One of my minor fears about the Duchess of Sussex’s American Riviera Orchard is that Meghan is actually underestimating the interest in her products. I could totally see a scenario where Meghan thinks she’s doing some small, boutique-like brand with limited edition everything, sort of dipping her toe in lifestyle branding before fully wading in. If this current ruckus is any indication, Meghan needs to get back into the kitchen and start making more jam! We’re seeing the first ARO products and they are basically small-batch jams. She sent them to her friends, Delfina Blaquier (Nacho Figueras’ wife) and Tracy Robbins (wife of Paramount’s CEO). Both women put photos on their IG Stories.
The Duchess of Sussex has launched the debut product from her new business American Riviera Orchard – strawberry jam. Tracy Robbins, a Los Angeles based fashion designer, and Delfina Balquier, an Argentine socialite and photographer, promoted the product on their social media accounts on Monday. Mrs Robbins and her husband Brian Robbins, the president and CEO of Paramount Pictures, are friends with the Sussexes. The Duke and Duchess were invited to the premier screening of Bob Marley: One Love by the couple in Jamaica in January.
Mrs Robbins posted a picture of the jam artfully placed inside a bowl of lemons to Instagram.
The glass jar featured an American Riviera Orchard logo with Montecito written underneath it. According to the label, the spread is number 17 of 50 jars produced by the brand.Mrs Robbins wrote: “Breakfast, lunch and dinner just got a little sweeter.” In another post, she said: “I absolutely love this jam so I’m not sure I’m sharing it with anyone. Thank you M.”
Ms Balquier, who is a friend of the couple and married to Prince Harry’s friend Nacho Figueras, posted a similar image with the caption: “Strawberry jam makes me happy. And I love your jam.” Her pot, which was labelled as number 10 of 50, was pictured alongside a piece of bread and some fresh strawberries.
Y’all did Meghan only make 50 pots of strawberry jam?? While I think small-batch products are cute and cool and artisan or whatever, Meghan needs to make more! More of this particular jam and more products in general. I’m sure we’ll get a diverse array of products eventually, but she better not do a line of, like, limited-edition cookware.
Photos courtesy of Archewell, Backgrid, IG Stories.
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- KINGSTON, JAMAICA – Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle made a surprise appearance at the world premiere of Bob Marley: One Love in Jamaica as King Charles prepares for a prostate operation and Kate Middleton is a week into her hospital stay. Pictured: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 23 JANUARY 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- KINGSTON, JAMAICA – Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle made a surprise appearance at the world premiere of Bob Marley: One Love in Jamaica as King Charles prepares for a prostate operation and Kate Middleton is a week into her hospital stay. Pictured: Brian Robbins, Tracy James, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 23 JANUARY 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
I would assume that this 50 batch is for the PR roll out to friends and possibly some influencers.
Maybe, instead of mass production of a factory jam (to meet the huge numbers that will want it) Meghan will put the recipe in her cookery book for people to make their own? And this 50 sent to certain people is to promote the cookery book?
Making your own jam seems like a lot of work. I think Nubia is right and the 50 count is just the number of jams she gave out and they will be selling jam to the greater public but like Kaiser I’m curious as to how much they are able to ship to customers because the demand will be high.
I dunno. Tons of people make their own jam. Like the Nara Smith’s of the world. Maybe Meghan has her own recipe and she is selling ingredients to people. Or a jam making kit.
Is there a gap in the jam market? This is just weird and disappointing.
@Polly, yes, there is. I’m mostly not a fan of jams and such — but I love Sarabeth’s, and would def buy these if the prices were even sort of reasonable. In addition to the market for actual jam, there is a huge market for the kinds of reasonably priced luxury items that can be given to people whose personal tastes you don’t know very well. Bonus points for edibles, since it makes it easy to establish a tradition of gift giving.
I’ve made my own jam. It’s fairly simple, really. But making jam for yourself, your family & friends is one thing, and full on production is another. This is just initial PR, I think. And it’s brilliant!
