Meghan Markle Left 'in Tears' After American Riviera Orchard Was 'Mocked' for Being 'Expensive and Nothing Special'

Meghan Markle returned to Instagram in March to promote her new lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, but the exclusive jam has yet to hit retailers.

According to royal expert Tom Quinn, the Duchess of Sussex was left heartbroken when reading social media comments about the budding business.

Despite Quinn's claims, OK! previously reported the former actress was excited about American Riviera Orchard's popularity on Instagram.

"The rollout for American Riviera Orchard is already off to a strong start. The website has over 100,000 who have signed up to hear about the first products launched,” a source told an outlet. “Meghan is very pleased with the early interest it has gained.”

Aside from her company, Meghan is also expected to release a cooking show for Netflix, and American Riviera Orchard's launch date could be aligned with the show's premiere.

“Everyone has to abide by Netflix’s schedule these days. They are by far the biggest player in town," a source told an outlet.

The friend stressed there is “literally no point in Meghan doing anything” until the streaming giant is ready to market her program.

Although Meghan's brand has over 600,000 followers on Instagram, the lengthy wait to purchase items could impact American Riviera Orchard's relevance.

“From a strategic and branding perspective, if you suggest you are going to launch something but then four months later nothing has happened, the world moves on," branding expert Norah Lawlor said.

"Fortunately for them, there has been so much going on in the world in the last four months that they could probably relaunch it and no one would really notice," Lawlor added. "The bigger question is whether they have a real team on it, and whether that team has been able to negotiate the retail channel partnerships to get this into stores."

Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for!

Meghan also sent exclusive jams to celebrities — such as Kris Jenner, Chrissy Teigen and Tracee Ellis Ross — to build momentum.

"If you are going to produce a product, be that jam or anything else, you want to try and establish demand as forensically as possible before you produce a d--- thing,” marketing consultant Warren Johnson said. “It’s a whole lot easier to accelerate your retail listing if you go and see the buyer at Whole Foods and say, ‘We’ve got a million Instagram follows.’ You’ve got an established audience."

“To allow some anticipation to build is not a strategy I would disagree with, especially as it has enabled her to test her credibility and see if she gets laughed out of town as a jam maker before risking a penny," Johnson added. "Personally, I’m not sure the world needs more jams, but maybe I’m wrong.”

Quinn spoke to The Mirror.