“My old boss was making it too easy for me to just quit my dream in LA and become comfortable in my old life.”
Daniel Odesanya, Co-Founder of Luxe Bites
Credit: Luxe Bites
I originally started out in the IT field and studied business in the United Kingdom. Since I was always naturally more drawn to technology, I thought that would be my set career path in life. From a young age, I always had an entrepreneurial mindset and ventured into businesses in different sectors such as the entertainment industry, public relations, and e-commerce.
My first visit to Los Angeles was enough for me to fall in love with the city. I founded Royal Rights and started doing public relations and marketing for major concerts. COVID hit unexpectedly and it literally put an inevitable hold on business. With no answers of when things would change, I had to repivot everything I knew.
Two years later in 2021, I met my business partner Cherie Chua and she proposed the charcuterie business idea. Even though I didn’t have much expertise in the food industry, I was intrigued by the opportunity and decided that my skills in technology, marketing and public relations could take this business to a new level in a hot market like Los Angeles. Cherie was formally a corporate sales director in Canada and was making these charcuterie boards for fun as a side gig. Her dream was to go all in. I honestly didn’t know anything about charcuterie, let alone how to pronounce the word!
Established in July 2021, Luxe Bites had a great start and we saw how much people enjoyed our products and catering. We were honored to repeatedly work with many major brands like Netflix, Electronic Arts, Rolex, Live Nation and catered for celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. We were very grateful to be at the right place at the right time. We combined unparalleled hard work and all our strengths to bring the best of the best to the city. We understood the desire for aesthetically- pleasing gift boxes and catering setups for events. Our setups have been suited in corporate meetings, launches, memorial services, engagement parties, baby showers, birthdays and even concert after parties! We were extremely proud of what we have built but knew that we didn’t even scratch the surface of what where we could take this business.
In the early stages of the business, I was responsible for marketing, branding, social media, and the tech side of things like setting up the website. Cherie played the creative role and was in charge of creating the charcuterie boards and customer service. As we expanded, I not only had to learn how to make every product and get a strong suit in the kitchen, but we also had to factor in costs of hiring more staff to be able to fulfill all orders. We tried to stay lean but soon realized that attempting to do everything ourselves meant that it would take time away from business expansion and growth. A very crucial factor in business is deciding what risks are worth taking in order to prioritize growth without overcommitting to too many financial commitments.
Another tricky part was to find a perfect location for our kitchen. We initially moved into a shared commercial kitchen which was not optimal because we had to book slots to come in, get our prep done, and clean up in order to leave. The stress was overwhelming when we found ourselves rushing in to prep and rushing out while allocating time to clean our station and load out. A huge milestone for Luxe Bites was our move into our own private kitchen near Downtown LA. This pivotal moment allowed us to take a step back, hire staff, stock up on much more inventory, and overall became so much more efficient for our day to day requirements.
We have a lot in the works at the moment! We recently launched our own line of marble cheese boards and cheese knives on our website. This allows customers to purchase and ship thoughtful gifts anywhere in the US as well as have their charcuterie boards beautifully arranged on these marble boards to be delivered right to the door to enjoy!
Credit: Luxe Bites
When my new life in the US began, I honestly questioned my move a few times. I left behind a very comfortable and established life in London with many friends and family but knew the opportunities in LA will one day pay off tenfolds. My former manager even told me that he would hold the doors open for me in case I changed my mind and wanted to go back. I had a going away party and told everyone about my amazing plan to move to the US. Truthfully, I didn’t have a Plan B but knew that failure was never an option.
There's something in the air in Los Angeles that makes the whole experience so different. The consumer behavior is so aggressive and people are willing to pay for quality. As long as whatever you're doing is quality branded well, you’re on the right track.
Through the unexpected bumps in the road, all I knew was that I didn’t want to go back to London and regret that I didn’t try everything in my power to make this happen in LA. I convinced myself to be patient and thankfully the tables turned two years later. It was a lot of good times and tough times; it was never consistent or guaranteed. For every perfect day, another challenge will follow. I’ve learned to embrace the power of not knowing and transitioning it to be beneficial. To this day, I never regretted my decision to follow my dreams. I’m very grateful to continually work on growing our Luxe Bites team as we strive for more marketshare and visibility as the nation’s best caterer and gift delivery service!
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