And yes, specialty jams are quite a business. I like to buy jam with real ingredients–I don’t want to see any high-fructose corn syrup in my jam! I’m expecting ARO to be organic all the way.
@Emme
Wow. I never thought of it this way. Because yes, mass-producing each of her hand-made food products didnt strike me as how she would go. The mass-production just makes it seem so impersonal, when in fact we’re looking forward to her personal touch; and the profit margin on each would be so small, it would mean investing so much time away from her family.
But it makes perfect sense that she would introduce hand-made food items on a small scale like this, have her friends sample them and then make them available to the masses via her cookbooks.
Yeah!
Had the same thought, @Nubia. This is like very limited, personal cooked PR jam – never will she ever have the time to sell homemade jam made by her personally. I think this kind of business would get overwhelming very quickly. She is smarter than that. I am excited to see how she will operate.
PS. Any articles yet how she took the idea of Kates homemade Christmas present jam for the queen?
I expect we’ll start seeing that if she moves to marketing chutneys. And it will be presented as Kate’s idea.
@Nubia … I agree. I think she’s hoping for something similar to what Oprah did with the ‘Clevr Blends’ basket Meghan sent her. That would be beyond awesome and would gain a lot of interest. 🙂
@BeanieBean you called it! If Meghan makes chutney, the headlines will absolutely be all about how she “took inspiration” from Saint Kate. (Or how she “stole” Kate’s “thing.”)
I hope she sells the actual products, instead of just putting all of the recipes in a cookbook. I am not someone who enjoys time in the kitchen! My guess is that she will actually sell things in addition to putting the recipes out there, but whatever she does, I hope it happens soon because I’m *dying* to see what is offered when ARO gets going.
If there was a waitlist for strawberry jam, I would already be on it, lol.
Co-sign! Also, yes, there is a gap in the jam market, especially for organic, low-sugar options.
That’s promotional. Not everything will be small batch.
But the canvas could be a looser weave.
And the logo less fussy. And the label stuck better. Jam is a strange place to start. Not easy to make money on jam.
But you know, if anybody could make a ton of money off of jam, Meghan can.
Honestly, gotta say that I was not expecting jam. But I’m loving that Meghan is doing what she wants and she said I’m gonna make some jam. My toast is ready to go.
@L84Tea, rereading my comment it sounds more negative that I meant it to be (although I don’t like the logo). I agree with you and I would certainly buy some of her jam.
@tikichica that was my thought too – jam takes a looooooot of fruit to make just one jar as it cooks down, and good quality fruit is expensive. Throw a rock and hit a jar of homemade jam where I live so I have questions about sustainability and long term demand? I love and applaud that she’s doing what she feels passionate about – I REALLY want her to succeed so I’m just nervous about the saturation and price point in the market with some of the products she’s choosing. Yes, we’ll all scramble to buy a jar…but will people buy a 2nd jar (or 50th?) if they’re $18 or whatever price is needed to make a profit?
I love the logo. AFAICT the label seems to be stuck on just fine. Did you receive a limited edition jaw on which the label was loose? Whatever. My favorite strawberry jam is a low-sugar freezer jam recipe from a deceased aunt. But I will be happy to pay whatever she charges for ARO strawberry jam since Britmedia seems to think it will bring down the monarchy. It will go great on those $$ crackers with flowers I got last week.
@Jais “My toast is ready to go” made my day. ❤️
I adore strawberry jam and it’s my absolute favorite!! My mouth is watering just looking at her jam!! I have my toast ready as well @Tara!! 😋
@ TIKICHICA, I actually love the label as it’s a delicate balance of elegant, simple and certainly identifiable! I think Meghan’s presentation of the jams to both friends was brilliantly executed as well!!
I can’t wait for ARO to start manufacturing her product line but more importantly supporting Meghan!! Though I know it will be a smashing success, I know that Meghan will only offer quality products that she stands behind.
I thought everyone was expecting jam, some cookware, and cookbooks based on comments I saw few weeks ago? Given the orchard in the name I definitely thought it’d be including some type of fruit based food or condiment.
