Libsyn Directory

039: The Entrepreneur’s Plate: Reimagining Food’s Potential for Sustainability with Ashwin Cheriyan

Release Date: 03/25/2025

051: Marketing Mythbusters: What Really Makes Customers Buy with Jeff Greenfield

Essential Ingredients Podcast

“The truth is, when you start checking out other brands, you will start to notice how inconsistent they are. So just by being consistent, you're already ahead of the game.” —Jeff Greenfield. Most entrepreneurs are drowning in a sea of marketing noise, desperately trying to be heard while burning through limited resources with little measurable return. But the real battle isn't about having the most sophisticated tactics, but about crafting a message so compelling that it cuts through the digital clutter and speaks directly to our ideal customer's deepest desires and unspoken...

050: Skin Deep: The Surprising Power of Natural, Locally-Sourced Beauty Products with Nancy Rimbergas

Essential Ingredients Podcast

“You follow your passion, and when you have a purpose behind it, everything becomes a little bit clearer.” —Nancy Rimbergas Clean beauty isn't just another Instagram hashtag—it's a real movement that starts with actually caring about what we're putting on our skin. Every lotion, cream, or serum is like a tiny decision that ripples out, affecting not just our body, but the whole planet. We're not just buying products anymore; we're voting with our dollars, pushing brands to be real about their ingredients, and showing the beauty industry that we want something better. Nancy...

049: NASA's Dental Care Secret: Saving Teeth with Eco-Friendly Space-Age Tech with Belinda Lau

Essential Ingredients Podcast

“I had to find that niche, that core community of people who were trying to solve the same problems that I was and who were passionate about the solution. But if I hadn’t found that, I think it would be tough to try to keep promoting your product and your brand without actually knowing where it fits.” —Belinda Lau Every toothpaste tube and toothbrush we've ever used might still be existing somewhere on this planet! Plastic dental care products are silent environmental destroyers, with each toothbrush lingering for about 500 years in landfills and oceans. Belinda Lau,...

048: Taste Training: How to Turn Picky Eaters into Food Explorers

Essential Ingredients Podcast

Episode Description: “In the CPG industry, so many individuals are just so friendly and eager to help emerging brands and founders succeed. Ask for help and they’re always willing to make an introduction.” —Danny Auld Early childhood nutrition is more than just filling tiny bellies with food. It's about creating lifelong eating habits that can shape health, curiosity, and cultural understanding. The first few years of a child's diet can determine their relationship with food for decades to come. Danny Auld and David Fullner are the co-founders of , a groundbreaking baby food...

047: Waste Less, Taste More: Tasty Guide to Pickling Everything with Sam Paone

Essential Ingredients Podcast

Episode Description: “I would say stick to your values because once we start to slip on that, everybody knows it and we’re not authentic anymore— and what people want is the transparency of who’s making their food.” —Sam Paone We've all been there—watching those beautiful farmers market finds slowly wilt in the fridge, feeling guilty with every sad, soggy leaf. What if there was a delicious way to rescue those forgotten vegetables and turn them into something not just healthy and edible, but absolutely crave-worthy? Sam Paone is a culinary alchemist who traded restaurant...

046: Your Kitchen, Your Garden: The Indoor Farming Game Changer with Conner Tidd

Essential Ingredients Podcast

Episode Description: “How can we make growing your own food possible in environments where it normally wasn’t? Or can we drastically lower the impact of water use, fertilizer use, or resources used to drive to the grocery store? That’s a big impact that we can have if we can allow you to grow your own food right at home.” —Conner Tidd What if you could grow fresh, pesticide-free produce just steps from your refrigerator, regardless of where you live? Indoor vertical farming isn't just a trend— it's a revolutionary approach to sustainable, accessible food production....

