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Not a lick has yet been tasted by the masses, but the headlines around Meghan Markle’s American Riviera Orchard strawberry jam continue unabated. Fifty pots were sent to influencers, and all the hype around it helped spike sales of King Charles’ own-brand organic strawberry preserve. Is it just a PR gimmick, or will we all taste the red stuff soon? Royalist Correspondent Tom Sykes and Senior Editor Tim Teeman discuss the impact of Meghan’s latest venture.
Tom Sykes: I have to be honest, there are lots of things I don’t understand about the launch of American Riviera Orchard. For starters, it seems really strange to me to do a big social media campaign, like the one we’ve been sold over the past few days, but not have any product actually available for the punters to buy. There is not even a functioning website. When you go to the ARO website it just gets you to enter your email address for updates.
Tim Teeman: Sure, it’s not user-friendly, but I can think of nothing more camp than making a launch of strawberry jam and mysterious homewares as hush-hush and mysterious as a Taylor Swift album release. It also sticks it to the media (that Meghan and Prince Harry can’t abide), who are currently, futilely trying to get hold of this jam, jars of which are presently reserved for the hands and mouths of selected friends and influencers. Isn’t it genius marketing? Create a product, create a buzz around the product, make everyone curious, and keep it out of the hands of your media tormentors for as long as possible.
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