My credit card is paid off, OUT, and ready to buy…Do I eat jam?…you betcha I do not…am I buying jam, Yes, I am.
🤣
Uh oh. Are we going to have to enter a lottery for a chance to buy some jam? Will ARO jams be the new Taylor Swift concert tickets? Good luck out there, ‘bitchies, when her first products drop!
Lol there’s going to be some fighting in the streets for these jams.
Bows out, I am READY to shove my way to the front of the jam line lololol
The jam is gonna cause a traffic jam of those waiting in line to buy it while jamming to some nice music, 😂
I also thought about Taylor’s “limited editions!” And am already exhausted at the thought of trying to get one of Meghan’s products if only a small number are released.
I don’t think she’d do that, at least not with something like jam, though. Whatever she ends up doing, I wish she’d move faster because I’m impatient and want to start throwing my money at her! 💸
And 3, 2, 1, there will be some daft article in the UK about how Meghan is overshadowing Charles & William’s Duchy Originals jams. *sigh*
“How can Meghan sell jam when Charles sells jam and he’s sick!”
Hahaha! How can Meghan sell jam when Kate can’t even make pancakes. Yeah, I’m happy with Smuckers Naturals when and if I eat strawberry jam but I’d buy some American Riviera Orchard just for the historical artifact, and, of course, to help take down the British Monarchy. I like the label. It’s like an upscale Stonewall Kitchens.
They’re only holding themselves back because they don’t want to shine a light on the fact that every single royal is making side money.
Meghan Snubs Ailing Kate! Despite the healing properties of strawberry jam, I can exclusively reveal that the Princess of Wales was not included in the first group of lucky recipients. It is thought that Meghan is nervous that her products will compare unfavorably with those of the King’s, whose impressive footsteps she is so obviously following.
Meghan snubs Kate who’s battling cancer! She didn’t send Kate any jam! How dare she!! What next? Meghan steals Kate’s famous chutney recipes?
OMG, they are gonna cry for Meghan to send some to Kate. They are the worst.
Don’t write their stories for them 😉
How much would it cost these days to get a single jar of jam through customs these days, would it need a health certificate?
“It is thought,” lmao
Meghan sent her jam to poor Kate – who does she think she is?? Our glorious Kate doesn’t need her jam!!!
“Prince Harry is said to be devastated that Meghan didn’t send the first jar to his true love, Kate, who has cancer and therefore her husband can’t work, leaving the King with cancer to do everything.
All the Royal dysfunction is Meghan’s fault, an American woman who controls Harry and the Royal family with her secret powers.”
Umm! the Daily hate mail or the excess.
@WithTheAmerican, 🤣
LOL! This is totally coming.
Aaand now I want a blind test between Duchy and Orchard food 😀
The labels look cute, and I’m sure people like Serena and Madea got a jar of these precious products too.
No matter what Meghan plans to do, she’ll need *tons* of jam, marmalade, jelly, or whatever else she plans to sell.
Plus warehouses full to the ceiling of cookware, or lines, or…
Fingers crossed she ships to Europe!
Here’s my theory. American Riviera ORCHARD is phase one. Hence the jams.
If successful, AR Orchard will be followed by American Riviera ___________ (fill in the blank) for her skin care line, her clothing line, her luxe stationery line, etc.
I hope I’m right because this would be brilliant marketing, and so fun to see evolve!
I hope you’re right, too, @PinkOrchid!
I would be so in if she did a line of organic fragrances a la Jo Malone or Diptyque. She seems like someone who would really take time to find the perfect scents and if they sent out samples and were priced mid-high range, they would be a hit.
American Riviera Beauty? American Rivera Ambiance? So many possibilities!
PinkOrchid, you are a genius. This makes complete sense for a total brand rollout!
Lux, I would die for fragrances by Meghan. You know she probs has a perfume closet of our collective dreams.
This seems more like targeted PR and marketing. Didn’t she do something similar with Cleve and Oprah? Sending a basket and it was featured in her Instagram stories? Then eventually it was available in widespread markets after direct buy sold out? If you are aiming for exclusivity and a higher end appeal you want small batches to generate interest and create a sense of limited availability. Do this with several of your initial offerings and there you go. I mean she still has to make money it’s a business.
