Brighton’s ethical supermarket HISBE to expand

hiSbe is at 20-21 York Place, Brighton, BN1 4GU

Brighton’s ethical supermarket hiSbe (which stands for how it Should be), has announced its intention to open up a new store in Kemptown.

The business, which is a Community Interest Company (meaning that it operates as a commercial business with a social purpose), opened its first store in York Place in 2013, selling good, locally sourced and sustainable food.

The company website says that they “prioritise local products and work with suppliers and wholesalers who care about health, sustainability and trading fairly.”

They are now only £20,000 away from the £85,000 needed to fund the new supermarket in Kemptown, and have raised it through a mixture of crowdfunding and community support. Two major social business funders are already lined up to provide match-fund of £105,000 raised, meaning £190,00 can be raised alongside the community support to cover the costs of opening the second store.

Ruth Anslow, co-founder, said: “We are proud to announce that hiSbe is set to expand. Three years of operating our pilot store has helped prove that you can run a supermarket as a social enterprise, and put staff, suppliers and customers before profit.

“We want to get Brightonians involved and encourage them to join the supermarket revolution, as hiSbe is first and foremost a store for the local community. But we do need help to turn the old Tesco store into hiSbe Kemptown.  We invite supporters to contact us to find out how they can help us get our hands on the site and keep out the big chains!”

The company is also a living wage employer, with Anslow saying: “We want to keep millions more pounds in the local economy, we want to create more rewarding Living Wage jobs for more people locally and we want to reinvent the way supermarkets do business in the future”.