NEWS
The Duchess of Sussex is back with a brand new company (and Instagram page) – and she can’t afford for either to flop…
After launching her brand-new business just a few weeks ago, royal insiders have told Closer that Meghan Markle is exhausted and already struggling with the pressure to make sure it’s a success.
Amid the storm of current royal drama, the world was shocked when the Duchess of Sussex announced via social media that she was launching a new lifestyle company, American Riviera Orchard.
LOSING SLEEP
The new brand, which is yet to fully open, will be selling items such as “fruit butters”, “legume-based spreads”, and “edible oils and fats”, according to a leaked business proposal.
It’s the latest project from Meghan and her husband Prince Harry, following on from the one-off Netflix series Harry & Meghan and her short-lived Spotify deal. After those didn’t lead to the success she’d hoped for, insiders have said she’s putting everything on the line to make sure this doesn’t flop.
“Meghan has been up all night going through every possible outcome. She’s doing a great job of putting on a big show of being very confident, but the truth is she’s dealing with a whole lot of anxiety,” our source reveals.
“She is betting millions on this and has used every possible connection she could think of, not to mention all her creative juices. If it doesn’t succeed, it will be devastating.
“She wants this to be a turbo-charged version of [Gwyneth Paltrow’s] Goop; if it works out it’ll be brilliant, but if it doesn’t, she knows full well it’s disaster time. Not just because of all the money and time they’ve poured into it – their whole brand and reputation is on the line here. It’s no wonder she’s losing sleep over this and working her fingers to the bone, she’s been saying she can’t let this fail. It’s important for her and Harry’s status in the US.”
Since announcing the business, Meghan, 42, has come under fire from critics who have slated the name, logo and use of her royal moniker in the branding. One royal commentator even said, “It does all boil down to the irony of ‘don’t look at me, don’t look at me, buy my napkins’. It is too comical, really. Of all the things the world might need right now, it isn’t another aspirational lifestyle blog from someone incredibly wealthy, fresh from their mansion.”
But after a period of career floundering – and alleged financial difficulty – the Sussexes need their latest venture to be a hit. Last summer, Meghan and Harry, 39, parted ways with audio giant Spotify after putting out just one series of their podcast, Archetypes.