Oprah not only put it on Instagram, she put it on her Favorite Things list, and the company immediately got overwhelmed with orders. There was a several months long waitlist while they ramped up production. So Meghan, who was in fact also a Clevr investor, should already be aware of what’s likely to happen with ARO products at the initial launch.
Memories of Ina Garten’s $15 cake mix. Very curious to see how this all unfolds. Will probably be sticking with my Bonne Maman, though. I did buy Wilkins & Sons Little Scarlet strawberry jam for $20 at a specialty British shop out of curiosity once, so I’m not immune to the fancy.
Pour one out for Ina Garten’s mixes. My kryptonite is Bonne Maman minimal-added-sugar apricot jam. It has a purple lid and it’s too good. I’ve dipped a toe into the specialty jam and spread pool with Marco Colzani and they’re so delicious, I’ve got to pace myself!
We probably won’t be able to eat one of her 50 pots of jam. 😢 I’m sure the profits will go to a charity and that some other items will be made for mass public consumption, like a cookbook. Im a homecook , I love making food from scratch and so I love the idea of artisan made, limited qties. So cute. That’s my trend. To me, that’s luxurious.
ARO is a business venture. H&M keep their philanthropic and business ventures separate. Very separate.
Why should the profits go to a charity? They’ve got massive security bills to pay and plan for – now and for the rest of their lives – plus their children will need the same. They can’t be giving all their money away. It’s a business. Their charity arm is a completely different entity.
I’m sure this is just PR, but I am accepting that when the drop happens something I want will sell out before I get a chance to purchase lol.
I’ll also say that it was clever to number them imo, people like the feeling of exclusivity.
I’m curious to see who the other 48 who will get promotional jam. It will give us an idea on who their audience is for the brand.
That was my first thought as well! It’s a brilliant PR strategy, I’m immediately making lists in my head of who might get sent a jar. It reminds me of the ivypark rollouts where people were excited for the opportunity to post that they got something from Beyonce!
No but I think this is brilliant.
By numbering her first, exclusive batch she gets to keep track of what gets sent to whom and more importantly, that the tabloids cannot get their hands on them!
You’re totally right – it’s like watermarking scripts or screeners to make sure they don’t get shared! You just know that there are rota rats who would try anything to get their hands on a jar.
@Inge, good call! Reminiscent of how she purposefully numbered each page of the letter she sent to her father, so the tabloids couldn’t fck around with it.
The jam looks great & all but I can’t get over those gorgeous lemons Meghan put in her baskets!
Southern California lemons are so amazing… I had several lemon trees in my backyard when I lived there and still miss how soft and juicy they were. Nothing like these hard lumps we get at the grocery store.
I’m so jealous over those lemons! Use lemons a lot and in WI the ones available for purchase have been funky except for one store.
Sweet! For just a selective group of friends. It’s a really nice touch.
I’m sure she’s got a great team of professionals. The interest in her brand is phenomenal. If you compare ARO Instagram with that of the ENDEAVOURS of other celebrities (not personal!), you see she has far more followers than say, Earthshot, Shaping Us, Prince’s Trust, even Aviation gin, and these have had years to market, promote, establish and gain followers.
Good point. The derangers like to crow about how AI Princess and Zoom Prince have more followers on Instagram, but of course they’re comparing personal to new product and leaving out that they had to buy followers to keep up with the Successes when they had an account.
I can just see Zoom Prince demanding their Instagram be shut down as part of their exit plan.
The comparisons have been ridiculous for starters. And, as you say, KP has been buying followers every week to compete with the Sussexes.
If they were to be absolutely fair, they would have to get a celebrity’s endeavour Instagram at the same number of weeks of soft launch with zero products listed, instead of comparing it to Magnolia or Martha Stewart or Jennifer Anniston.
I think the first batch of 50 is just promotional, probably sent to friends for promotions like this. She did this with Clevr when she first invested in it and sent some to Oprah.
