Los Angeles-based Haymaker has officially become certified as a minority-owned business, and to celebrate, founder and chief creative officer Jay Kamath had his mother cook up south Indian dishes for a big crew of celebrants.
For one evening, Haymaker transformed into Mukka, a pop-up South Indian culinary experience. “Mukka” means “punch” in Hindi, a term from vintage Hindi action movies. The Haymaker team also developed customized invitations and merchandise for the event, all inspired by the aesthetic of Hindi action movies that Kamath grew up viewing.
“Mukka is the culmination of the hard work that goes into becoming certified as a minority-owned business,” said Kamath. “It was only fitting that we celebrate by transforming into a pop-up restaurant and having my mom cook south Indian food for everyone.”
Jay Kamath’s mother poses with some of her south Indian cuisine.
Kamath continued that, in moment when the 4A’s has reported that minorities have lost ground in terms of representation in advertising agency C-suites, he feels pride that Haymaker has joined a thriving community of minority owned businesses
“Our goal is to show more up-and-coming BIPOC talent the possibilities in our creative industry and help more minority-owned businesses become certified.”
To pay it forward for the rest of the industry, Haymaker developed a video, “How to Become a MBE” to serve as a guide for other minority-owned businesses looking for certification.
“Haymaker created the ‘How to Become a Minority-Owned Business’ film to help give an entertaining overview that helps demystify the certification process for any fellow minority business owners interested in pursuing certification. It also gave me the opportunity to find my parents’ original Indian passports and marvel at how my dad looked like a private investigator from the 1950s,” said Kamath.
CREDITS:
Mukka Pop-Up Event
Founder and Chief Strategy Officer: Matt Johnson
Head of Brand: Laura Hoffman
Producer: Michelle Ayoub
Strategy Director: Chelsea Gilroy
Indian Food: Jay’s Mom
Creative Assets
Founder and Chief Creative Officer: Jay Kamath
Design Director: Jorge Andrade
Senior Motion Graphics Designer and Editor: Chip Carey
Producer: Dillon Barnes