HISBE Food

It’s with great sadness that we announce the very painful decision to declare insolvent and take the company into voluntary liquidation.

Since the final tranche of our recovery funding fell through, we have explored all avenues to raise the investment we need to re-open the stores, but HISBE is carrying too much debt from the last four years for funders to put new money in.

We were following a strategic turnaround plan and slowly trading our way back, but ultimately could not weather the cumulative impacts of covid, inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.

We’d like to respond to the love and concern that customers and supporters have expressed for our people - the staff, suppliers and founders.

Firstly, the staff who worked hard to take care of the stores and maintain a friendly community vibe for customers, despite the extra pressures. We are so grateful for their commitment and for supporting their managers, who did their very best to run the stores with stretched resources and tough targets. Everyone was made redundant and paid out for their shifts and holiday in Dec/Jan. Their notice pay will be looked after via the proper channels as we go through the administration process.

Regarding the ~135 local/independent HISBE suppliers, many of whom we have 10-year-old relationships with. We built a beautiful and simple business model with them: HISBE customers put £15 million through our tills, and we passed £10 million back into suppliers’ pockets. However, sadly but inevitably the closure of HISBE leaves many with unpaid invoices that we were expecting to clear in January. It’s creating enormous personal and financial stress for some of them – and we are sad and sorry that it has come to this.

As for the custodians of this social enterprise, Ruth and Jack. Thank you for the concern and support that’s come through our networks. Those of you who walk in founders’ shoes know the impossible workload of holding all the jobs that you can’t afford to pay experts to do, the operational pressures of the last four years and the resilience and personal sacrifice it takes to keep finding solutions and keep going. Right now, we are hurting and exhausted.

But we are also thankful for this journey – and grateful to every supplier, customer, staff member, investor and supporter who was part of it. Together we created something beautiful and kept it going for 10 years, against all the odds.

We hope that our rebel supermarket sowed a seed of change - and we trust that the important work to transform the food industry will continue through others.

THANK YOU everyone for all the concern and support over our shops closing on Saturday. We have been inundated with emails and messages and can’t possibly reply to you all. But thank you 💙

Following a painful four-year battle through covid and the cost-of-living crisis we had a disappointing Christmas trading period and our recovery funding hasn’t come through.

So we have paused trading because it’s the responsible thing to do in our circumstances. HISBE owes money to staff, suppliers and lenders and we are exploring all options to raise funds to pay our creditors.

We hope this is a temporary closure and we can find a way for this social enterprise to go forward and continue its important work. But it will take some time to figure out.

Painful times…! And very daunting. But we know we’re in the same boat as hundreds of other local small businesses right now… Solidarity to all of you out there going through this. After 13 years, this is our hardest challenge yet 💙

Happy New Year! Here's to 2024, and continuing being supermarket rebels another year! We have still have a selection of great local spirits and fizz, as well as organic options. If we don't see you in store today, see you next year!

Cheers from the team at HISBE🥂

We can highly recommend brunch at this gorgeous in . The spicy scrambled eggs with was epic! And we had a cheeky Bloody Mary 😝

Shoreline Stores is a stunning independent shop and cafe in a beautiful location opposite the sea.

This Christmas, please show some love for your community food shops and their local suppliers 💙

Celebrating Mind Body Spirit: Brighton Come and experience a day of positivity, growth, spirituality and transformation at Brighton's biggest Mind Body Spirit event!

Looking for the perfect winter warmer?
Pop in at HISBE Brighton to sample some of the finest vegan soups from the Soup Dept Brighton

Serving Thai Red curried lentil today with Sourdough bread

HISBE Worthing Halloween market this Saturday! Come to see some of your favourite local
businesses! And join in with our pumpkin design contest! Good food, good prizes, good people!

Booyah Vitality drinks now in stock at Worthing HISBE!

Health Drinks. 100% Raw. Natural. Vegan. Health in a Glass! Oh and did we mention they are a
Sussex based business...

Turmeric has a reputation as a miracle spice because it’s filled with curcumin, a compound that
acts as a powerful antioxidant to fight free radicals while at the same time lowering levels of
enzymes that cause inflammation. That’s important, considering inflammation is at the root of
most chronic diseases.

The health benefits of dandelion root, a fantastic liver cleanser, are numerous. When ground
and roasted it makes a wonderful coffee replacement. Dandelion Coffee helps stimulate the liver
and bile flow and is a natural diuretic.

