Meghan Markle started the year high on life with the promising project of a lifetime. The former actress launched the lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard.
It was supposed to be the company that would rival Martha Stewart and Gwyneth Paltrow.
The launch of Markle’s company was a grand affair, with a lot of excitement surrounding the samples she sent out, including jams and dog biscuits.
However, the story of Prince Harry‘s wife’s ambitious company took an unexpected turn, faced challenges as soon as it was launched.
Markle’s ARO has been marred with drama and disappointments. The Duchess of Sussex competed with King Charles III, who also sells jams and doggy treats.
However, Markle’s business plan was hit hard by the multiple rejections to obtain the proper trademarks for the brand to finally hit the market.
The trademark office refused to use the logo for ARO. Markle was turned down when she requested the “American Riviera” usage because it was “too vague a term, stipulating that she had three months to provide clarification.”
Unfortunately for Markle, the year has ended the way it started in major disappointment and career headaches.
The Daily Mail has confirmed that Markle has discovered that she will not be able to develop the brand because of a new challenge involving another multi-billion dollar company.
According to the publication, Markle is facing yet another hurdle because of the Royal Riviera trademark, which belongs to the billion-dollar firm Harry & David, which has protested her trademark.
The Mail explained: “The scope of her ambitions appears to know no bounds, as was memorably observed by her friend, Kim Kardashian, who said that Meghan Markle was intent on ‘changing the world.’ But are those dreams destined to be for ever foiled? The question is prompted by a development that will dismay fans who yearn to taste the Duchess of Sussex’s jam or any of the other goodies that she envisages offloading to the public via American Riviera Orchard, the ‘lifestyle brand’ that she unveiled in April.”
More details about the firm’s protest against Markle: “Her bid to trademark the American Riviera Orchard name has run into what might be described as a multi-billion dollar problem. It comes in the uncompromising form of a protest lodged with the United States Patent and Trademark Office by a firm owning the trademark ‘Royal Riviera.’ The owner, Harry & David, is an American institution founded in 1934, with annual sales of £1.7billion ($2.2 billion) and 3,300 staff. The protest, deemed ‘relevant’ because of the ‘likelihood of confusion,’ has been referred to Marco Wright, the Trademark Office’s Examining Attorney. It’s the latest bit of bad luck for Meghan.”
At this point, it is believed that Markle, out of option, will have to close the ARO chapter and start something new in 2025 while Prince Harry focuses on his charitable works.
