Is Meghan Markle’s obsession with Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop the inspiration for her upcoming lifestyle brand?

Eight months ago, Meghan Markle launched her upcoming lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard with a glitzy video, an Instagram page and a website.

But since then, the 43-year-old has kept fans in suspense with little new information, except for the brand’s suspiciously royal logo and space to sign up for a ‘waitlist’.

Details are very hush-hush, but it seems the Duchess of Sussex is planning on selling fancy things to aspirationally fancy people, after the trademark application revealed plans to flog everything from luxury homeware to prestigious jam.
She previously tried to break into the wellness market while working as an actress with her lifestyle blog The Tig, which documented her travel and food recommendations, alongside guest posts from her celebrity friends.

Inspiration to start The Tig came from Meghan’s avid readership of Gwyneth Paltrow’s wellness brand Goop, according to royal expert Tina Brown.

Insiders have said Meghan hopes to rival Paltrow’s site, which plies a lucrative trade in New Age wellness luxuries, with goods such as This Smells Like My Vagina scented candles.

Before she even started The Tig, Meghan was used to blasting her opinions out on the internet in the form of her blog The Working Actress, which followed her quest to become a Hollywood star.

But after landing the big gig on legal drama Suits, raking in an estimated $50,000 an episode, she scrapped the blog and created a new website – the stylishly designed lifestyle blog The Tig.

It was named after her favourite full-bodied red wine Tignanello, and moments of revelation about life’s meaning were termed ‘Tig moments’.

She ran the blog from 2014, until it was scrapped in 2017 after media scrutiny began to build following her relationship with Prince Harry.

It was branded as her ‘passion project’ and she used it as her personal blog, where she discussed everything from food and travel to fashion, feminism and politics.

An avid foodie, she also posted recipes – as well as make-up and beauty tips, travel advice, and interviews with her celebrity friends, including tennis star Serena Williams and actress Priyanka Chopra.

During the long waits for Meghan to be called to set, she spent the downtime furiously updating The Tig, which she was convinced could emulate the success of Goop, according to royal expert Tina Brown in her 2020 book.

The bestselling author and confidante of Princess Diana wrote about Paltrow’s ‘canny’ creation of a pampering and wellness e-commerce site, with its ‘$550 healing quartz necklaces and $66 yoni eggs for enhanced orgasms’.