Gastronomy & Food Service

Thistle Commits $250,000 to Support West Coast Food Service, Offering $25 For Customers to Dine Locally & Shun Delivery Apps

Thistle, the US plant-forward food and nutrition DTC brand, has announced its Thistle Dines Out initiative, committing $250,000 to support locally-owned restaurants and food trucks recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The company will pay West Coast consumers to eat at their local foodservice outlets for the entire month of June.

“We’re thrilled to roll out the Thistle Dines Out initiative to support other business owners within the food ecosystem.”

Thistle states to vegconomist that it will reimburse customers with up to $25 in their Thistle account for avoiding delivery apps and instead choosing to dine at locally-owned restaurants throughout the West Coast area. Participants in the Thistle Dines Out initiative are encouraged to avoid third-party delivery services and national or global dining chains will not be valid, only local foodservice only be recognised.

Thistle meals
©Thistle

Although DTC brands such as Thistle – particularly plant-based ones – thrived during the pandemic, many restaurant businesses were forced to rely on delivery services that command fees of up to 30% per order.

“We’re ready to do what we can to encourage everyone to get out and support their favorite local spot – on us!”

The San Francisco-based company recently raised $10.3M in its Series B funding round, after seeing its customer base grow by 50 percent since 2019.

“The past year has been extraordinarily challenging for all of us on a personal and collective level, and we at Thistle would be remiss not to acknowledge how the restaurant industry has been disproportionately affected,” commented Ashwin Cheryian, Co-Founder and CEO of Thistle.

Thistle bowl
©Thistle

“As entrepreneurs and co-founders of a startup, Shiri [Co-Founder and COO] and I know the challenges of running a small business firsthand, which is why we’re thrilled to roll out the Thistle Dines Out initiative to support other business owners within the food ecosystem. As people begin to safely rejoin communities, we’re ready to do what we can to encourage everyone to get out and support their favorite local spot – on us!”

Thistle plant-forward meal plans are available for delivery along the West Coast including the San Francisco Bay Area, North Bay, Sacramento, Davis, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle, San Diego + Orange County, and Las Vegas. Thistle also ships across California and parts of Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

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