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Penthouse Dreams, Shaky 'Foundation': Meghan Markle's American Riviera Orchard Brand Called Out for Glossy Facade With No Substance

Meghan Markle's American Rivera Orchard was criticized by a royal expert for lacking substance with no 'foundation.'

Meghan Markle was issued a red flag notice for her brand American Riviera Orchard.

"I would have major concerns if I were an investor," marketing expert Matt Yanofsky told an outlet. "If I’m an investor, I’m saying to her, 'you need to find a CEO with a direct business plan that’s going to show profitability, or at least a revenue plan, within the next 60 to 90 days. Otherwise, I’m taking my money out.'"

The PR guru said that Meghan "has built a penthouse without building any foundation for it," before adding, "I'd be happy to eat my words and best of luck to her, but as of right now, [ARO] seems like it’s the wrong product with the wrong people."

The Duchess is also reportedly in a bid to trademark the brand, which met some hiccups earlier this year, but these twists were "expected" and reportedly simply part of the routine.

"American Riviera Orchard, as part of its ongoing Trademark Application, has received several office actions," a Sussex source spilled. "These are routine and expected when filing for trademarks."

This isn't the first time Meghan's business acumen has come into question. Her podcast, "Archetypes," produced in collaboration with Spotify, was announced with much fanfare but ultimately underdelivered in terms of impact and production.

The deal was quietly ended after one season, leading to speculation that the partnership didn’t meet the expectations of either party. Similarly, other media projects connected to her and Prince Harry have faced challenges, with rumors of tension and differing visions behind the scenes.

The Duchess also reportedly cannot find and keep a CEO for her now half-a-year-lifestyle brand.

"I do think that they're going to continue to have a hard time finding people that want to work underneath them," royal commentator Kinsey Schofield told an outlet. "I'm intimidated just thinking about it. There are rumors that Netflix has said 'allow us to manage the retail strategy' if she can't manage to find a CEO or somebody willing to work with her. Netflix sees an opportunity there."

This follows recent reports from another Sussex source that shared, "The team is thinking of backups as we speak just in case. They’ve been put into a bit of a last-minute spin but they’re not too worried because they are aware that Kim [Kardashian] also changed her brand name after launch and it still did amazingly well."

"It will be a rather costly measure if they have to change the name at this late stage due to all the branding, but it won’t be the end of the world," the insider added.

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The Sun reported on Yanofsky's remarks.