Meghan Markle ‘Struggling’ to Find Staff for Her Lifestyle Brand Because She Wants People to ‘Jump When They’re Told to Jump,’ Expert Claims
Meghan Markle‘s fans were excited when the Duchess of Sussex announced that she was launching her very own lifestyle brand called American Riviera Orchard. However, those fans have been waiting patiently since March for some more information and announcements about the brand but there haven’t been any.
There is an Instagram page and website for American Riviera Orchard that features just a logo, the former Suits star‘s bio, and a link to the website where people can join a waiting list. As far as products released, Meghan has only produced 52 jars of strawberry and raspberry jam, which she personally sent to her friends and social media influencers, and dog biscuits. This has some wondering what the hold-up is.
Well, now, a royal expert is claiming that Prince Harry’s wife is struggling to establish her brand because she can’t find people to work for her and meet all her demands.
Expert says Meghan can’t find staffers because she’s missing something
According to royal author Tom Quinn, the whole reason Meghan’s brand still isn’t up and running is because she’s having trouble finding staffers who are “full of their own ideas” while also being “compliant to her wishes.”
Quinn explained that one of Meghan’s problems when she was a working royal was that she thought the palace staff “should jump when they’re told to.”
Speaking to The Mirror Quinn said: “One of Meghan‘s biggest problems when she lived at Kensington Palace was that she believed that staff should jump when they’re told to jump. She doesn’t have the ultra-polite old-fashioned English habit of asking staff if they would mind ordering a pizza or ringing for a car or organizing a lunch.”
He added: “The result of Meghan’s tough outlook is that she is having difficulties finding staff for her new brand — she wants them to be full of ideas of their own, but also totally compliant to her wishes.
“Meghan has absolute self-belief. But to make her brand a success she needs to take and accept advice and allow staff who know far more about these things to make some of the decisions. This is really difficult for Meghan as she is not a natural delegator.”
What products the duchess’s brand is expected to offer
When Meghan does find staffers to help launch her brand, she is expected to offer plenty of different products.
Trademark applications filed by the duchess for American Riviera Orchard include home decor and kitchen items including decanters, napkin rings, cutlery, table linens, placemats and napkins, and cookbooks. Her brand will also sell edibles like “jellies, jams, marmalades, fruit preserves, vegetable-based spreads, legume-based spreads, nut-based spreads, garlic-based spreads, sesame-based spreads, dairy-based spreads, nut butters, and fruit butters.”
Meghan is competing with Kate Middleton’s brother, James Middleton, in the dog food space as well. James is the founder of James & Ella. The name Ella is after his spaniel who died in 2023. Among the products his company sells are raw and cold-pressed dog food and air-dried treats.
