Meghan Markle has recently faced criticism for her business decisions and personal brand. The Duchess of Sussex's latest venture is a signature jam brand that reflects her Californian lifestyle.
"From a brand point of view, as an expert in that, I think whoever has been helping her has done it really wrong, especially with Riviera Orchard," said Nick Ede, a British PR expert and TV presenter. "When you build a brand, you build people's anticipation about a brand. Meghan built an Instagram site. She then sent jams to celebrities who all have a huge following. All of this is basically brand 101. This is exactly what you should do," Ede explained.
However, he highlighted Meghan's failure to maintain momentum for brand recognition. After the initial launch, American Riviera Orchard faced backlash over its seemingly random investment.
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"Then suddenly Meghan halts, and you have no there's no through line, there's no story, and you can't get it back," Ede recalled. Ede, who knew Meghan when she began dating Prince Harry, suggested that the lack of a call to action for fans was the main reason the jams weren't selling.
"There's no, 'Oh my god, I can buy jam, or I can get a t-shirt, or I can go on the site and register my name, and it gives me a newsletter with all the information.' There's literally nothing," Ede concluded. Prince Harry 'returns to basics' as expert says he and Meghan Markle 'changed narrative' Meghan's foray into the lifestyle realm has hit turbulence following a scathing critique from culinary queen Martha Stewart, reports the Irish Star.
An insider revealed to Intouch: "Martha's tired of being quizzed by people over how she feels about Meghan's venture because, honestly, it's irritating and insulting to her that she's being compared to a rookie! " Reports have recently surfaced suggesting Meghan and Prince Harry are pursuing separate professional paths to concentrate on their individual interests, with Riveria Orchard being one of them. Yet, this move comes in the wake of various industry figures dubbing the Sussex brand "toxic."
This year has seen Meghan face a barrage of criticism from several high-profile names.