The Duchess of Sussex's company applied to lock up the rights to something called American Riviera Orchard in early February -- which she officially announced Thursday online -- submitting trademark applications in a bunch of different categories.

Among the items she might end up selling under the new venture -- assuming the trademarks get approved, that is -- are cookbooks, tableware, coffee and tea services, jellies, jams, tablecloths, cookbooks, servingware, cutlery, spreads of all kinds ... and lots more.

It seems she's expecting things to move smoothly in that direction ... 'cause, like we said, she just launched both the ARO website and an Instagram page dedicated to the new venture.

So far, the IG page only shows the company's logo ... but a short clip on the page's story shows Markle baking while Nancy Wilson's "I Wish You Love" plays over it. The page already has 199k followers BTW -- safe to say, people are very excited for whatever Markle's got cookin'.

While it's unclear exactly what MM plans to do with the new site, tons of fans online are speculating it'll be an updated version of The Tig -- Markle's lifestyle blog from before she married Prince Harry.

The Tig also featured recipes, personal essays and advice from Markle, all of which could factor into American Riviera Orchard's offerings. We'll just have to wait and see, we suppose -- Meg hasn't announced when she's gonna pull back the curtain, but there's a waitlist open.

After the royal couple's somewhat turbulent 2023 -- including a Spotify deal that fell through and a rumored Dior partnership that never came to fruition -- this seems like Meg going back to basics, and to her lifestyle roots.

Time will tell if this Orchard bears fruit.