Mystery as Meghan Markle’s UK American Riviera Orchard website domain leads to Trussell Trust foodbank
The UK website domain for Meghan Markle’s new lifestyle brand leads to a foodbank, The Independent has discovered.
The former senior royal, 41, announced her new venture, American Riviera Orchard, on social media last month, however, it was not immediately clear exactly what it was offering.
But it soon emerged that the company is registered to sell lifestyle products including downloadable and printed recipe books, table wear, textiles, as well as foods like jam and marmalade.
The first of these products – jars of jam – were made public after Markle gifted 50 limited edition samples to influencers to promote the brand ahead of its official launch.
While the website ending in ‘.com’ leads to a highly stylised website introducing Meghan’s brand along with a waiting list to join, the site ending in ‘.uk’ mysteriously leads to Trussell Trust landing page and then a fundraiser.
It is believed that it will be a luxury lifestyle brand, although none of its prices have currently been made public.
The brand’s soft launch included a vintage-style video of the actress pruning flowers and cooking to the tune of Nancy Wilson’s “I Wish You Love”.
At the time of writing, American Riviera Orchard only has a website and an Instagram page, neither of which currently feature any products – merely its gold-embossed name.
It is not clear if represenatives for Meghan Markle bought the domain name and redirected to Trussell Trust, or if a Good Samaritan swooped up the site knowing it would receive a surge in traffic.
The website landing page reads: “FORGIVENESS. PERMISSION. PLEASE DONATE TO THE TRUSSELL TRUST.”
The only link directs visitors to a GoFundMe for the organisation, which has a set target of £1,000.
While the fundraiser has yet to raise any money, given the amount of interest American Riviera Orchard is likely to generate in the coming weeks and months, this could change in the near future.
The news comes amid increased food poverty across the globe, with the Trussell Trust discovering that one in seven people in the UK is currently going hungry because they cannot afford to eat.
Emma Revie, Chief Executive for The Trussell Trust, said: “Being forced to turn to a food bank to feed your family is a horrifying reality for too many people in the UK, but as [our] Hunger in the UK [report] shows, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
“Millions more people are struggling with hunger. This is not right.
“Food banks are not the answer when people are going without the essentials in one of the richest economies in the world. We need a social security system which provides protection and the dignity for people to cover their own essentials, such as food and bills.”
The Independent has reached out to the Trussell Trust and a representative for Meghan Markle for comment.