We are very proud and grateful to be able to say that we have truly smashed the target 🚀💥🚀💥🚀

Thank you so much to every person who contributed & shared the campaign: the wave of support & love you’ve shown HISBE has given us an enormous boost after these very difficult 3 years 💙💙💙

Thank you to Amy and Kirsty Denro and Studio Kico for your creative skills, developing the campaign concept, design work and videos - and all the promo work you did. It was truly a pleasure to work with you 💙💙💙

Thank you to Crowdfunder and Jason Nuttall for being the best at what you do, committed to making good ideas happen and for supporting us every step of the way 💙💙💙

Thank you to our amazing match-funders Aviva and Be The Earth Foundation for the great work you do funding nature-focused and regenerative farming projects and for believing in HISBE 💙💙💙

Hey , it’s your last chance to grab a special offer from 💥💥💥

We’ve loads up for grabs, from Unlimited Coffee Cards ☕️☕️ and Breadmaking Workshops 🍞🥖 to Farm Visits 🐷🚜 and Fishing Trips 🐠🎣

And your money will help us raise the money we need to invest into our suppliers, staff and stores 💙💙💙

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/hisbe-more-than-a-shop

If you 💙💙💙 HISBE

You will 💙💙💙 our Crowdfunder offers!

Check out the to grab an offer and at the same time help us hit our fundraising target 🚀🚀🚀

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/hisbe-more-than-a-shop

is so much and we have loads of great offers up for grabs, from discount cards and free coffees to birthday boxes and farm visits! 💙💙💙

Check out our https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/hisbe-more-than-a-shop to grab a reward and at the same time help us hit our fundraising target 🚀🚀🚀

HISBE is a social business, so when you support us, we deliver back to local people, build local supply chains, and put more money directly into the local economy 💥💥💥

💥 HISBE is a challenger, a disruptor, and a champion of change.
We harness the power of community to transform the supermarket landscape.
Big businesses don't care, but we do.
Join us as we march towards change - turning grocery shopping into a vehicle for impact, that prioritises people, fairness, and sustainability.
Support our crowdfunder campaign and be part of the rebellion.
https://buff.ly/46E8ZgG
Together, we are the changemakers. 💪

PLEASE SHARE! 💙
🛒 HISBE is More Than A Shop; it's a social enterprise on a march towards change!
Join us in our mission to transform the way we shop, eat, and live.
Support our Crowdfunder campaign and become a part of something bigger than grocery shopping 🍅
Visit our Crowdfunder page to support the campaign today: https://buff.ly/46E8ZgG

PLEASE SHARE! 💙
At HISBE, we are disruptors, rebels with a cause, on a march towards change!
Our Crowdfunder campaign is a call to action for all those who believe in a better way of doing things.
Your contribution will help us continue harnessing the power of community, transforming how we shop, and creating a future where big-hearted values triumph over profit.
Check out the great rewards on offer: https://buff.ly/46E8ZgG

PLEASE SHARE! 💙
📣 Introducing HISBE; More Than A Shop, on Crowdfunder!
🛒 Join us in our mission to turn grocery shopping into a march for change, and create a sustainable, community-driven future.
Together, we can redefine what it means to shop for food.
Support the campaign and be part of the movement! 🌱
https://buff.ly/3p2tseq

🐄 Join us on a Farm Adventure!
Contribute £250 or more to HISBE's Crowdfunder and bring your family on a day trip to visit 3 local Sussex farms.
Travel and lunch for up to 4 people included.
Experience the journey from farm to table firsthand 🚜
See all our Crowdfunder rewards here: https://buff.ly/46E8ZgG

💚 ONLY A FEW DAYS LEFT TO GET SOME GREAT REWARDS! 💚
And help HISBE keep doing what we do.
Please show your support by dropping some dosh over on our Crowdfunder page, or sharing the shizzle out of all our posts when you see them, to help us reach more customers and supporters 🙏
https://buff.ly/46E8ZgG

💥 Please support our 'More Than A Shop' campaign on Crowdfunder.
Drop in £10, or whatever you can afford in exchange for some fab rewards! 🎁
And help keep HISBE supporting our communities, staff and suppliers 💙
https://buff.ly/46E8ZgG