It was the jam announcement heard around the world.
Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, is rolling out her own jam line as part of the launch of her lifestyle business and an overarching professional rebrand. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the announcement of her jam empire (jampire?) was quickly met with media chaos, which seems to follow Royal Family members like a clingy shadow.
Markle's new celebrity lifestyle brand has been dissected in the media and in comment threads on social platforms for weeks since it debuted in mid-March via a hyper-stylized Instagram account. American Riviera Orchard, a brand name meant to evoke the duke and duchess's adopted home of Montecito, California, has been analyzed (and, in some cases, gently mocked) as if the 22 letters themselves could unscramble to reveal all of its secrets. Markle's trademark application actually gives the rundown of what the brand is all about, noting that it will include tableware, cookbooks, tea and coffee goods, jellies, jams, and other cooking and retail products. While there are similarities between this inventory and the offerings at a typical shoppy shop, there's one major distinction: Rather than focusing on hyper-local sales, Markle's wares will be available to buy en masse once the American Riviera Orchard online store formally opens.
Cue the discourse. In an Eater story, Amy McCarthy suggested that Markle was returning to her "lifestyle maven throne," alluding to the duchess's former lifestyle website and side hustle: a blog called the Tig, where she documented her travels, favorite products, and recipes. A New York Times report unsubtly commented on the timing of the announcement, which came amid frenzied speculation about whether Markle's estranged sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, was missing or in hiding. (The Princess of Wales later revealed in an Instagram video post that she was undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.) A month later, the Cut declared that the "Royal jam wars" were underway: King Charles' Highgrove preserves seem to be sold out, a fact fueling tabloid speculation that Markle's line was driving interest toward similar products hawked by other members of the British Royal Family. (As Vulture noted, the Buckingham Palace gift shop is leaning into it, even posting Instagram reels of its own strawberry preserves this week.)
In April, Deadline revealed that Markle would also be producing a cooking-focused series, further solidifying her place in the Montecito-to-Martha Stewart pipeline, and, as McCarthy says, positioning her to make the "ultimate relatability grab." All of this comes during a moment when Instagram and TikTok are teeming with so-called tradwives churning their own butter, macerating homegrown fruits for preserves, or facetiously making egg carton coloring book paper for a credulous audience. Markle is neither chef nor tradwife, however: she's a sophic businesswoman taking her cooking and baking abilities to a platform that can easily reach millions — which brings us back to jam.
Early reviews for Markle's first, extremely limited jam sampling are trickling in: Chrissy Teigen said the jam, which has only been released to Markle's friends and family, was "one of the best bites" she's had all year in an April 24 Instagram reel (set, of course, to "Jamming" by Bob Marley & The Wailers). Kris Jenner showed her sample this week in an Instagram Stories slide, the jar bedded in a basket of plump lemons possibly plucked from Meghan's own Montecito garden. There are only 50 of these jam jars available in the world right now, driving even more fervor around its coverage, much of it highly skeptical.
In an age when celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Kourtney Kardashian can launch lifestyle brands with monikers that are just weird onomatopoeia and vagina-scented candles without causing a volcanic media eruption, I do wonder why Markle can't have her jam and sell it, too. Of course, the timing of the news amid #kategate, Markle's status as an American member of the British Royal Family, as well as her other deviations from standard celebrity may all inform the chaos response. Still, the curdling criticism of her brand and business choices are exhausting, and clearly fanned by the same tabloid press that continues to churn deeply racist, sexist, and misinformed stories about the duchess, her business pursuits, and her family.
Ultimately, the recent moves seem less like a stunt and more like a natural next phase for Markle, an avid home cook, baker, and gardener. And it's unlikely that it won't be at least somewhat successful — given the level of interest involved, bad faith or not, and the iterative PR strategies that Meghan's team seems to be building in as safeguards for it.
Let her have this one, and maybe you'll one day find yourself with an ARO-emblazoned jam jar on your doorstep, too. But unlike Markle's friends, you'll have probably paid for it. —Nicole Adlman, Eater cities manager
