Hard times change the shape of a business. When the pandemic hit in early March, many restaurants were challenged to rethink their business model in order to survive. However, some focused on more than their survival.
Kaiamo was one of the helping restaurants around the world which left aside their individual needs and put the welfare of the community first by preparing 400 meals a day for the local authorities and emergency services in the midst of a pandemic. We considered this mindset a complementary one to our #beameta CSR platform, an initiative through which we reward and praise the ability to strive for a better version of oneself even in the most difficult times.
Thus, we decided to support their cause and started sponsoring their efforts. Our donation covered the supply costs, as well as the cooking and packaging expenses of the premium meals for 10 days straight. Half a year later, during the ‘50 Best for Recovery’ Summit, Kaiamo was chosen as one of the restaurants around the world worthy to receive the 5000$ Recovery Grant. This financial aid is meant to help the restaurant industry overcome these unprecedented times and celebrates those businesses which, despite the hardships, still found the time and resources to make their community a better place. We were delighted to see that Kaiamo’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed, hoping that our beautiful collaboration was one of the factors that helped Kaiamo stand out from the other businesses.
These being said, we are more than grateful for having been a part of Kaiamo’s successful and heartfelt initiative. It makes us proud to see that their efforts are being recognised on an international scale in the short documentary ‘Helping Restaurants Around the World’, where Radu Ionescu, the Kaiamo head chef and owner, talks about their helping initiative during the pandemic, an initiative Metaminds proudly supported and about the way his business managed to survive in the face of 2020’s challenges.