If you spend any time scrolling through TikTok for hosting ideas or wine recommendations, you’ve probably come across Akilah Releford-Gould’s page. After working on her family’s California vineyard, creating her own rosé and beauty brand, and showcasing her hostessing style and skills to her 194k followers, she has become a staple for refreshing lifestyle content. Her videos bring viewers into her world as a housewife, mom, CEO, and her love of hosting. But her recent TikTok, displaying the delightful basket of goodies Meghan Sussex sent her, was a treat for all her followers.

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Thoughtful Gift Exchange Between Influential Women

Meghan Sussex sent Akilah Releford-Gould a curated wooden gift box containing raspberry preserves, shortbread mix, gourmet tea, and edible flower sprinkles that have become signature items from her Netflix show.[2][5]

Personalized Hostessing Style

Meghan's reputation as a generous hostess is evident in both her gift-giving practices and her treatment of others, including buying £80 sauté pans for her Netflix crew members and providing thoughtful refreshments during production.[3]

Entrepreneurial Connection

The gift exchange highlights both women's entrepreneurial ventures, with Meghan promoting her "As Ever" brand featuring products like raspberry jam alongside her "Confessions of a Female Founder" podcast, while Releford-Gould showcases her vineyard and beauty products.[5]

Authentic Product Showcasing

Releford-Gould's return gift basket featured products exclusively harvested and made on her family's ranch and farms, emphasizing the significance of her Black-owned vineyard and agricultural businesses in California.

Content Creation Opportunity

The unboxing video served as engaging social media content for Releford-Gould's 194k TikTok followers, demonstrating how gift exchanges between notable figures can generate interest and visibility for their respective brands.[2]

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Though Meghan Sussex’s Netflix show has gained mixed reviews, it’s clear that the Duchess knows a thing or two about being a good host. Leading up to the series, it was reported that she sent several gift boxes to friends, fellow hostesses, and future guests of the show. The gift boxes, like Sussex, were grand and filled with warm and welcoming goodies. Releford-Gould was among the select few who received a box and treated her followers to an unboxing.

@akilahrelefordgould

Not over thisss!!! Thank you Meghan 🫶🏾✨ #homemaker #blackgirltiktok #hosting #meghansussex #lifestyle #dinnerparty #farmtotable #unboxing

♬ original sound – Akilah Releford- Gould

The clip opens with Releford-Gould showing the wooden box and envelope attached with her name written in beautiful calligraphy. Opening the box, she gives a quick glimpse of its items before explaining each one. She pulls out a box of shortbread cookie mix first, before moving on to the crown jewel, Sussex’s homemade raspberry preserves (if you’ve watched her show, you know they’ve become a viral moment all their own). Next, she shows off another shortbread mix and several tins of gourmet tea, and then the edible flower sprinkles that became a signature item on Sussex’s show.

But the real excitement comes when Releford-Gould begins building a thank-you harvest basket to send back to Sussex. The Lucky Girl Rosé founder is known for creating gorgeous gifts, and this basket was no exception. Instead of a traditional shape, she opted for a bucket design lined with a chic blue and white pinstripe fabric. She began, of course, with her rosé and added a matching honey-ginger-lemon-infused balsamic vinaigrette. Next, she added her brand’s garden confetti, a nod to Sussex’s love of flower sprinkles.

She continued adding fresh citrus harvested from her farms, honey, toffee crumble, fruit-infused powdered sugars, granola, black pepper parmesan sourdough bread, lilac room spray, and fresh flowers. The silver lining of this luxurious basket of goodies is that they are all harvested and made on Releford-Gould’s ranch and farms. The gift is more than a thoughtful thank you and showcases the extent of Releford-Gould’s brands.

As one of the few Black-owned and operated vineyards in California, Releford-Gould and her family have imprinted their style into the area and created a lifestyle oasis between their properties.