THE founders of a “rebel supermarket” have revealed plans to open a second shop in Sussex.

Ethical shop Hisbe has been selling sustainably sourced food in Brighton for seven years.

Now its founders Ruth Anslow, Amy Anslow and Jack Simmonds have revealed plans to open a second store in Worthing this summer.

But they need to raise £450,000 to fund the new opening.

“We’re really excited by this opportunity,” said director Ruth.

“We have a great site secured in Worthing and expanding to our second shop is something we have been working hard on for more than two years.

“Amy recently moved to Worthing and has been raving about it. There’s a lot going on there.

“We decided to cast the net a little further than Brighton and Hove.

“We’ve been ready to make this move for a while now but we just wanted to make sure we found the right place.”

If the crowdfunder is successful, the firm’s new branch could be open as early as April.

“All going well, we could get the keys by the end of February,” Ruth said. “We’re just excited. We’ve been looking for a while at Hove but it’s just so expensive there.

“We found a lovely premises in Worthing.”

Sisters Ruth and Amy, along with friend Jack, opened Hisbe in York Place in 2013 in a bid to reinvent the supermarket business.

The shop does not sell global brands, instead stocking ethical versions of everyday products.

Seven years later the business now has an annual turnover of £1.8 million.

Director Ruth said the firm is ready to scale up. “We created Hisbe to transform the UK’s food industry because right now it just isn’t sustainable,” she said.

“Much of the UK food industry is reliant on intensive industrialised food production and cheap food produced with little regard for the environmental or social costs.

“The result has created a wasteful food system that is unsustainable.

“We think supermarkets can be part of the solution instead of part of the problem and we are on a mission to reinvent the way supermarkets do business.

“We want to show that it is possible to buck convention and break the mould.”

As a not-for-profit community interest company, Hisbe reinvests its income into cutting prices and paying suppliers fairly.

For every £1 the firm spends, 58p is spent in Sussex on stock, wages and services.

Now Hisbe is asking supporters to pay into a £450,000 crowdfunder run by ethical bank Triodos.

The minimum investment is £50.

If the crowdfunder is successful, the money will be invested into a bond which will pay five per cent interest each year for seven years.

But returns are not guaranteed.

Triodos Bank’s head of corporate finance Dan Hird said: “Triodos is an ethical and sustainable bank and we offer a more conscious approach to finance and banking.

“Hisbe is doing much the same, making it easier for people to consume in a more sustainable way.

“It’s great that Hisbe is ready to expand and we are delighted to be raising the capital to support it.”

As of yesterday afternoon, the campaign had raised almost £200,000 in one week. Those interested in donating to Hisbe’s crowdfunder can visit triodoscrowdfunding.co.uk/invest/hisbe-food-cic.