Before Meghan Markle officially announced her brand As Ever earlier this year, she had already been working on a project called American Riviera Orchard. Nobody knew much about what that brand was about, and it seemed to disappear once As Ever was in the spotlight. Now, Meghan is finally opening up about what really happened to American Riviera Orchard – and why she decided against going against that name for her brand.
During this week’s episode of Meghan’s podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, she told the story of how she named her company. At first, she said she trademarked As Ever back in 2022, but after she partnered with Netflix, she had second thoughts about what the name should be.
“It was just so interesting because you remember, I said, ‘I like American Riviera as an umbrella,” she explained. “And then to be able to have verticals beneath it, and maybe have the ‘Orchard’ really small.’ “
But less than a year after debuting American Riviera Orchard, it didn’t sound right. In fact, Meghan said to her that it “became this word salad,” and that led her back to As Ever.
“I said, ‘Okay, well, let’s go back to the thing that I’ve always loved. Let’s use the name that I had protected for a reason, that had been sort of under wraps,'” Meghan said, per People.
Because it was the launch of a brand called American Riviera Orchard that people were expecting, switching names allowed Meghan a little privacy before the launch that she likely wouldn’t have had otherwise. “We were able to focus in the quiet and put our heads down and build on something that no one was sniffing around to even see about,” she shared. “It was just really, really helpful to have that quiet period.”
Meghan ultimately not liking the name may not have been the only reason she switched gears. Earlier reports claimed that the US Patent and Trademark Office may have rejected her trademark on the name since it was considered “primarily geographically descriptive.”
In an interview with People published in March, Meghan admitted that she was making adjustments to the name in “real time.”
“I appreciate everyone who gave me the grace to make mistakes and figure it out and also to be forgiving with myself through that,” she told the magazine at the time. “It’s a learning curve.”
Check out our Meghan Markle page for all the latest news about Meghan, Prince Harry, and their growing family.
