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Meghan at a conference in Austin, Texas: waiting list for a (still) unknown product

Photo: Suzanne Cordeiro / AFP

Meghan Markle is in the process of opening up new business areas.

And because the Duchess of Sussex understands how advertising works, she starts her business in a way that generates attention.

Four years ago, she and her husband Harry shut down their Instagram page.

Now Meghan is returning: Without prior notice, a website and an Instagram user account called American Riviera Orchard were put online on Thursday.

On the Instagram account there is the addition: “from Meghan, Duchess of Sussex”.

A short retro-style video shows Meghan arranging flowers and mixing dough at her home in California.

Anyone interested can be added to a waiting list on the website.

They don't know what they're applying for.

A spokesman for Meghan confirmed to the AFP news agency that the 42-year-old is involved in the American Riviera Orchard project, but did not provide any further information.

A look at documents from the US Patent Office shows that the trademark was registered in February.

The items to be sold include cutlery, jams and cookbooks, as well as yoga mats, bird seed and stationery.

A “product empire”?

A wild mix.

The Guardian wrote that Meghan might want to create a “product empire,” similar to what actress Gwyneth Paltrow managed to do.

She even sold rose quartz vaginal eggs for $55 each.

Meghan and Harry have been living in the small town of Montecito on California's Pacific coast, which is inhabited by numerous celebrities, since 2020.

Montecito is located in Santa Barbara County, also known as the American Riviera.

The couple withdrew from their royal duties in 2020 amid a dispute with the British royal family and have been living in California since then.

They founded the Archewell Foundation charity and signed lucrative deals with media companies, including a reported $100 million deal with Netflix and a $20 million deal with Spotify, which has since been terminated.

With the new project, Meghan would use her fame to sell goods for the first time.

jpz/AFP/AP