I love this in general – the branding, the promotional rollout, the jam itself looks delicious – I am SO EXCITED for how this is going.
Me too. I hope she does a raspberry jam with no sugar and a lemon curd one day. Sign me up.
Yes to a raspberry jam cause I’m allergic to strawberries (my sigh of disappointment when I read it was strawberry jam blew out the candle across the room!).
I can’t believe Meghan is making jams 😭😭 People were asking skin / hair products from her and she said, here have some jams. I love her.
The fall of the monarchy has begun…..Meghan is sending out jam…what will the BRF do now?
They will complain that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is trying to jam up the smoothly rolling machine that is the British royal family.
I love the emblem on the lid cover, I’m who packaging designers target (if it’s beautiful packaging I want it 🤗🥴) and this one hit a bullseye 🎯.. I personally think the current 1-50 are just a dry run and good pr. I also don’t buy into the numbers meaning anything other than whichever jar was first, I don’t like the narrative floating around on social media that Meg would rank her friends it is just not the person I’ve seen her to be.
Seriously? This is what they’re bleating about online now? These people need to get a life, and it tells you a lot about their own personal relationships. Because if you can think that someone would do something like this to their close friends, it tells me that this is the type of stuff that you do in your personal life This would never even have popped into my head as a numbering system to rank friends. Plenty of artisanal companies do numbers for their products just to say, hey this is a limited exclusive amount that was made, and you’re one of the special people that got part of this limited exclusive amount.
Oh ffs, seriously? People are saying she ranked her friends and sent each jar of jam accordingly? I feel like I lose brain cells whenever I even read about their inane takes. Clearly they’re unfamiliar with small batches being numbered— it not like Meghan just came up with it herself!
Mmh… I’m deeply sleep-deprived and that tends to make me grouchy, but I hope there’s something more meaningful going on than “I’m selling jam now.” Like other posters I think this is a promotional batch, so let’s see how the product is presented / marketed once it reaches a broader production scale. Is this locally produced? By whom? Is it sustainable? Is this aligned with the initiatives Meghan has successfully pushed in the past, empowering businesses owned by female entrepreneurs? How does this product reflect the values and principles that have become associated to her? Again: this is early stage, I’m sure there’s more to come and these questions will hopefully get answered. ‘Cause that’s a bit of a letdown for me at the moment. OK – going back to bed now…
I don’t know why it has to be anything more than I’m selling jam now. Everything doesn’t have to be a world saving crusade. And I have to say I don’t think most people ask any of those questions about most of the food they buy, or clothes, or makeup. Nor do I think most people ask these questions about the companies they may work for. It’s not so much that these are bad questions to ask in general but I have to wonder why Meghan is always held to this standard of absolute perfection and isn’t allowed to just make money. Yes she shouldn’t ( and I doubt she would) become the second coming of Nestle or United Fruit but man the standards.
Agree. Good lord that’s a lot of weight to toss at jam.
I’m sure Meghan has sourced this well, after all that’s her entire approach to food – farm to table. But no, this jam doesn’t need to save the world.
@Dee(2) Yes!
Fair enough on the point that she’s being held to higher standard, Dee(2), I think that’s a fair point you’re making here. And I agree, she’s totally allowed to make her own money (personally I do ask myself these questions for what I eat and buy – e.g. I don’t buy any fast fashion, I try to get as much locally produced, seasonal products etc, so I think these questions matter for your choice as a customer. But you’re probably correct that for most people, these factors may not be prominent).
Agreed to @DEE(2)’s points here. We really don’t know the whole scale or anything about ARO or her upcoming Netflix show. You can make a wish list saying what you wish they are; but alwalys criticize without knowing anything about the facts enrage me. And this is not one off. It always happened in posts re Meghan. Yes, I’m not hip, I’m depressed & has a lot of flaws but I champion JUSTICE. There’s a lot of injustice in the world right now. Stop being micro-aggressive on this woman.
