We’re not on the planet for business, we’re in business for the planet.
- MANA! Mantra No. 7
WELCOME TO MANA!
We're not on the planet for business, we're in business for the planet. -MANA! Mantra No. 7
MANA! has pioneered the plant-based fast-casual market in Hong Kong since 2012, serving “fast slow food” and operating “zero waste” - whole-food, plant-based food, served fast, in an eco-friendly & responsible manner, packaged & ready to go.
MANA! has consistently received industry, media and consumer accolades, including Best Healthy Eats, Best Green Eats, Best Ethical Eats, Best Lunch Spot, Favourite Healthy Restaurant, Most Ordered Dish, Best-Plant Based Restaurant, #1 Vegetarian in Central, Best Sustainability Initiative, Food Made Good One Planet Plate Award, and much much more.
MANA! was founded in Hong Kong on 11/11/11 by Bobsy Gaia.
OUR STORY
From our founder Bobsy’s first arrival in Hong Kong to the first opening of MANA! in PoHo, and the hundreds of steps in between. Every single one of these events contributed in a cosmic way to what MANA! is today. Here is the full timeline of our Founder Bobsy’s journey.
Of course, that is when the story just begun. Ever since MANA! has opened, Bobsy and his team have done more than ever to push forward the sustainability agenda in Hong Kong. Click see more to view the detailed timeline from the beginning to today…
OUR ETHOS
OUR MISSION
Is to serve wholesome plant-based food with zero-waste by turning all MANA! Packaging, food scraps & leftovers into compost locally.
OUR VISION
As more and more people wake up to the urgent need to switch to a plant-based diet to sustain both themselves & our planet, our vision is to see a healthy & sustainable expansion of our “fast slow food” concept throughout Hong Kong, the Asian region & beyond.
OUR ETHOS
MANA! hopes to usher in a new breed of business that aligns with core values beyond the dollar sign, generating a quiet revolution in consumer awareness.
We make the choice for sustainable living & conscious consumption positively inevitable, by serving food that doesn’t cost the earth & inspires change.
MANA! Mantras
No. 1 Eat like it matters.
No. 2 Free Water For All.
No. 3. It's Good To Be Here.
No. 4 food that doesn't cost the earth.
No. 5 diet change not climate change.
No. 6. Made with plants, not in them.
No. 7 we're not on the planet for business, we're in business for the planet.
no.8 Dear Earth, Dear Sun, By you we live,our loving thanks to you we give.
no.9 All business of the near future will account for its zero-waste policy as part of its triple bottom line of people, planet & profit.
no.10 The knife & the fork are the most powerful toolsin the hands of humanity today.
No. 11 By adopting a plant-based diet we change the world one bite at a time.
No. 12 one day industrial animal faring will be seen the same way human slavery is today
No. 13 the new business of business is to inspire change
No. 14. the healing of the earth & the healing of the human spirit are one & the same; neither can be achieved without the other.
no.15 The most radical act of any generation is to become aware
no.16 join our food revolution & change the world one "flat" at a time.
no.17 you are not alone! the tribe is strong!
No. 18 all is one, one is all.
No. 19 Follow your passion by living it
No. 20 by changing yourself you are changing the world.
BOBSY
ECOPRENEUR & FOUNDER OF MANA!
Bobsy Gaia is a passionate Ecopreneur (Eco & Entrepreneur) whose driving motivation in all his works is to inspire change & raise awareness. “Once we are aware there is no going back. Awareness is the key to sustainable change.”
BOBSY’S BIO
Veteran environmentalist, founder of MANA! & ardent advocator of plant-based lifestyle, Bobsy is at the heart of the Eco movement & needs no introduction.
Bobsy is credited with being the pioneer of HK’s conscious business movement, having operated all his enterprises with a non-negotiable foundation of putting people & planet first.
This has been expressed from his very early days in HK, with his first company G.A.I.A. back in 1993 producing & designing awareness raising Eco-fashion & the establishment of ABLE Charity to protect Lamma Island’s environment & planting the now lush Lamma Forest on the North of the Island, all the way through to the present. (www.ablecharityhk.com)
Bobsy is also credited with being the pioneer of the organic plant-based movement having launched HK’s first fully vegetarian lifestyle cafe The Bookworm Cafe back in 1997, & SoHo’s beloved Life Cafe (2004), where now common options like Quinoa, gluten-free & raw food were first introduced to the City. Currently he runs multiple restaurants & cafe’s under the MANA! (2012) umbrella, all of which uphold a Zero Food Waste & Eco-friendly philosophy, donating tons of food scraps to be turned into compost for the organic farming community as well as operating busy fast food outlets that leave no trail of rubbish behind them via biodegradable & compostable packaging & comprehensive in-house recycling.
Bobsy through ABLE Charity is also credited with designing HK’s first ever specially designed Paper Recycling Bins back in 1997. They were large yellow bins that screamed out for attention & as a result ran a successful paper recycling pilot scheme with the HK Government.
From 2004 until 2011 he published Positive News HK (20 issues in total), sharing inspiring & positive news stories that covered both HK & the wider region covering a wealth of information about the human potential & its impact on all aspects of life.
In 2008 he wrote & produced the Infomentary “Save the Human!, Don’t Eat the Planet!“ on the environmental impact of the meat, fish & dairy industries. It went on to win “best documentary” at the “I Shot HK Film Festival” & inspired the current meat free movements in HK. He toured the infomentary in HK schools & Unis inspiring many of them to go meat-free on one or two days a week.
In 2013 he conceptualized & created URNA! - You Are Not Alone! - an awareness raising graphic design art tool that is featured on all the MANA! packaging & was first publicly shared in his first TEDx talk entitled “Are You Aware?“ (view here)
In 2016 Bobsy co-founded the Zero-Waste Alliance of restaurants. In recent years he has championed “Diet Change Not Climate Change.” as the central driving concept behind MANA! & brought this insight into the public domain.
Bobsy is a frequent public speaker on conscious change, environmental entrepreneurship & inspired movements at schools, universities, festivals, business forums & other platforms where his passion & integrity make him very popular especially with the younger generations who resonate with his message of a “Humanitarian, Ecological & Spiritual Worldview.”
“The most radical act of any generation, is to become aware.” - Bobsy
URNA: YOU ARE NOT ALONE
You are not alone in feeling that there is more to life than what our mainstream culture & institutions are telling us…
Rather you are fully aware that there is another way to live in harmony with both ourselves and this beautiful planet we call home.
There is no longer any need to compromise in the emerging holistic worldview. We can thrive as well as live a sustainable lifestyle.
URNA! attempts to depict this WORLDVIEW through creative art & graphics.
This limited edition poster is available only on line now here. We only ever printed 1000 copies that have long since gone. If you come across one hang on to it.
You are welcome to print it out on high quality craft paper ( recycled please! ) or share it with the world…But please give credit to its author & creator. Share the love.
DOWNLOAD OUR URNA HERE