Meghan Markle’s ARO Brand Trademark Suffers Minor Setback

Meghan Markle‘s highly anticipated lifestyle brand is facing significant hurdles that may push back its full-scale launch.

According to reports, the Duchess of Sussex’s application to trademark some of the items she plans to sell was recently stalled due to several “irregularities.”

This comes amid reports that Meghan Markle and her husband, Prince Harry, intend to visit Colombia after being invited to the South American country.

For months, Meghan has been teasing her followers with hints about a full-scale launch of her lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard. The venture aims to bring a slice of her world into consumers’ homes with a range of household items.

In pursuit of this goal, the former actress filed to trademark the products several months ago. However, recent reports reveal that the Duchess has encountered a roadblock due to “irregularities” with her application.

According to the Daily Mail, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which is responsible for granting trademarks, has requested Meghan make “corrections” to address these issues.

While the extent of the irregularities remains unclear, it was reported that some items, such as yoga blankets and recipe books, were incorrectly classified in the application Meghan submitted to the agency.

Additionally, Meghan is expected to pay $11,382 in fees for the registration of the trademark to various entities if her application is ultimately approved.

Meghan, who has previously expressed her passion for food, will collaborate with Netflix to bring American Riviera Orchard to the market.

The streaming giant will handle major arrangements for the official launch of the lifestyle venture and has assigned its team to oversee deals with wholesalers, designers, growers, and retailers.

The actress and her husband, Prince Harry, signed a deal with Netflix in 2020, which has led to the development of several projects in collaboration with the couple’s Archewell production company. This includes the duo’s 2022 bombshell documentary, “Harry and Meghan,” which told the story of their courtship and exit from royal life.

Currently, Meghan is also working on a cooking show with the company, which will complement the official launch of the lifestyle brand.

Although filming for the cooking show is believed to be complete, it has yet to undergo several post-production processes, including editing and subtitling, before its release date, which has not yet been disclosed.

Sources previously revealed that Meghan’s lifestyle brand “will reflect everything that she loves — family, cooking, entertaining and home décor.”

The former actress is believed to be deeply “excited” about the prospect of the venture, particularly because it centers around things she “loves.”

“She is excited about her latest, personal venture,” an insider said, per People magazine. “This is something she’s been wanting to do for a while. She is excited to share her style and things that she loves.”

To promote the brand, Meghan launched an Instagram page after years of not having a presence on the social media site.

The new page currently features just nine posts that form a montage of the brand’s logo. Since its creation, the page has attracted over 600,000 followers.

Additionally, the Duchess created a website for the brand, which currently directs visitors to a landing page. There, users are prompted to enter their email addresses to join a waiting list and receive updates on “products, availability, and news” from American Riviera Orchard.

Earlier this year, Meghan unveiled the first product from her lifestyle brand—a range of jams expected to come in different flavors. The actress introduced the product in a stylish way by sending jars to influencers and friends, who in turn posted about it on their pages and tagged the brand.

The jam came in a translucent container stamped with the company’s name and logo, and the top was wrapped in white cloth with a string bow. Meghan Markle sent out only 50 jars, as indicated by the number inscription on each one.

Months later, Meghan quietly released a dog biscuit product in more modest packaging than the jam. The product was seen for the first time on the Instagram page of professional polo player Nacho Figueras, a friend of the Sussexes.