Meghan Markle Warned She Could Ruin New Brand By Making It Public As It’s Called A Scam.

Meghan Markle’s new lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard continues to get off to a rocky start, as the duchess has been warned it’s not in her best interest to take the company public, given her contentious reputation.

Speaking to Express UK, financial analyst Mike Raia cautioned Markle, saying, “She was bound to start off as the underdog in a fiercely competitive marketplace.

But being so heavily out-gunned in terms of staff could be an immediate problem for her.”

Markle Allegedly Doesn’t Have The Right Infrastructure

In fact, Raia thinks Markle’s fame won’t necessarily work in her favor to make the brand successful in the long run.

“Given her celebrity status, there’s bound to be an immediate rush of curious customer,” he continued. “If she’s going to keep those customers, she needs a proper commercial infrastructure behind her…..and I don’t see any evidence of that.”

While Markle hasn’t commented on the financial analyst’s advice, this isn’t the first time her new company has been called out within only weeks of launching. After she initially opened the website without any buyable products, Meghan was criticized for doing it all too soon.

A source informed Page Six that the brand has not engaged in discussions with sourcing and buyer teams, indicating that a release date for products is still far from being disclosed. “They [Harry and Meghan] consistently make announcements and roll things out really early … to what point?” they said.

The brand has even been referred to as a scam or fraudulent by a variety of credible critics, including T.V. host Megyn Kelly.

Why Markle’s New Jam Has Been Controversial

Since then, Markle has sent a select number of influencers and close friends a PR package disclosing what appears to be American Riviera Orchard’s first product – strawberry jam.

Several of the folks who received the package gushed about it online, but critics were quick to point out the royal family is known for their range of jams (which will reportedly still being more affordable than Markle’s when it becomes widely available).

When Markle first announced her brand’s jam, it boosted sales for the royal family’s products , potentially hinting that Markle’s won’t be as successful, since her critics are already stocking up on the competing jam.

It’s expected American Orchard Riviera will expand its product selection, given that it’s being promoted as a well-rounded, lifestyle brand. The Suits alum has even been advised to branch out into makeup suggesting it could be a good strategy to parallel celebs like the Kardashians who’ve broken into the makeup industry.

“Meghan has the potential to make a name for herself in the cosmetic industry,” PR expert Lynn Carratt said to The Mirror. “Love her or hate her, one thing you can say about her is that she looks good, she knows how to use the right creams and make-up to accentuate her features and make her skin look good.”

For now, Markle hasn’t responded to new criticism around her brand or the persisting rumors of financial woes between her and Prince Harry.