I guarantee you’re not making sure every bite you take of every food you eat is from a sustainable source. Also sure you’re not shearing your sheep and making your own wool or growing your own cotton trees to make your own smocks. Stop. This expecting absolute perfection from Meghan is straight nonsense.
And this, right here, Mimi, is not helpful – that the faintest hint that maybe – just maybe – there could be expectations (not criticism) is unreasonable and unwarranted, no matter what, just when someone has previously conceded on a point well made by another poster. I don’t make my own wool and don’t grow my own cotton tree for sure – you’re comparing apples and pear, though: I do buy jam produced by a local farmer, and that’s my benchmark here. Also: I don’t have a car (by choice), buy all my clothes second hand, and have not taken a plane in a private capacity since 2011 (had to travel by plane professionally of course). Maybe, just maybe, we could try to tolerate a *slightly* diverging view on a Meghan post. Give it a try?
Agree with Leah. It’s not going after her if someone wants to buy local. I do too. I live where we have farmers market every weekend. I don’t want to buy something from CA and have it shipped to the east coast. And tons of young people (a good target audience) and others are into sustainability.
You are absolutely entitled to the freedom to express your opinion, Leah. And I am absolutely entitled to the freedom to say it’s frankly a bit silly, lol. She can sell jam if she wants and nobody’s forcing you to buy it. I am sorry if it makes you respect her less, or something. But you have a nice day!
@LeahTheFrench, the official announcement from Meghan (might be wrong) and the instagram page was: American Riviera Orchards. That’s it. What other outlets ran with isn’t on her. Your initial post queried 5 questions. That may defy your interest in Meghan’s future line of what we don’t know about. Meghan never said anything about how the products would be made. The British Tabloids/tentacles did.
I’m sure they will be made with great consideration along with being financially feasible. That’s simply business. If her products don’t hit your mark, cool. Don’t buy then. I won’t be disappointed if I like the products. I’ve tried 6 of ClevR blends based on Madame Duchess’s support. There was only one my tastebuds didn’t like. Minor correction-Made in the USA is something important to me. Unless it involves female supported countries to move forward and find Success.
I’m sorry but you sound ridiculous. No one can meet these high standards (not even you) and yet you expect Meghan to be “perfect”. Here’s a thought… if her standards don’t meet yours simply opt of buying her products and leave them for the rest of us to buy them.
My guess is at least part of the ARO concept will be a sort of umbrella, including, say, an online farmer’s market, that can give visibility and an expanded market to small local producers with limited production runs, who aren’t necessarily looking to be the next Clevr and have their products on Target shelves (or maybe they are!). It being Meghan, I expect to see inclusion of women/minority owned business, companies using environmentally sensitive/susainable processes, etc. But I don’t expect everything will follow those principles. I also don’t see why ARO would be a primarily charitably directed organization (as someone said above), but I expect there would be some tie in with local efforts (as there is with Clevr).
I also don’t see Meghan in her kitchen making all the jam! But maybe she could do some special, exclusive runs…After all, Charles has his special bottle of 75th birthday whisky for sale (750 pounds). Maybe a Harry 40th birthday lemon curd?
Sigh. Why is every single thing that Meghan does subjected to such intense scrutiny? My feeling is, everything in the world is pretty awful right now, and this is something lighthearted and positive for us to look forward to. Supporting Meghan while also getting to eat delicious food? Sign me up!
I’m sure she’s operating ethically, because she always has and that seems to be who she is. But every single thing she does shouldn’t be held to the *absolute HIGHEST standard possible.*
Word, Lorelei. I’m just looking forward to all of it. I love that she has an entire industry in place before she says boo. A place to buy products sourced by Meghan, a cookbook from Meghan, and a cooking show by the Duchess, all in one spectacular fell swoop? No one has ever rolled out like this, and I am an acolyte of all of the cooking goddesses.
My Mom is a terrible cook. I turned to them to learn, and stayed because there is nothing more soothing than an Ina Garten cooking show. I expect the same from Meghan. There is nothing about that woman that screams “frenetic”.
