There’s no doubt about it, 2021 was a challenging, but incredibly rewarding year for Let Them Eat. Marred by Covid lockdowns, event cancellations, reduced store capacities, employee isolations and hotspot concerns, the pandemic continued to keep everyone on their toes.
But despite the uncertainty and impacts of Covid complicating business as usual, Let Them Eat continued to forge forward, achieving impressive milestones.
2 NEW STORE OPENINGS IN 2021
Not only did we open two new stores – James Place in February and the Adelaide Central Market in October, we also opened a pop-up store in the Golden Grove shopping centre in September. To add additional complexity to an already crazy year, our Norwood store was beautifully upgraded as we transitioned from a pop-up to a fully fitted-out permanent location.
In a business first, we also decided to expand our offerings by opening a vegan deli as part of our new Central Market store, stocking delectable vegan deli meats and cheese. This idea has really taken off with our deli produce becoming increasingly popular.
Together with new store openings and fit-outs, we also attended a range of events, festivals and markets throughout 2021, from Writer’s Week, Bowerbird and The Adelaide Festival. Unfortunately due to Covid, we we’re disappointed to miss WOMADelaide for the first time in a decade.
A NEW RANGE OF PRODUCTS HIT THE SHELVES
Head Chef, Recipe Developer and Managing Director Tanya gets a kick out of constantly creating new taste sensations. In 2021 we introduced a range of mouth-watering new products to our existing menu, from lemon teasecakes, gingerbread biscuits, vegan chocolates and vegan Christmas products. We also dabbled in merchandise, so if you need a top-quality insulated cooler bag, they’re now available in-store.
Two new suppliers were welcomed to the fold in 2021, From the Wild cakes and deserts and Skull Kombucha. Our customers can’t get enough of both products as they perfectly complement our Let Them Eat products.
A NEW ERA FOR CATERING
Our catering division has been steadily growing, but in 2021 we wanted to fast-track this growth and make corporate catering a core business offering. To this end we built and launched a fresh, new website, making ordering food quick and hassle-free. As expected, our new site has kickstarted the next phase in our catering journey, substantially increasing demand.
NEW GADGETS FOR OUR KITCHEN
One of the most exciting changes in 2021 was upgrading our kitchen equipment. Our new appliances included a new 20-tray oven, Brat Pan, stand mixer and robot coupe mixer. In addition, a new Let Them Eat van hit the streets, bringing our total number of vehicles to three.
We also introduced a range of sustainability improvements including waste stream recycling at our stores and events, reusable Let Them Eat masks, tray covers to reduce plastic waste, paperless point of sale systems (email receipts), and paperless office upgrades which were enabled by software integrations and electronic lists.
OUR STAFF ARE THE HEART OF OUR BRAND
With the expansion of Let Them Eat last year, a range of staff promotions and role changes occurred within the business. We’d like to give a special shout-out to our new store Supervisors! Congratulations to Rachel from Norwood, Alessandra from Central Market, Ellen from James Place and Thyra from The Grove.
Further staff movements included Liane who was seconded into the Retail Supervisor position when Daniela went on leave. Kate from our Marion store was promoted to Liane’s position whilst she was on leave. Courtney and Maddie were promoted to help run our expanding kitchen and catering division. And Kristie transitioned from the kitchen to the office, helping to support our administration functions.
We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our staff and congratulate those people who have stepped into different roles. Well done!
Although it has been a moving feast of staff changes, we’re delighted to offer ongoing opportunities to our talented team, enabling them to advance, nurture and grow their careers.
WE COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU
We can scarcely believe that 2021 marks 14 years in operation for Let Them Eat. Each year we’ve built on our achievements, and last year was no different.
We acknowledge that running a business like Let Them Eat is a true team effort, and to this end, we’d like to sincerely thank everyone involved, from our incredible suppliers, our staff (which include our amazing supervisors, long-term employees and newbies who keep us sane), and our loyal customers who love our food and keep coming back, time and time again.
We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank our families (including our parents who look after our beautiful children so we can rest, sleep or simply keep going)!
We are so grateful and humbled to have the support of so many who are passionate about the Let Them Eat brand. We couldn’t do it without you and your contribution. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Danielle and Tanya
