It was almost six months ago that Meghan Markle revealed her eagerly-anticipated lifestyle brand to much fanfare.
Meghan announced her business venture, called American Riviera Orchard with an Instagram teaser video and a brand new website. It is believed the company wishes to offer downloadable and printed recipe books, tableware, textiles, jams and marmalades. However, apart from a small smattering of Instagram posts from influencer pals who had been sent jams by the duchess, there has been near radio silence on the project. But even though there has been no full launch of American Riviera Orchard yet, Meghan’s new business venture has already been revealed.
Meghan has invested in Cesta Collective
The Duchess of Sussex has invested in a female-run handbag company called Cesta Collective, which specialises in hand-woven bags. In a rare interview, Meghan revealed that she discovered the brand while online shopping as she spends a lot of time Googling “just looking for brands”.
The company specialises in bags, costing hundreds of dollars, that are handwoven by a group of women in Rwanda before they are sent to Italy to be finished off. But it seems that fans who want to get their hands on one of the handbags may need deep pockets – that’s because the items start from around £450 and go all the way up to £684.
Meghan was spotted toting one of the bags last May when she and Prince Harry were spotted heading to a restaurant near their home in Montecito for dinner with Hollywood A-listers Cameron Diaz and Gwenyth Paltrow.
Meghan on her first royal engagement in Nottingham ( Image: Samir Hussein/WireImage)
Meghan with husband Prince Harry ( Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
After she wore the bag, the founders of Cesta Collective sent Meghan a thank you note and it was then that the Duchess offered to make an investment. In an interview with the New York Times about the new move, Meghan refused to say how much she had invested, although the brand owners confirmed it was a minority stake.
Speaking to the publication after returning from the Sussexes’ Colombia tour, Meghan said that she realised her ‘power’ when it came to promoting brands back in 2017, just before she married Harry. On her first ever royal engagement in Nottingham she wore a bag by the British brand Strathberry, which sold out quickly and gave the company huge exposure.
And talking about her influence, Meghan told the outlet: “Times where I know there is a global spotlight, and attention will be given to each detail of what I may or may not be wearing, then I support designers that I have really great friendships with, and smaller, up-and-coming brands that haven’t gotten the attention that they should be getting. That’s one of the most powerful things that I’m able to do, and that’s simply wearing, like, an earring.”
However, it isn’t the first time that Meghan has invested in a company, with her believed to invested in between five and 10 now. In December 2020, the Duchess of Sussex invested an undisclosed sum in ethical wellness brand Clevr Blends, which sells a range of lattes in powder form. It marked her first public investment since she and Prince Harry sensationally left the Royal Family in January of that year to seek “financial independence”.
Meghan used her celebrity connections to help grow the brand, sending some product samples to her friend and neighbour Oprah Winfrey, who then shared the items on social media. Meghan opened up about her investment in the company in a statement shared with Fortune. The former actress said: “This investment is in support of a passionate female entrepreneur who prioritises building community alongside her business.
Last year she pitched in with the business as she made her highly-anticipated return to acting. The 43-year-old played a busy intern for Clevr Blends in a new advert shared on social media. She was seen handing out cups of coffee to the brand’s founder Hannah. Meghan also took phone calls, fist-bumped her colleagues and worked away at a computer.
Meanwhile in 2021, both she and Harry announced they had become “impact partners” and investors of a sustainable investment firm called Ethic, which at the time had $1.3billion under management. It is believed that the couple were introduced to the firm, which only invests in companies that they deem to have acceptable environmental and social goals, by friends. It is unknown how much they have invested or what they are being paid.
