“The big goal is learning how to do business in a kinder and more regenerative way.”

Founder Anna MacDonald is planning to revamp her 50-seater Brighton based vegan sushi restaurant, Happy Maki and is introducing a unique concept to conduct “business in a kinder and more regenerative way”. 

The novel idea is a part of a “pioneering experiment” – through which the brand will implement a “gift economy” using a “modern and customer-facing, Pay As You Feel till system.”

 According to the Happy Maki team, this functionality will help the business and customers “get more connected in a world that is largely controlled by money and emotions of greed, scarcity and fear.”

The Happy Maki team says: “The drive behind the business had never been profit but rather serving the community and helping our environment. This is just the next step in growing that desire and hopefully starting a much-needed conversation about money and our emotions surrounding it.

“This also opens the door to a healthy vegan meal for anyone who wouldn’t usually be able to afford it.”

While the brand admits there is a risk element involved with the new system, it is confident that it has the much-needed insight after trialing the concept at two festivals at the end of its 2019 season to make it work in the long term.

Philanthropic Happy Maki

Happy Maki, which was founded with “the aim to raise awareness of ongoing marine issues, improve the appeal of veganism, and give people an option to eat truly sustainable sushi which is good for their bodies, good for the oceans ​and great for the taste buds,” has been involved in several philanthropic activities.

The “pay as you feel” scheme is Happy Maki’s 3^rd charitable attempt. It is already involved in other initiatives like planting a tree and feeding a child for every sushi roll it sells.

The brand has successfully planted 226,405 trees and provided 306,301 meals through its charity partners Eden Reforestation Projects and Marys Meals.

Crowdfunding

Happy Maki is hoping to raise £80,000 to implement the new plan, carry out necessary renovations and set the ball rolling. It is currently crowdfunding via IndieGoGo.

“We are aware it’s a large amount of money but are also proud that we can do some amazing things for an old restaurant at a very reasonable cost for a full renovation,” said the brand. 

“The beauty of our Pay As You Feel model is that even if you can’t offer a monetary contribution, you can still be a part of our movement. We would really appreciate it if you could share our campaign, by the spreading the word, we can make sure that those who could benefit most hear about what we’re doing. You get in touch if you think you have some skills we could use.”

• Read: Vegan kebab chain wins British Kebab Awards

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