045: Urban Food Hacking: Your Yard's Hidden Food Potential with Marjory Wildcraft

Essential Ingredients Podcast

Episode Description: “Once you start eating your own food, it expands your taste horizons and you can’t be afraid to experiment. If it doesn’t work out and it’s horrible, just put it in the compost bucket and start over. It’s okay, you’ll be fine.” —Marjory Wildcraft Food is not just sustenance; it's a fundamental human right that we've outsourced to complex, fragile systems. This disconnection from food sources has transformed us into passive consumers dependent on a market that creates an illusion of abundance, masking a precarious supply chain that can unravel in...

044: Entrepreneurial Flavor: Breaking Barriers in the Healthy Snack Market with Seena Chriti

Essential Ingredients Podcast

Episode Description: “I don’t have an MBA. I only have a food knowledge background, and that doesn’t make me an expert, either. But I know how to inquire and how to connect. So I have just been digging and grinding through my process, always finding the answers when I need them.” —Seena Chriti Snack innovation is more than just creating a product—it's about telling a cultural story through flavor. Every bite carries the potential to bridge traditions and challenge culinary expectations. Seena Chriti is a culinary arts graduate from Mexico City with a...

043: Farming Forward: How Regenerative Methods Are Rewriting Agriculture with Jason Walker

Essential Ingredients Podcast

Episode Description: “We need to think more about the ecosystem, and it’s not always the cheapest way to do stuff. I think we’re just trying to make a difference. And if we can make a living while making a difference, then that’s really important.” —Jason Walker Regenerative organic farming is more than just a method—it's a revolutionary approach to healing our planet's most critical resource: soil. It offers a holistic approach that sees agriculture not as an extraction process but as a recuperative, life-giving partnership with the Earth. Jason Walker is a visionary...

042: From Tap to Table: Smart Water Storage Techniques for Modern Communities with Jamiah Hargins

Essential Ingredients Podcast

Episode Description: “Trust that you can do the Math and that you have the tenacity and that nature will give you way more opportunities than you even need.” —Jamiah Hargins Imagine a world where water conservation isn't just a choice, but a critical strategy to survival. Water isn't just slipping through our fingers—it's vanishing before our eyes. Yet, our current consumption patterns are writing a dangerous narrative for future generations. Hence, the silent crisis of water conservation demands immediate, innovative solutions that reimagine how we interact with...

More Episodes

Episode Description:

“You can over engineer things like a business plan. I think there's no substitute for going out and just trying things— that's the best and fastest way you can learn.” —Ashwin Cheriyan

Modern life often makes it hard to balance convenience, health, and sustainability, leaving many searching for better options.

Ashwin Cheriyan, Thistle’s co-founder and CEO, is a former corporate lawyer turned passionate innovator, dedicated to bringing health and sustainability to everyone’s table. Ashwin’s work focuses on proving that eating delicious, wholesome, and planet-friendly meals can be both effortless and satisfying

Tune in as Justine interviews Ash about how about Thistle's remarkable journey from a passion project to a mission-driven food company, exploring how they blend health, sustainability, entrepreneurial resilience, and innovative meal delivery to create positive change for individuals and the planet.

Meet Ashwin:

Ashwin Cheriyan is an entrepreneur, recovering corporate lawyer, and a mediocre surfer. He is currently the co-founder and CEO of Thistle, a Bay-area-based modern, tech-enabled, organic food and nutrition company. He was also the co-founder of WeGoFair, a social enterprise providing ratings for hotels and restaurants reflecting their performance on social and environmental issues.

Prior to Thistle and WeGoFair, he spent 4 years in New York as an M&A associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, where he worked alongside senior management and cross-functional deal teams in collective transactions valued at over $100 billion. He received his A.B. in Economics from Brown University and his JD from The University of Texas School of Law.

Outside of Thistle, he spends his energy working with, advising, and investing in startups, mountain biking throughout Marin County, suiting up in neoprene to surf the waves of Bolinas, and enjoying the abundant culinary delights the Bay Area has to offer.

Connect with NextGen Purpose:

Episode Highlights:

02:05 Building a Heath and Sustainability-Driven Biz

15:44 Challenges and Growth of Thistle