Americans deal another damning blow to Meghan Markle as they reveal thoughts on American Riviera Orchard
Maybe Americans already have enough dog shampoo and fancy nut butters.
At least that’s the interpretation of a new poll, which finds a lack of interest in Meghan Markle’s new lifestyle brand.
A whopping 68 percent of respondents said they were not interested in American Riviera Orchard.
Less than a fifth of voters said they were interested in the soon-to-be-launched range, and 14 percent said they weren’t sure.
Americans have yet to be won over by the range of smart cookware and spices
The Duchess of Sussex returned to Instagram with a new luxury lifestyle, American Riviera Orchard
The nationwide DailyMail.com/TIPP survey of more than 1,400 adults is difficult reading for the Duchess of Sussex, who teased her new product line on Instagram last month.
The survey suggests that 46.5 million American adults may well check out her cookware and tableware, but Markle’s marketing team was likely hoping for more engagement.
She revealed her plans with a teasing ad that showed her arranging flowers in the kitchen of her Montecito, California estate and posing, soft in focus, wearing a black ballgown.
She plans to sell a near-exhaustive list of housewares, stationery, cookware, garden tools, beverages, food, spices and even pet shampoo and conditioner.
It has been compared to the product empires of Martha Stewart and Gwyneth Paltrow.
The venture comes amid mixed success since she and Harry stepped down as senior royals in 2020.
Their $20 million Spotify deal ended last year after only yielding one podcast series since its inception in 2020.
The new brand has been seen as a glow-up of her previous lifestyle website The Tig, which she started before meeting Prince Harry
Meghan shared a video that gives viewers a hint of what to expect from her brand. There is a clip of Meghan cooking in a kitchen, filled with an array of high-end cookware
Still, Harry’s 2023 memoir Spare was a bestseller and the couple have two Netflix shows in the works.
The Duchess has said very little about American Riviera Orchard publicly, with the only hints of what’s to come emerging in the form of nine cryptic Instagram posts revealing the brand name and logo.
It is set to launch in the coming weeks.
Marketing experts say it could bring her six-figure sales within weeks.
Its Instagram account already has 590,000 followers.
But critics have been harsh about the new brand and its classic calligraphy logo.
It has been called everything from ‘rushed’ to ‘ridiculous’.
Markle has been condemned for the launch as Catherine, Princess of Wales, underwent cancer treatment.
DailyMail.com columnist Kennedy said the ‘glitzy, decent lifestyle brand’ was becoming a ‘massive headache for Princess Neverwas’.
Biographer Angela Levin predicts the Duchess will be ‘on a new project in six months.’
Markle’s fancy products may be beyond the capabilities of most American consumers
Prince Harry and the Duchess have two Netflix shows and other projects in the pipeline
Our research suggests that selling may be more difficult than expected.
Only 18 percent of respondents said they were interested in the brand.
There was little difference in how men and women felt about American Riviera Orchard.
Black people and Hispanics (34 percent) were more than three times more likely than whites (11 percent) to express an interest—perhaps a nod to Markle’s mixed-race background.
Democratic voters were more eager for the brand than Republicans.
Still, less than a third of them expressed interest.
Millennials were among Markle’s most avid consumers, as was the 42-year-old Duchess.
A third of people aged 24-44 were interested in the brand, compared to just 3 per cent of those aged 65 and over.
The survey has a +/-2.7 percent margin of error. It was carried out earlier this month by HINTwhich is known for its accuracy.