@LeahTheFrench
You should prolly go catch up on that sleep you mentioned. Sleep deprivation is a beyotch. It can turn an otherwise fully-functioning brain to mush.
@LeahTheFrench — Well aren’t we Debbie Downer today. Always finding something negative about something positive…despite not knowing a single thing about the jam, where the strawberries are sourced, etc. Honestly, go back to bed…you need a nap.
@LeahTheFrench, I hope by now you’ve had, to quote an iconic advert here, a cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down. Or your preferred equivalent.
I like the fact that ARO is starting with a product like jam, which in theory will be sold at a price point that makes it affordable to a wide range of people, or at least an affordable luxury.
Also if the jam is very good, it will get and maintain a customer base on its own, even if it wasn’t Meghan-related. (I have been known to talk my friends into a Saturday morning excursion to Idlywilde, a speciality food/expensive farmstand place 30 miles away to do splurge grocery shopping primarily because they sell an organic sour cherry jam that i love. Luckily last week i noticed it is now at a wine /speciality food store in my town that’s walking distance from my house so my jam carbon footprint will improve substantially)
The British press was so stuck on Meghan selling jam I suspect she just took that idea and used it to promote the business which is brilliant. It will be really funny if she’s not actually selling jam.
I’m loving your comment @Amy Bee. Tongue in cheek jam. The Telegaffe (thanks to the person that came up with that name)-apologies that I don’t remember), is saying it’s a launch-not the receivers of the jam. I’m not reading everything-haven’t seen yet where it’s official.
I’ll buy the jam if it is.
I am amazed that people jump to conclusions about the brand, product portfolio, scale based on a simple IG placeholder and a small batch of jam sent to friends and influencers so far.
I suspect MM has a crew of experts with an entire roll out strategy and we are barely getting a peak at what is to come. We should stop second guessing when they have introduced nothing so far.
She needs to take into account the fact that the british media will probably crash the website in under five minutes just to buy every single thing just to find something bad to say about it.
It’ll go well on their … saltines.
But seriously, they better not jam-block Squaddies.
@Shawna! Meghan’s jam on their saltines! Hilarious 😭☠️
Also lmao at “jam-block”
Thanks, @Lorelei!
My household gets picky about jam because i make my own. My husband pouts if we run out of blueberry jam. It really isn’t difficult to make your own. In fact, there’s jars of pectin that you can use a tablespoon or two of pectin to make a pint of jam of your choosing. If you make a real small batch like a pint, there’s no need to process it, just put it in the fridge.
My current favorite is the strawberry rhubarb that I made last year.
Rather than use jars of pectin I just throw in a little bramley apple I keep in the freezer, works a treat on hard to set jams and it is home grown.
Jam is a very royal (and British) thing to make and sell! I don’t think Kate will handle this well.
It is! It’s also something the British Empire seemed to co-opt as their own. Once again.
https://blog.thenibble.com/2017/04/03/food-101-the-history-of-jam-jelly-preserves/
The British were not the inventors or first lovers of jam.
Jam? Okay then.
Well, jam’s one thing, but if she makes chutney, she’s really crossing the line! (snort)
Thank you for my first full-on snort laugh of the week! lol
Chutney belongs to Kate exclusively!!
I think it was just 50 for the “friend batch”. For the actual launch, she will make more jam but I still don’t think that she will make as much needed because she doesn’t seem to know that she is a big deal. Everything she wears sells out almost instantly and it’s not even her brand. She seems pretty humble. I expect waitlists on the first day ARO is available to the masses because everything will sell out immediately, but when she sees all the interest, she’ll get more made.
Leos might be humble in the sense that they know theyre human and fallible like all humans are. But trust, theres no one more confident in their own abilities than a Leo.
Theres an entire island somewhere out in the atlantic in which their entire state apparatus/institutions is filled with folks that believe M has “a dangerous level of self-confidence.”
LMFAO
Kick out the jams!
(I resisted carrying on in an MC5 vein…)
I think this roll out of the gift baskets is cute! I want to try some.
