Header photo left to right: Kyusik Chung, COO and CPO; Aaron Magness, CMO; Karina Rymer, Director of People Operations; Robert Shaughnessy, Director of East Coast Operations; Ash Cheriyan, Co-Founder and CEO; Shiri Avnery, Co-Founder and President; Shivam Joshi, Food Safety and Quality Assurance Manager; Brian Stout, SVP of Manufacturing and Logistics; Ben Buckman, Production Manager
Thistle was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area and over the past nine years, has grown to service major regions along the West Coast and delivered over 15 million delicious and nutritious plant-based meals. Thistle is rapidly expanding and selected Burlington as the location for its East Coast headquarters.
The company held a ceremonial ribbon cutting event for local officials and community members on January 27 to commemorate its East Coast expansion. The event featured speeches from Ashwin Cheriyan, Co-Founder and CEO of Thistle; Pete Green, Mayor of Burlington Township; and Felicia Hopson, Commissioner Director, Burlington County Board of Commissioners.
“Back when Shiri and I started Thistle as an idea in 2013, we had a dream to make it incredibly easy for people to get and stay healthy while also making good choices for our food system and our planet,” said Ashwin Cheriyan, Co-Founder and CEO of Thistle. “What started as a few of us and a handful of meals produced and delivered in San Francisco has grown into a team of hundreds of incredibly hard working, intelligent, kind and driven humans who have delivered over 15 million meals to customers across the West Coast. These meals have not only helped our customers improve their own health, but they’ve helped us reduce their dietary carbon footprint by millions of pounds of CO2 compared to the average American diet.”
Thistle began its East Coast launch by delivering meals to New York City, Philadelphia and parts of New Jersey, serving over 20,000 meals as of January 27, and soon will expand across the greater Northeast. The 75,000 square foot Burlington facility allows Thistle to reach customers within roughly 14 hours driving distance.
“As we grow, we’re excited for the opportunity to serve this community, to work with local farmers, food crafters, community organizations fighting hunger, food insecurity and food waste, and create new jobs,” added Cheriyan.
Prior to the event, Burlington Township Mayor Pete Green had the opportunity to sample Thistle meals, and remarked on how Thistle’s arrival to the Burlington community coincides with the Mayors Wellness Campaign, a statewide community health initiative that provides evidence-based tools and strategies for mayors and community leaders to help their residents achieve healthier lifestyles and to improve overall health and wellness in their communities.
“The meals were very filling and equally as tasty. Most importantly, they were healthy,” said Pete Green, Mayor of Burlington Township. “I am pleased to say Thistle’s philosophy of providing healthy, plant-based, eco-friendly meals correlates directly with the Mayors Wellness Campaign. A nutritionally, mentally and physically healthy community is a strong community.”
“I am super excited that you’re here and that you chose Burlington County. Being able to address sustainability, food insecurity, and economic development, all in one, is extremely important,” added Felicia Hopson, Commissioner Director, Burlington County Board of Commissioners.
Header photo left to right: Kyusik Chung, COO and CPO; Aaron Magness, CMO; Karina Rymer, Director of People Operations; Robert Shaughnessy, Director of East Coast Operations; Ash Cheriyan, Co-Founder and CEO; Shiri Avnery, Co-Founder and President; Shivam Joshi, Food Safety and Quality Assurance Manager; Brian Stout, SVP of Manufacturing and Logistics; Ben Buckman, Production Manager
Thistle was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area and over the past nine years, has grown to service major regions along the West Coast and delivered over 15 million delicious and nutritious plant-based meals. Thistle is rapidly expanding and selected Burlington as the location for its East Coast headquarters.
The company held a ceremonial ribbon cutting event for local officials and community members on January 27 to commemorate its East Coast expansion. The event featured speeches from Ashwin Cheriyan, Co-Founder and CEO of Thistle; Pete Green, Mayor of Burlington Township; and Felicia Hopson, Commissioner Director, Burlington County Board of Commissioners.
“Back when Shiri and I started Thistle as an idea in 2013, we had a dream to make it incredibly easy for people to get and stay healthy while also making good choices for our food system and our planet,” said Ashwin Cheriyan, Co-Founder and CEO of Thistle. “What started as a few of us and a handful of meals produced and delivered in San Francisco has grown into a team of hundreds of incredibly hard working, intelligent, kind and driven humans who have delivered over 15 million meals to customers across the West Coast. These meals have not only helped our customers improve their own health, but they’ve helped us reduce their dietary carbon footprint by millions of pounds of CO2 compared to the average American diet.”
Thistle began its East Coast launch by delivering meals to New York City, Philadelphia and parts of New Jersey, serving over 20,000 meals as of January 27, and soon will expand across the greater Northeast. The 75,000 square foot Burlington facility allows Thistle to reach customers within roughly 14 hours driving distance.
“As we grow, we’re excited for the opportunity to serve this community, to work with local farmers, food crafters, community organizations fighting hunger, food insecurity and food waste, and create new jobs,” added Cheriyan.
Prior to the event, Burlington Township Mayor Pete Green had the opportunity to sample Thistle meals, and remarked on how Thistle’s arrival to the Burlington community coincides with the Mayors Wellness Campaign, a statewide community health initiative that provides evidence-based tools and strategies for mayors and community leaders to help their residents achieve healthier lifestyles and to improve overall health and wellness in their communities.
“The meals were very filling and equally as tasty. Most importantly, they were healthy,” said Pete Green, Mayor of Burlington Township. “I am pleased to say Thistle’s philosophy of providing healthy, plant-based, eco-friendly meals correlates directly with the Mayors Wellness Campaign. A nutritionally, mentally and physically healthy community is a strong community.”
“I am super excited that you’re here and that you chose Burlington County. Being able to address sustainability, food insecurity, and economic development, all in one, is extremely important,” added Felicia Hopson, Commissioner Director, Burlington County Board of Commissioners.
