in the United States,” she said.
Until then, we wait—and wonder what Figueras is thinking right now about it all, and if, in addition to those luxury dog biscuits, he too is in the doghouse.