Angela Levin and Twitter are having a meltdown about the jam and how nobody cares. Angela alone has made at least two threads about it. The woman is an idiot. The amount of free promotion is hysterical.
@Kelly, that will only make it more enjoyable (for us) when everything Meghan offers sells out immediately and waitlists need to be created. It will be impossible for Levin and her ilk to argue with success. They’ll try, but sales figures don’t lie.
Did anybody who signed up for the email list get an update about this? I didn’t, and for some reason that rubs me the wrong way. I know Meghan doesn’t give a crap about little old me and she can make a fortune without $1 from me, but a lot of people signed up because we want to show support, not to be excluded from “limited edition jam” for her friends only. And jam is just boiled fruit- you eat it and it’s gone, I’m not going to wait in line or pay a premium for that.
I’m sure this is just a promotional thing. Everyone needs to calm down a bit LOL.
It’s clear that these are just samples and not for sale. We don’t even know that she will be selling jam. The press has assumed that she is.
lol. What? Is this some joke? She is sending sample products to her friends, I am assuming to get their feedback and also for promotion. She isn’t selling the good products to her friends and gonna sell the leftovers to us. That is just funny honestly. This is basic new business 101.
If a “basic new business” only sent something to 50 people, then nobody else would know about it, which would actually be Stupid Business 101. I only know about this because there’s a news story about it because she is Meghan Freaking Markle, which is my whole point. “Thank you for being so interested in my new products, keep your eyes out for promotions for my initial offerings” would have been so easy, instead of sending cheap party favors and expecting your friends to do your work for you, and assuming anybody else knows who some guys’ wives are.
I think we need to calm down a little bit here. She sent them to her friends, which I would imagine she’s using as a little bit of a focus group to help her figure out what will be a hit, and what won’t, and what could probably use a little bit more work. This is pretty normal business stuff. We aren’t her friends. We may support her, and many of us want to support her financially, but we don’t know her. We can’t have any different expectations of her then we would have of any other business providing products to consumers.
This isn’t a mass sale to her subscribers, it’s a test run gifted to friends. Don’t get your knickers in a twist.
Why would she send out a mass email that she was sending a batch of 50 jars of jam to her BFFs?
This is more like Christmas present jam. The labels don’t fully stick! I’m sure these are just a teaser, though, and when it comes time to fully launch, we’ll see something different. For these first 50, I’m sure Meghan made them herself. Which is sweet.
I’m pretty sure this just a gift for friends so they can sample the product. The product that goes on sale will be properly finessed.
This is like a first mail shot, Megan has sent it to friends, just like she did with cleva. The friends SHE TRUSTS to give her HONEST feed back. And knowing how Megan works, I’m sure the fruits will be responsibly sourced and any people working with her when it’s in full production can expect every benefit going. Megan is very clever and alert to the moves of the British rage machines and will not fall into their traps
Ooh I wonder who got #1!!
Beyonce? Oprah..?
Probably Prince Harry. He’s her #1 jam! 🫠
I’m puzzled by the hysteria over this. It’s a handmade food gift for people in her life. It’s obviously a test batch to get feedback and discover issues like peeling labels. She’s not going to sell hand numbered jars of jam. I doubt that she wants to have her product in grocery stores nationwide, but who knows? She might decide to follow the Paul Newman playbook. If so, I’ll try whatever she sells.
This ain’t small-batch Etsy – production + distribution is HARD and she needs a experienced CEO and manager. All best wishes to her!
“One of my minor fears about the Duchess of Sussex’s American Riviera Orchard is that Meghan is actually underestimating the interest in her products.”
YES YES YES Kaiser!! You said what I’ve been thinking since I saw the debut of the jam “dear god I hope she made more!” As others have said, I’m sure this is just promotional and I hope it is and there really is more coming.
She ran a very successful Instagram pre-Harry/pre-royal so I’m sure she knows there will be interest, even more so now since she’s known worldwide and – for the most part – very well liked and admired. And the fact that she has a pretty top notch agency backing her gives me confidence that she has a good team in place. Time will tell. Fingers crossed.