Since becoming a royal in 2018, almost everything Meghan Markle has done has received its fair share of criticism. So, of course, when it comes to her new lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard, the mom of two has also been receiving plenty of backlash.
Most recently, industry insiders have criticized an interesting part of her lifestyle aspirations by comparing her to Gwyneth Paltrow, who became a lifestyle founder with Goop back in 2008.
According to a source for Page Six, Paltrow’s brand gained traction because she started slow and steady. “Someone like Gwyneth started out by sending out a newsletter once a week and it was very personal, kind of like Substack now,” the source remembered. “But it was a very novel idea at the time, but she didn’t monetize the business for about seven years.”
“The goal was creating a community and something of value, rather than it being a business,” they continued. “She didn’t take any outside funding until 2015.”
“With Goop, everything that happened all came from a very gradual, authentic place,” the source added. “Gwyneth did not set out to create what it is today.”
With Markle, however, the approach appears to be completely different. In addition to now entering a much more saturated market, with many celebrity lifestyle brands, from Martha Stewart to Kourtney Kardashian, Markle’s new project will most likely start with a bang rather than one step at a time.
With that said, all of the theories on what Markle’s brand will look like are nothing more than speculation given that Markle hasn’t released anything on her brand since the launch. And, while we wait to see what Markle has in store, surely her critics are also at the edge of their seats.
Before you go, click here to see every single time the royal family shaded Meghan Markle and Prince Harry since they stepped down as royals.
